In January, car owners continued to perform more preventative work and nonessential repairs, 10 percent more than they normally do, according to survey responses collected from nearly 300 independent garage owners by Northcoast Research, in partnership with VehicleServicePros.com.   

Preventative maintenance has remained in an "encouraging tailwind" for several months, although January did see a lower than the average (17 percent) reading.

January also saw sales trends stagnate due to moderate winter weather and delayed tax returns, although those delays mostly effected the DIY channel. 

"Generally speaking, January’s data were disappointing when compared with the more upbeat survey results that we have seen since late summer/early fall," the survey results read. "The anemic traffic trends were noticeably affected by very unfavorable weather trends across the Great Lakes, Northeast, and Upper Mid-Atlantic regions of the country. Our contacts also suggested that they believe the delay of tax refunds pushed sales out of the period, which further compounded the weather headwinds. According to the IRS, the amount of total tax returns received through February 3 was down 24.3 percent from the previous year’s period, and refunds disbursed were down 77.6 percent, or $45 billion. However, the commentary from the vendor community suggests that the tax refund issue is a bigger obstacle for the DIY channel."

One anonymous survey respondent from Ohio noticed a change in business from the end of last year.

"I ended last year on a high note, but my business has stalled out in January," they wrote. "This balmy weather and lack of tax refunds are all I can point to. I hope that is all it is.”