Even auto repair businesses are getting hammered

an anecdotal story from a blog I read . . . . . "My 16 year old daughter recently decided to see how fast she can drive on ice in her brand new car and learned a life long lesson. I took the vehicle to a local automotive repair facility that is professionally run and a very large facility. I spoke with the owner at length and she told me business was down 33% over the last 12 months. She thought her business was recession proof but that is not the case with this latest recession. She has been in business for over a decade and has never had a down year. The trend is for people to take the insurance money and not repair their cars. She told me to look around and notice how many dinged up cars are on the road these days. She also noticed a major trend towards $1000 deductibles versus $500 in order to save premiums. She really hoped things would turn around because her margins were down to 9% and asked what I thought. I didn't have the heart to tell her what I thought. Good news is someone backed into my car last night so I'll be giving her more business."