YORK COUNTY, Pa. — The auto repair industry is changing. For fifteen years, mechanic Paul Ankers has been making adjustments at Ankers Garage in Spring Garden Township.
"The industry has changed a lot," Ankers said. "Everything has gotten more technical. If somebody was trying to get into this business now, I'd tell them don't do it. Honestly, it's just gotten more complicated."
Even after a look under the hood, the diagnostics truly begin when Ankers picks up his $10,000 scanner to check the car's onboard computer.
"Sometimes you can't even do it with the scanners that are available to outside shops," he said. "Sometimes you have to refer back to the dealer for certain things and they have dedicated software for that. They try to steer as much work back to the dealerships as possible."
It's a trend Ankers says has continued as more electric vehicles hit the road.
While he's still servicing many hybrids, he said very few EVs are pulling up to garages like his, contributing to a slowdown in business.
"We don't see a lot of EVs because most of them are under warranty," Ankers revealed. "They go back to the dealer for most services. A lot of shops, like myself, don't have the equipment to do it."
Ankers said he considered taking courses to receive his electric vehicle certification, but he feels most electric vehicle drivers will return to the dealer no matter what.
He said upgrading his shop wouldn't be worth it.
"The electrical charge is enough to kill you. There's all kinds of special stuff you have to have," Ankers said. "Everything has to be insulated and then you've got to know what to do when it comes in. I'd like to be able to sell the business at some point and investing that kind of money in it just doesn't make a lot of sense to me."
As automakers inch closer to their goal of switching all producing to electric vehicles, mechanics expect to see things change even more.