Service Repair (DIFM) Was Clobbered in 2020 & Has Yet to Regain its Pre-COVID Share
The Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) market (repair by technicians) steadily expanded its share of the car and light truck aftermarket product volume in the U.S.
By 2019, DIFM repair claimed over 80 percent of the light vehicle aftermarket, constantly reducing the product share of Do-It-Yourself repair since the turn of the new millennium. However, DIFM product growth abruptly halted with the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
The sudden rise in Do-It-Yourself (DIY) work during 2020 and the corresponding decline of the DIFM market were two of the most dramatic aftermarket consequences of COVID-19. DIFM repair has staged a historic recovery over the past five years (2021 to 2025), but Lang Marketing projects that its 2026 share of light-vehicle aftermarket repair will remain below its 2019 peak. This DIFM rollercoaster ride is covered in detail in the 2027 Lang Aftermarket Annual.
DIFM Dominates the Aftermarket
Prior to the advent of COVID-19 in 2020, the Do-It-Yourself market had steadily expanded its share of car and light-truck aftermarket product volume.
The long-term DIFM aftermarket growth has been driven by four forces: the aging U.S. population, the moderate costs and increasing convenience of many DIFM jobs, growing vehicle complexity and foreign nameplates’ increased share of aftermarket product sales.
Consumer Age and How Auto Repair Is Conducted
Traditionally, Do-It-Yourself (DIY) automotive work is most often performed by consumers under 40, whose primary motivation is to save money.
Older Americans have found they can save much more money on DIY home improvement projects than on automotive DIY work.
Accordingly, Do-It-Yourself automotive work has declined significantly among older Americans, who choose to have technicians repair their vehicles rather than do the work themselves.
Moderate DIFM Prices & Increasing Convenience
Many common automotive repairs, such as oil changes and brake repairs, can be purchased quickly and economically at Quick Lubes and Quick Service lanes.
The savings consumers can realize from doing these automotive DIY jobs have declined in recent years, as it has become increasingly convenient to have these repairs performed at specialty outlets.
Vehicle Complexity Increases
Light vehicles are steadily becoming more complex, requiring technical skills and specialized tools and equipment that are not widely available to ordinary consumers.
A growing number of automotive repairs are too complex for many consumers to perform. In addition, many younger consumers do not have the interest in vehicles that their parents did and have not acquired the knowledge necessary to perform many automotive repairs.
Foreign Vehicle Growth
The growth of foreign vehicles has increased DIFM work for several reasons.
First, aftermarket products for many foreign vehicles are not as readily available at retail to DIYers as comparable products for domestic nameplates. Second, special tools are often required to work on foreign vehicles. These and other factors have boosted the DIFM share of foreign nameplate repairs.
DIFM Share of Growth Pre-COVID
Do-It-For-Me automotive repair generated most of the increase in aftermarket product volume between 2000 and 2012. From 2012 to 2019, the DIFM volume accounted for over 90 percent of the total growth in aftermarket products.
COVID-19 Shakes Up the Aftermarket
COVID-19 had an immediate and dramatic impact on the mix and volume of DIFM and DIY repair. The sudden plunge in 2020 driving, along with other economic and social factors, reduced the rate of automotive repair, hitting the DIFM market especially hard.
To stimulate consumer spending, the government’s “stimulus checks” put extra money into the pockets of millions of Americans, prompting many consumers to purchase vehicle accessories, which have much higher rates of DIY installation than replacement parts.
2020 DIY Sales Surge
The percentage of automotive work performed by DIYers shot up dramatically in 2020 (by more than one-fifth), as DIY product volume soared by over $2.5 billion. At the same time, DIFM volume plunged by more than $11 billion at user-price.
However, the impact of COVID-19 did not diminish the underlying forces that had driven DIFM repair for decades. Accordingly, in 2021 and 2022, as the aftermarket rebounded from the 2020 downturn, DIFM work soared in both dollar volume and share of the automotive repair market.
Nevertheless, DIFM sales in 2022 topped 2019 sales by $3.2 billion, while DIY sales in 2022 were $5 billion higher than in 2019.
Growth Share During 2021-2025 Recovery
The DIFM market went into overdrive amid the unprecedented rebound in aftermarket product volume from 2021 to 2025. During these five years, DIFM product volume accounted for over 85 percent of total light-vehicle aftermarket product growth.
Years Before DIFM Tops Pre-COVID Sales Share
Lang Marketing projects that the DIFM market will continue to gain strength in 2026 and beyond, as the underlying factors driving DIFM growth prior to COVID-19 remain robust.
Nevertheless, Lang Marketing expects it will take until nearly 2030 for the DIFM segment of the U.S. light-vehicle repair market to surpass its 2019 share of aftermarket product volume.
Six Major Takeaways
• For decades, the Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) repair segment steadily expanded its share of car and light-truck aftermarket product volume in the U.S. In 2020, DIFM growth abruptly halted with the onset of COVID-19, and its impact has been long-lasting.
• Four key factors have driven DIFM growth in the light-vehicle aftermarket: the aging U.S. population, the moderate cost and convenience of many common DIFM repair jobs, growing vehicle complexity and the increased aftermarket product share of foreign nameplates.
• The DIFM and DIY repair markets were hit differently by COVID-19. The DIY auto repair market shot up dramatically in 2020 (by more than one-fifth), as DIY product volume soared by over $2.5 billion. In sharp contrast, DIFM repair suffered a historic plunge of $11 billion at user-price, its largest-ever peacetime annual decline.
• COVID-19 did not lessen the underlying forces that had been driving DIFM volume for many years. Accordingly, the aftermarket rebound during 2021 and 2025 was driven by a surge in DIFM dollar volume and product share. During these five years, DIFM sales generated over 85 percent of total light vehicle aftermarket product growth.
• Lang Marketing projects that the DIFM market will continue to expand in 2026 and the following years. Despite this, Lang Marketing expects it will take until nearly 2030 for the DIFM segment of the light-vehicle repair market in the U.S. to surpass its 2019 share of aftermarket product volume, underscoring the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on the aftermarket.
• For complete details of the growth of DIFM work before 2020, the impact of COVID-19 on DIFM work in 2020, and the rebound in DIFM work during 2021 to 2025, see the 2027 Lang Aftermarket Annual. Over 95 percent of the Lang Annual’s 316 pages present information and analysis found nowhere else. Visit langmarketing.com/lang-auto-aftermarket-annual-report.php for details.
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