🔍 Your oldest and youngest customers find you differently

A recent survey by Alchemer asked about 1,000 people who visited a dealership, parts supplier, or service center in the past year how they got there. The answers split by age. Younger customers search, compare, and read reviews before they book. Older customers come back out of habit. Two-thirds of customers over 60 never read online reviews at all, and nearly half do zero research before they show up.

Google is the one thing that works across every age group. It is the first stop for review readers no matter how old they are. What people look for in those reviews splits, though. Younger customers trust the star rating. Older customers read the words, screening for quality of work. Alchemer also found that nearly one in four customers has never been asked for feedback about their visit, and women get asked less often than men.

Why it matters: Spending the same marketing dollars on every customer means you underperform with all of them. Search and reviews reach the under-45 crowd. Your older regulars respond to retention and referrals, plus a website that looks trustworthy. The feedback finding is the easy one to act on. When shops do send a feedback request, almost every customer finds it simple to fill out. The gap is that nearly a quarter of customers never get asked at all. Alchemer also found the most loyal customers are the least likely to see anything change after they do speak up, which is worth keeping in mind with your regulars.

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AutoZone executives told investors that customers keep deferring work. CFO Jamere Jackson said the company sees deferrals and trade-downs among its most financially squeezed DIY customers, even with an aging car park that normally helps business. Transactions are soft because people feel inflation everywhere at once.

CEO Phil Daniele split it into two buckets. Some of it is discretionary, like floor mats and seat covers, and nobody needs those to drive. The rest is maintenance, and that is the part that worries him. His words were direct: people push maintenance when money gets tight, but the parts still wear out, and eventually you get a failure. AAA makes the same point on the safety side, warning that skipped brake inspections can hide a problem you never notice until an emergency stop. NHTSA data shows about 9% of crashes involve a vehicle with tire problems beforehand.

Why it matters: This is what is already walking into your bay. A customer who put off a small repair six months ago now brings you a bigger one, and the bill shocks them. That makes the counter conversation harder, not easier. Some shops find that framing it as cost rather than risk lands better, since a brake job done on time is cheaper than rotors and calipers later. It may be worth thinking about whether that comparison would help your own customers say yes.

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Senators Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Bernie Moreno of Ohio tried to fast-track the Connected Vehicle Security Act last week and came up short when Senator Rand Paul objected. The bill would restrict the import, manufacture, and sale of connected vehicles, software, and hardware tied to China and other foreign adversaries. Vehicle and software limits would start in 2027, with hardware restrictions following in 2030.

Slotkin points to concerns about connected vehicles collecting data on U.S. roads and sending it abroad. Moreno focuses on state support for China's auto industry and what that means for U.S. manufacturing. The bill has backing from automakers, the UAW, the Teamsters, the Steelworkers, and MEMA. Some rules already exist, since a Commerce Department rule finalized in January 2025 restricts certain connectivity hardware and automated-driving software with significant China or Russia ties. The sponsors plan another attempt this week, and a House version still needs to move before anything reaches the president.

Why it matters: Hardware restrictions are the part that touches your parts bill. Plenty of sensors, modules, and connectivity components in the aftermarket trace back to Chinese suppliers, often without the box saying so. If rules eventually reach those parts, some of what sits on your shelf today may get harder to source or cost more. The 2030 date gives a long runway, but supply chains adjust slowly and suppliers tend to reprice early. There is also a diagnostic angle worth watching, since several popular scan tools and calibration systems come from Chinese manufacturers. Worth asking your distributors and tool reps whether any of this is on their radar yet, since they will feel it before you do.

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🔧 A Toyota technician quit after 11 years when a third-party warranty company refused the 2.3-hour book time on a Tundra fuel tank job and paid only the 0.8-hour factory warranty rate.

🚙 Governor Newsom signed Leno's Law, which starting in 2028 exempts 1976 to 1980 collector cars from California smog checks and rolls forward one model year annually through 1985.

⚡ Jaguar Land Rover is recalling 23,677 vehicles because a DC-DC converter can fail and cut drive power and exterior lights, with a free software update that adds a limp-home warning.

🎓 Stellantis joined ASE Connects as an elite partner, giving its dealers discounted access to tools that help them find and support local tech education programs.

🏛️ Shop owners in Michigan launched the Michigan Auto Body Association to give collision repairers a voice at the state capitol, with early priorities including anti-steering protections and pay for OEM-required procedures.