A new Cox Automotive study found that franchise dealerships have lost 12% of service visits to aftermarket competitors since 2018. It’s a shift that’s only accelerating as the average vehicle age climbs to record highs. Consumers are holding onto their cars longer, yet a growing share of that maintenance revenue is happening somewhere else.
For dealerships, this trend represents millions in unrealized service dollars, missed warranty capture, and fewer opportunities to retain customers long term.
Below, we’ll break down what’s driving the decline, why “lost customers” are more recoverable than most teams assume, and how BizzyCar helps dealers convert dormant customers into booked appointments and recurring revenue.
What’s Changed? Declining Loyalty
The study reveals two major factors behind declining dealership loyalty: unexpected costs and poor communication. Nearly half (45%) of vehicle owners report dissatisfaction with their dealership service experience. They say it’s not because of the quality of work, but because expectations around transparency and convenience weren’t met.
Today’s owners expect:
- Clear pricing
- Easy digital scheduling
- Status updates and reminders
- Flexible service options
And they want communication in the same channels they already use: SMS, email, and social.
This is where aftermarket competitors have been faster and more aggressive. They consistently reach customers first, which plays a major role in their growing share of service appointments.
Customers aren’t defecting because they dislike dealer service. Instead, they’re choosing the providers who stay connected and communicate clearly.
How Dealers Lose Service Customers
Dealers often lose service customers quietly and unintentionally when:
- Outreach stops after a short post-service window
- Recall communication isn’t leveraged strategically
- Contact relies on email alone
- Calls go unanswered or unreturned
- Consumers expect dealership service to be more expensive
- Follow-up treats every customer the same, regardless of inactivity
In the current environment, silence feels like indifference. Drivers naturally gravitate toward the shop that remains consistently and conveniently in touch.
The Good News: Lost Customers Are Highly Recoverable
Franchise dealers are facing a real retention problem. But unlike sales defections, inactive service customers remain highly recoverable. Most still:
- Live in your market
- Drive the same car
- Need service on predictable schedules
They aren’t lost; they’re dormant. BizzyCar sees this daily. This year, our platform is on track to bring more than 100,000 lost customers back into dealer service lanes. And today, 1 in 4 BizzyCar-generated appointments comes from an inactive customer.
The data is clear: declining service revenue is a communication problem, and proactive engagement solves it.
How To Stop Declining Service Revenue
Winning back lost customers doesn’t require major operational change. It requires consistent, intelligent outreach. The dealers seeing the strongest revenue recovery today are those who:
- Replace manual follow-up with automated engagement
- Communicate across multiple channels (SMS, mobile reminders, email)
- Trigger campaigns based on vehicle needs and inactivity age
- Use recall communication to reopen relationships
- Make scheduling a one-tap experience
The best way to stop declining service revenue is simple: stay present, proactive, and relevant. Building a system that can do this automatically ensures no opportunity is missed — especially the ones already in your database.
The Dealers Who Win Are Those Who Follow Up
The future of fixed ops belongs to the dealerships that take communication as seriously as capacity and capability. The lane that follows up consistently is the lane that stays full, and BizzyCar makes that easy.
Our automated outreach platform helps dealers bring in an additional $75,000 to $200,000 in incremental revenue annually. You’ll get access to purpose-built scheduling apps, seamless integration with your data feeds, and a fast setup process to see value quickly.
See how many inactive customers your dealership can bring back by scheduling a 20-minute demo with BizzyCar today.
Image by F. Muhammad from Pixabay