What Should You Do When Your Auto Repair Shop is Slow? The AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching Approach to Sustainable Success

Running an auto repair shop isn’t for the faint of heart. When things get quiet, it’s easy to panic, start blaming the weather, the economy, or lack of marketing. But let me tell you right now: the first place we should be looking isn’t outside the shop—it’s inside. At AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching, we believe slow periods are opportunities. If you take the right steps, you won’t just get through them—you’ll come out stronger and more profitable.

So, what should you be doing when your shop is slow? Let’s break it down into the core areas that truly move the needle: estimating and presentation, tracking key metrics, inspections and process, and finally, marketing—done the right way.

1. Get Honest About Estimating and Presentation

Let’s be real: most shop owners—and I mean this with love—are not doing a great job of estimating and presenting needed work to their customers. It's one of the most common conversations we have at AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching: "Coach, I don’t know why car count is down," or “We’re not hitting our goals.” But when we dig into the numbers, it’s not about marketing or traffic—it’s that you're leaving work on the table.

Here's the cold, hard truth: You can't sell what you don't present.Your estimate is your opportunity. It tells the customer what the car needs. If you don’t have a high average estimate, you won’t hit your ARO targets. Period. Your ARO is a direct reflection of how well you’re inspecting, estimating, and presenting repairs. If you’re just selling oil changes and brake pads, you’re going to struggle.

Start asking yourself:

• Are you presenting everything that vehicle needs?
  
  
• Are your advisors confident and trained to communicate the value of that work?
  
  
• Are you tracking declined jobs and following up?
  
  
• Are you measuring your average estimate and ARO daily?

And here’s a foundational concept we teach: the AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching 300% Rule—Inspect 100% of the vehicle, estimate 100% of the findings, and present 100% of that estimate to the customer. Not only does this ensure you’re fulfilling your duty of care, but it builds trust, increases closing ratios, and improves vehicle safety and performance.

Because when business slows, you don’t need to chase new cars—you need to maximize the value of the ones already coming in. That starts with clear communication and a complete estimate.

2. Know Your Numbers, Hit Your Targets

This might sting a little, but here goes: if you don’t know your Average Repair Order (ARO), your average estimate, and your closing ratio—down to the dollar and percentage—how can you expect to improve?

These are the most fundamental KPIs in the game.

Let me break it down:

ARO Targets Based on Shop Type:

• Quick lube/tire/general repair: ARO should be 4x your labor rate.
  
  
• General repair (no tires): ARO should be 6x your labor rate.
  
  
• Diesel/Euro/specialty: ARO should be 9x your labor rate.
  
  

If you’re not hitting these numbers, then no amount of new customer acquisition is going to fix your profit problem. You’re leaking revenue through poor estimating, poor follow-through, or both.

Average Estimate vs. ARO

Your average estimate needs to be higher than your ARO, or you’ll never close enough to hit that target. It’s basic math. If you only estimate $400 per car, how are you going to hit a $600 ARO? You're not.

That’s why we at AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching preach aggressive, thorough estimating. Present it all. And then…

Closing Ratio: Aim for 65% or Higher

If you’re presenting all the necessary work, you should be closing at least 65% of it. If your closing ratio is low, it's time for service advisor training—not marketing. Because more leads won’t help if you can’t close the ones you already have.

And don't forget: these numbers aren’t just for you as the owner—they should be shared with the team. Put them on the wall. Review them in meetings. Let everyone own the goals.

3. Inspections: DVI or Die

This is non-negotiable: You must be doing DVIs—Digital Vehicle Inspections—on every car, every time.

Why?

Because the data is in. From shops we’ve worked with at AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching, going from no inspection or a paper inspection to a DVI results in an average increase of $242 in sales per repair order. That’s not a typo. That’s real money.

Think about that. If you’re running 200 ROs a month, that’s $48,000 in missed revenue if you’re skipping inspections or doing them half-heartedly.

DVIs aren’t about upselling. They’re about trust and education. When you show the customer what’s happening with their vehicle—photos, videos, technician notes—it builds confidence and improves transparency.

But here’s the kicker: The inspection alone doesn’t sell anything. It’s the process around the inspection that makes it effective.

