Auto Shops Benefit From Poor Economy

Drivers Want To Get Most From Their Vehicles

RIO RANCHO, N.M. -- The struggling economy is causing a lot of New Mexicans to worry about where their next paycheck is coming from and they're thinking twice about buying luxury items, including new cars.

Some auto shops are benefitting, reported KOAT-TV in Albuquerque, N.M.

Workers at Your Auto Shop in Rio Rancho took a closer look at Joseph Parras' car.

"Before they might have done an oil change and traded the car off; now they're looking for tune-ups and 30,000- to 60,000-mile services," Fox said.

Fox said drivers usually sell their cars after owning them for a few years, but now they're trying to salvage vehicles with a high mileage.

"Now those people are keeping cars running maybe 100,000 miles so they can keep it four or five years so they can get their money's worth out of the cars before they look into trading it off," Fox said.

Workers at that shop expect to stay busy as long as customers continue to worry about the economy.

Car sales dropped 35 percent in November. New car sales have dropped to the lowest level since 1958.

"Fluid change, oil changed, inspection on the hose, the belt, the gear shaft," Parras said.

He said it's worth spending the extra money on maintenance to make sure his vehicle runs as long as possible.

"I don't even want to think about a new car. The expense of a new car is way more than what we're paying a month to take care of this one. We already own it so we're expanding the life and keeping it going," Parras said.

It turns out hundreds of extra customers have been coming to the shop in the past few months to do the same thing, and business is up 40 percent.

"With us an extra $25,000 a month is a significant difference," said Richard Fox, manager of Your Auto Shop.

Fox said he doesn't remember the last time so many people have brought their cars in requesting extra maintenance.


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