Testing every batery in the fall is a ‘right-selling’ opportunity

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Making it happen

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Testing every battery in the fall is a

‘right-selling’ opportunity

By Ann Neal

All but the youngest drivers remember when a slow cranking start or dim headlights signaled a dying batery. Tose days are gone. Modern vehicles start instantly until — with no warning — they don’t. Many no-start problems occur when temperatures drop just a few degrees.

In warm weather, a vehicle’s electronics compensate for the lower power output of a marginal batery. Tat doesn’t happen when temperatures dip. A batery loses 35% of its power at 32 degrees, says John Philbrook, director of the afermarket transportation group at Midtronics Inc. Citing statistics from the not-for-proft Batery Council International, he says a batery at 32 degrees can only produce 65% of the power it had at 80 degrees. “As it gets colder the batery loses the power to produce energy, and the car requires more energy to crank it. At the frst cold spell, no-starts are widespread.

“Te benefts of a tire dealer geting into the market today have never been beter because bateries and vehicles give absolutely no forewarning before a no-start,” he says.

Philbrook compares the fnal stages of batery life to standing on the edge of a clif. “Bateries don’t have a nice trend line when they get to the fnal stage of their useful life. You don’t know you’re standing on the edge of the clif or even starting to fall down it until instead of a slow start you get absolutely nothing at all.”

The 3200 battery tester from Bosch interfaces with a smart device to read and display battery data contained on the tool’s QR code. A full-color battery report can be printed, saved or emailed to your customers.

A strategy to boost revenue

Mat Anderson, product manager for of the Automotive Service Solutions division of the Bosch Group, says batery service is ofen overlooked. “People just assume and sometimes technicians do, too, that because they were able to crank the vehicle over the batery must be fne. It may be fne today, but you may be doing your customer a disservice by not at least alerting them the batery may be in a marginal state of health.”

Puting a testing program in place can dramatically increase batery sales and batery revenue, according to Anderson. “Just because a batery is starting fne in the summer doesn’t mean that the batery will be adequate when it is zero degrees. It isn’t upselling, it’s right-selling when in late summer you are testing every batery.”

Jim O’Hara, vice president of marketing for Clore Automotive Inc., suggests shops entice and encourage each of their employees to incorporate batery testing into their service routines. “In this way, the shop provides a consistent experience to customers and ensures they do not miss out on this opportunity.”

Anderson says Bosch has seen 200% to 300% increases in batery revenue in quick lube shops that have implemented testing programs.

“Depending on the area of the country, sometimes as high as 30% of the bateries that are coming into their shop are being classifed as replace now or replace soon. Tat’s a prety big opportunity for a shop to increase revenue.”

Dale Gospodarek, vice president marketing and strategy for the Power Solutions division of Johnson Controls Inc., sees similar potential.

“Our research tells us that roughly one in four vehicles will need a new batery each year. Additionally, the research tells us that 95% of consumers would be willing to have their batery tested when asked by their mechanic. If that test proves their batery is in a weakened state, more than two-thirds are willing to have their batery replaced within a week.”

Too complex for DIYers

Te complexity of batery replacement has made consumers more receptive to having it done when their vehicle is in for service than just 10 years ago, according to O’Hara. “Replacing a batery used to be simple stuf. If you knew your batery size and the required CCA rating, you were good to go. Tese days, it is much more complicated.

“First is the question of batery type. Is it a fooded batery? AGM (absorbent glass mat) batery? Another type? Next is the fact the batery is ofen located in a difcult-to-access location.

“Finally, even when the batery is easily accessed in the engine compartment, it is ofen confgured in a much more complicated way than in years past. Whereas it used to have just a positive cable connection and a ground connection, we ofen see elaborate electrical feeds coming of the positive connection — creating a complicated process when it comes to changing out the batery,” says O’Hara.

A reset procedure is one complication, according to Bosch’s Anderson. “For some of these new electrical systems you have to perform a batery reset procedure and actually communicate to the engine control module and tell it that you replaced the batery using a diagnostic tool.

“If you fail to do that reset procedure, the alternator is going to try to charge that new batery incorrectly, and you’re actually going to dramatically reduce the life expectancy of that batery.”

In addition, the possibility of damaging costly electronics makes many vehicle owners hesitant to jump start a batery, says Midtronics’ Philbrook. “Te availability and the want of people to allow you to connect to their vehicle and the ability for people to have that knowledge any more is much less than it was before.”

More than bateries

Testing every car is a proven strategy to increase revenue at the shop level, according to O’Hara. “Without a doubt, adding regular batery and system checks can help shops increase revenue on the same number of vehicles serviced.”

O’Hara says testing the batery, starting system and charging system of each vehicle that the shop brings in will result in numerous additional opportunities to

Clore says its Solar BA327 battery tester offers comprehensive testing capability of 6V and 12V batteries and many features such as 10-foot leads, a unique code for each battery test and a counter that records every test performed.

speak to customers about failing or soon-to-be failing bateries, rotating electrical components such as the starter motor and alternator, and connection issues.

“For every 100 vehicles serviced, if each and every one were tested, the studies we’ve seen say that anywhere from 14 to 27 would result in an opportunity to discuss a service issue. Tis is a huge opportunity. A shop that can present batery replacement as simple, easy and not too damaging to the pocketbook has an opportunity to not only increase their revenue but really help their customers.”

O’Hara says Clore ofers two testers to address the opportunity, Solar model numbers BA327 and BA9. Te BA327 includes a counter that keeps track of how many batery tests are performed and can be reset at any point.

Bosch’s Anderson says its 3200 smart batery tester can help dealers explain batery health to their customers. He says it is the frst batery tester on the market to interface with smart devices, which are becoming more integrated into the diagnostic process.

Te OTC 3200 prepares a full-color report that can be saved, printed or sent by email to customers. “Tis is meant to allow you to have that engaging conversation with your customer, helping them understand exactly what you are saying to them.”

Tere are opportunities to improve revenues in other replacement parts and services because an older low-voltage batery starts the car but strains other expensive electric systems. Te alternator runs at full feld to try to charge a batery that won’t take a charge anymore. Tat in turn leads to premature wear of other electrical systems, which can be much more costly to replace than a batery, according to Philbrook.

Shops that integrate battery service into their routine maintenance packages for winterization and spring tune-ups will be in a position to identify and sell proftable preventive maintenance opportunities. Batery service can also add value to simple jobs like oil changes.

A dealer advises customers of oil that needs to be changed and tires that need to be replaced. Bateries are no diferent, says Philbrook. “We’re not trying to sell the customer something they don’t need. All we’re trying to do is advise them that they are geting to a point where they may turn the key and nothing will happen. Te marketplace has never been beter for helping inform customers.” ■

Midtronics offers products to test batteries and electrical systems in minutes and provide a printout for customer review in seconds. The EXP800 series (pictured) with integrated printer is designed for preventive maintenance programs.