4. Process, Process, Process

Are you sticking to your process no matter what? Whether you’re booked solid or looking for work, the process should never change. This is one of the most common failures we coach on at AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching.

When shops get busy, they skip inspections to “save time.” When they get slow, they start discounting and abandoning the process out of desperation.

But the shops that win—long-term—are the ones who do the same thing, the same way, every single time.

Your process should include:

• Performing a complete DVI on every vehicle
  
  
• Quoting and presenting every recommended repair
  
  
• Following up on declined jobs
  
  
• Sending reminders for future service
  
  
• Tracking ARO, average estimate, and closing ratio daily/weekly
  
  

When business slows, your process should become even more dialed in. That’s the time to clean up your workflow, retrain your advisors, review your inspections, and find the weak links in your system.

5. Don’t Blame Marketing—Do It Better!

Now, let’s talk about marketing.

Here’s the truth: if your process is broken, marketing just exposes it faster.

You can’t out-market poor estimating. You can’t outspend your way to profitability if you’re not closing what’s already walking through the door.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t market. In fact, you should be marketing all the time, not just when it’s slow. That’s the rookie mistake. Shops get busy and stop advertising. Then, four weeks later when the wave crashes, they’re in panic mode.

AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching’s Marketing Rule:

Spend based on where you want to go—not where you are.

At Firestone of Durango, we spend $10,000 a month on marketing. Why? Because we’re building a $2 million shop. When we took over, we were doing $1 million a year. By the end of Year One, we’ll be at $1.5M—and we’re on track for $2M in 2026.

Marketing isn’t a quick fix—it’s a growth strategy.

And we don’t just throw that money around. We’re intentional with every dollar. That means investing in:

• Google Ads (search and display)
  
  
• Facebook and Instagram campaigns
  
  
• Email and text marketing platforms like AutoVitals, Autoflow, or Cinch
  
  
• LSA’s (Local Service Ads from Google)
  
  
• Plastic card direct mail (think: discount/service card hybrids that live in the customer’s wallet)
  
  
• High-quality website SEO and content strategy
  
  
• Customer retention programs and reactivation campaigns
  
  
• Online reviews and reputation management tools
  
  
• Community engagement: school partnerships, first responder specials, local sponsorships
  
  

We track results. We test offers. We pay attention to return on investment. And we do it every single month, whether we’re slow or slammed.

6. Slow Times Are Training Times

If things are quiet, your advisors and techs better be sharpening their skills. This is when we train, role-play, review estimates, and refine our process.

Here’s how to use downtime the smart way:

• Conduct mock estimate presentations
  
  
• Review past ROs and ask, “What did we miss?”
  
  
• Work with advisors on tonality and confidence
  
  
• Train techs on documenting better DVIs
  
  
• Clean up your CRM or text/email follow-up sequences
  
  
• Create scripts and SOPs
  
  

Slow doesn’t mean stop—it means strategize and strengthen.

7. Accountability: It Starts With You

As the owner, the tone is set at the top. If you’re shrugging your shoulders and saying “It’s just slow this time of year,” guess what your team is going to say? The same thing.

But if you get proactive—dig into the data, double down on training, push estimates harder, and stay positive—your team will follow.

Your team needs to know:

• What their goals are
  
  
• How they’re doing compared to those goals
  
  
• What their individual role is in achieving them
  
  

If they don’t know what the targets are, how can they help you hit them?

Final Thoughts: Stop Reacting, Start Leading

Here’s the big takeaway: when business slows down, it’s not a reason to panic—it’s a reason to get focused. If your estimate isn’t where it needs to be, fix that before you throw more money into marketing. If your inspections are weak, shore up your process before blaming the economy.

AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching clients who take this seriously see real results. We’re talking revenue jumps, improved margins, and a happier, more engaged team.

So the next time things slow down, don’t just sit and wait for the phone to ring. Grab your metrics. Review your estimates. Audit your inspections. Train your team. Invest in smart marketing.

Because at the end of the day, your future shop is being built during the quiet times—not the chaotic ones.


AutoFix is empowering auto repair shops to thrive and lead the market. Learn more here.