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How can auto dealerships improve customer retention for repairs and service?

AutomotiveArticleSeptember 10, 2026

It takes a combination of high-value products and exceptional Fixed Ops service to grow customer loyalty and repair order volume.
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In recent months, the service department is delivering “good news/bad news” results for auto dealerships. On the plus side, average service and parts revenue reached record highs in the industry in 2025 and is up 33% over the last eight years.1 However, the downside is a very worrisome trend: dealerships have lost an estimated 12% of service visits to independent competitors since 2018.2

This trend is not the result of declining service demand, but rather changing consumer behavior. Drivers are keeping their vehicles longer, well past the expiration of manufacturer warranties, and many perceive independent repair shops have an advantage in convenience and price. How can dealerships combat that perception, grow customer retention and maintain a strong repair order volume?

In this segment from Car Dealership Guy’s “Daily Dealer Live” podcast, Galal Hamdy, Strategic Relationship Leader for Zurich U.S. Direct Markets, discusses how dealerships can give customers a compelling reason to return to the service lane. Joining host Sam D’Arc, he looks at retention strategies that build customer value over the long term, including programs such as Zurich Lifetime Repair.

Galal stresses the importance of keeping service fundamentals strong and going beyond transactional interactions to strengthen customer retention, noting that even a high-value product like Lifetime Repair “amplifies a good process; it doesn’t repair a broken one.”

This episode was originally presented live on Car Dealership Guy on August 28, 2026.

ZURICH PANELISTS

Galal Hamdy serves as Strategic Relationship Leader for Zurich U.S., Direct Markets. With more than two decades of experience in strategic partnerships, innovation, and product development, he is responsible for fostering key partner relationships, advancing program strategies, and supporting growth initiatives across Zurich's Direct Markets business. Before joining Zurich, Galal held various leadership positions with Cox Automotive, Dealertrack, and Dealer.com.

 

 

 

1. “Dealerships Capture Record Fixed Ops Revenue—But Lose Market Share as Customers Drift to General Repair According to Cox Automotive Study.” Cox Automotive. 9 April 2026.

2. “New Cox Automotive Study Finds Dealerships Have Lost 12% of Service Visits to Competition Since 2018.” Cox Automotive. 11 November 2025

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