AUTOMOBILES : Tools are Weapons in War Between Dealers, Independent Garages

Independent garages have competed with new car dealers on price, service and convenience probably since Henry Ford rolled out the first Model T in 1908.

To judge by the number of car repair shops in the country, they’ve done very well. It is not unusual for new car owners to abandon the dealer’s service department as soon as the warranty expires. But car dealers continue to change, as do the cars that the auto makers build.

A keen understanding of cars and a good set of wrenches isn’t enough in these days of microprocessor-controlled brake, ignition and fuel systems and emissions systems plumbed like an Atlas missile.

Mazda Motor of America is hoping to take advantage of today’s auto complexity in a new campaign it has launched to woo Mazda owners back into the dealers’ arms.

In a series of mailings to 1.7 million Mazda owners in the United States, the Irvine-based company--Mazda’s North American import, distribution and dealer development arm--says that only the tools it engineers for its vehicles should be used in making repairs. And of course, the campaign stresses, only Mazda dealers can get those tools.

Each dealer has to invest about $30,000 in some 300 tools to properly care for the 12 models of cars and pickup trucks that Mazda markets in this country, the company says.

Most auto makers these days are like Mazda, with their own proprietary tools and test equipment. Torrance-based Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. has been stressing the advantages of visiting its dealers for repairs in a series of print and radio ads for several months now.

But independent garage owners say they can buy generic versions of the repair devices and can obtain computer programs for diagnosing engine ills within a few months of their introduction by the factories.

Just how good the copies are is a subject of debate, but their existence has enabled independents like Ken Trujillo to stay in business.

The auto makers, he said “aren’t too cooperative selling you a tool you need, but we can get them from aftermarket companies, usually within a month or two after they come out.”

Trujillo, owner of Independent Repair Service Center in Fullerton, specializes in Nissan and Toyota repairs and maintains that he is every bit as well equipped as an authorized dealer.