7 minute read
The latest on OBD II tools and updates
from Modern Tire Dealer - October 2022
by EndeavorBusinessMedia-VehicleRepairGroup
Belle Tire plans to add 60 more stores in the Chicago, Ill., area. “We like high-barrier-ofentry markets,” says Barnes. “It’s going to keep a lot of different competitors out.”
Photo: Belle Tire Distributors Inc.
Several of those are along Interstate 465, which surrounds Indianapolis, whose population grew by nearly 10% between 2010 and 2020, according to the Indianapolis Business Journal. (More than 1.8 million people live in the greater Indianapolis area today.)
Energized by its rapid success in Indiana, Belle Tire then eyed another, larger market — the suburbs of Chicago, Ill.
O en called “Chicagoland,” the area is home to 9.6 million people, making it the third largest metropolitan area in the United States and the largest metro area within the Great Lakes region.
Belle Tire opened its rst Chicago-area store in Villa Park. Ill., in November 2021.
Since then, 10 locations have been added in suburbs Aurora, Mokena, St. Charles, Joliet, Naperville and others, with four more planned to open by the end of October.
Barnes says Belle Tire will have 70 stores throughout the Chicago area by the year 2025.
“Chicagoland has been a great market for us,” says Barnes. “ e stores we have opened are performing well. We’ve been able to win a lot of hearts and minds and are excited to continue our growth.”
Like its Indiana stores, all of Belle Tire’s stores in Chicago have been new builds. e cost of living in Chicago is roughly 20% higher than in Indianapolis. Wages are higher. Real estate is considerably more expensive, too. None of these things deterred Belle Tire, according to Barnes.
“We like high-barrier-of-entry markets,” he says. “It’s going to keep a lot of di erent competitors out. When you have a highbarrier-of-entry market because of real estate, labor costs or advertising, we like that.
“Chicago is a huge market with a dense population and an incredible car count. We’re really enjoying this opportunity.”
Belle Tire empowers its employees to make decisions that best t their market and customer’s situation, according to Barnes. But the dealership sets up “guard rails,” he says.
“I wouldn’t say it’s as rigid as ‘We have these standard operating procedures you have to follow’ and it’s not the wild, wild west either, where it’s ‘Do whatever you want.’
“We give every single employee the autonomy to take care of the customer. No one has ever gotten in trouble for taking too good care of a customer.
“We work with a ‘default yes’ mentality. We always look to say yes before no. I think that’s what brings strong talent to Belle when we go into new markets. We’re culture- rst, with very e cient operations that (enable us to) back up everything we say we do.
“I’ve always said that ‘retail is detail’ and it’s all those little things that make Belle Tire what we are. And who does that? Our people.
“When a customer comes in with a problem, we’re empathetic, we’re smiling, we’re educating them and we’re getting them back on the road.”
AHEAD ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Part of Barnes’ job entails keeping an eye on current and emerging tire and automotive trends and making sure Belle Tire’s employees are equipped to address them. “You have electric vehicles (EV), you have advanced driver assistance systems,” he says. “At Belle Tire, we fully service EVs right now. We’re a full-service EV shop, other than EV battery replacement and service.”
Barnes says the continuing consolidation of independent tire dealerships is “a good thing” for Belle Tire.
“We’ve been able to scoop up strong, talented people” a er their previous employers were acquired. (Barnes calls them “Belle Tire folks who weren’t wearing Belle Tire shirts yet.”)
He also says employee recruitment — particularly on the technician side — hasn’t been a major challenge.
Belle Tire has its own training program for tire techs who want to become auto service techs. It also partners with Lincoln Tech, an automotive trade school that has multiple locations, to identify and recruit new talent. (In 2021, Belle Tire paid for the remodeling of a classroom at Lincoln Tech’s Indianapolis location.)
“ e more we can invest in creating auto service techs, we know we’ll be better o for it. We want everyone to know they can have a career at Belle Tire — not just a job.”
BEING A ‘SUPERHERO’
Barnes says Belle Tire “has a great growth trajectory.” e long-term plan is to keep the dealership in the Barnes family, despite the fact that “we get calls” from potential buyers “all the time.
“We’re not interested in entertaining any of those calls. We’re focused on our growth and what we need to do to serve the communities we’re in.” e most exciting thing about being an independent business, he says, “is that we get to be the moment in time when we make our customers’ day better. ey come to us because they have a problem and the problem just happens to be with their vehicle. ey’re upset, they’ve had to rearrange their schedule — it’s a hassle.
“When they leave, their car is xed and we’ve solved their problem. I tell our guys, ‘We get the opportunity to wear that red cape every day. We get to be that superhero. We get to be the reason why their day is better.’ It’s because of this that we have multi-generational customers who keep coming back. ere’s no other place they want to go.” ■
SUPPLIERS DISCUSS WHAT’S NEW
By Maddie Gehring
Keeping up with — and using — the latest OBD II technology can help streamline and boost the e ciency of your operation.
OBD II tool manufacturers and suppliers recently shared information about new products and updates to existing tools. A few products even o er tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) capabilities.
ATEQ TPMS Tools LC’s VT67 enables technicians to perform “quick and e cient” TPMS diagnostic work on encrypted Stellantis models, model year 2018 and up — ultimately covering more than 200 makes, models and years, says Renan Ludscher, North American database manager, ATEQ.
“ e tool connects with the car and establishes an initial connection with the gateway. It then carries some of the data back to the AutoAuth network and receives the encryption keys needed to open the gateway and allow for diagnostic work.”
ATEQ regularly updates the VT67 through secure gateway or encrypted electronic systems, adds Ludscher.
Autel recently released its Ultra EV, 2909 EV and the EV Diagnostic Upgrade Kit. And the company’s Remote Expert became available for Autel’s MS Ultra, MS 919 and MS 909 tablets a few months ago.
“ e Remote Expert platform enables a technician to contract with experienced module programmers and diagnosticians directly through the Remote Expert app on his MS Ultra, MS9119 or MS909 tablet,” says Allison Whitney, Autel content manager .
“ is expert module programmer or diagnostic (tech) can connect to the vehicle in the shop to perform a contracted task.”
Tire dealers can purchase MS Ultra, MS909 EV tablets or Autel’s EV Diagnostic Upgrade Kit for their existing MSUltra, MS919 or MS909 tablets “to have complete, advanced diagnostic capability for gas, diesel, electric and hybrid vehicles.” e new tablets and EV Diagnostic Upgrade Kit include adaptors that enable direct battery analysis “if the standard communication network is either unavailable on the vehicle or is not functioning.”
Tablets can also quickly display an “all-in-one status of the battery pack’s state of charge, state of health, overall voltage and temperature and a detailed analysis of each battery module.”
Bosch has updated its ADS 525X tool to include model year 2022 original equipment-level coverage. at includes dynamic advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) calibration, DTC code coverage and more.
“We are continually working to add the latest vehicle coverage
ATEQ TPMS Tools LC’s VT67 enables technicians to perform “quick and ef cient” TPMS diagnostic work on encrypted Stellantis models, model year 2018 and up.
Photo: ATEQ
Autel recently released its Ultra EV, 2909 EV and the EV Diagnostic Upgrade Kit. And the company’s Remote Expert became available for Autel’s MS Ultra, MS 919 and MS 909 tablets a few months ago, according to Autel of cials.
Photo: Autel
Bosch has updated its ADS 525X tool to include model year 2022 original equipment-level coverage. That includes dynamic advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) calibration, DTC code coverage and more.
Photo: Bosch
