Service Station & Garage Management August 2012

RE A D BY AU T OMO TI V E REPA IR SHO HOP OW NERS A ND TECHNICI A NS SINCE 195 55

A U GUS AU GU G U ST S T 2012

Training Time Reputation Management Oil Report

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SSGM what’s inside August 2012

Vol. 42 No. 6

Service Station and Garage Management

EDITOR Tom Venetis (416) 510-6790 tom@ssgm.com TECHNICAL EDITOR Jim Anderton jim@ssgm.com CONTRIBUTING WRITER Nestor Gula PUBLISHER Marc Gadbois (416) 510-6776 marc@ssgm.com SALES MANAGER Jay Armstrong (416) 510-6745 ACCOUNT MANAGER Jim Petsis (416) 510-6842 CIRCULATION MANAGER Selina Rahaman (416) 442-5600 ext 3528 srahaman@bizinfogroup.ca SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES Roshni Thava (416) 442-5600 ext 3555 ART DIRECTOR Ron Taylor

See Page 12

PRODUCTION MANAGER Steve Hofmann (416) 510-6757

See Page 16

PRINT PRODUCTION MANAGER Phyllis Wright

Training Cost and time are not the problems with training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Oil Report

VICE PRESIDENT CANADIAN PUBLISHING Alex Papanou PRESIDENT BUSINESS INFORMATION GROUP Bruce Creighton

The growing trend and market for using recycled oils. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 AWARD-WINNING MAGAZINE

Aftermarket Forum What is in the box is the battle all shops, parts suppliers deal with. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Shop Profile Toronto Automatic Transmission finds specialization pays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Reputation Management Protecting your online business reputation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

TACT Are all your customer really cheapskates?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Departments Editorial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Baywatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Internet Directory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Advertiser Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Jim’s Rant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

*For BlackBerrys: Go to your BlackBerry messenger and select Scan Barcode. *For iPhones: Use the App Store to download Beetagg Reader Pro.

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“We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities.”

In association with CANADIAN

AUTOMOTIVE Member of

Technician

Inc.

HEAD OFFICE Business Information Group 80 Valleybrook Drive Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 Contact us via one of the following methods: Telephone: 416-442-5600 Facsimile: 416-510-5169 Website: www.ssgm.com Service Station and Garage Management is published

by BIG Magazines LP, a div. of Glacier BIG Holdings Company Ltd., a leading Cana­dian information company with interests in daily and community news­papers and business-to-business information services.

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|| Tom’s Editorial

The Economics Of Selling Maintenance

If you have not read Jim Anderton’s Rant, stop right now and do so.

By Tom Venetis, Editor

Brakes, shocks and struts have to be replaced at regular intervals, just as you have to regularly replace a vehicle’s oil and filter.

Studies in Canada and in the United States have found millions of untapped maintenance and repair dollars because of deferred

Now that you have had time to pick your jaw up from the floor, what more can be added to the horrors Jim Anderton has recounted? Yes, we all have likely had a vehicle owner drive up to our shop’s front door in a vehicle that long-ago should have been condemned and consigned to the scrap heap. They are not only risking their own lives, but the lives of everyone else on the road.

There are some who will resist to the bitter end spending a single dime on vehicle maintenance and repair, proving the adage that human stupidity is the most common element in the universe after hydrogen. Thankfully, not everyone allows their vehicles fall into such states of disrepair.

If people forgo certain vehicle maintenance and repair work, it is not because they are cheap. It comes down to simple economics. If you can, take a look at the recent survey by the U.S.-based Northcoast Research. This firm publishes a monthly index surveying fifty independent service shops in ten major U.S. states, including several major auto parts suppliers. Looking at the trend lines from September of 2009 to April of this year shows how vehicle maintenance work and parts sales tracked with the slow down of the economy. That is not surprising. I’ve written about this subject before and everyone who owns a service shop in Canada has likely seen a similar trend.

People hold off on a wide range of discretionary spending during economic downturns, one being vehicle maintenance and repair. No one wants a tire to fall off the car while going about their business; they will hold off as long as they can on less critical and non-safety-related work. One positive trend is that people are holding onto their cars longer, as the NDP Group in the United States and AIA Canada have discovered.

Maintenance work, however, can only be deferred for so long. Brakes, shocks and struts have to be replaced at regular intervals, just as you have to regularly replace a vehicle’s oil and filter. Studies in Canada and in the United States have found millions of untapped maintenance and repair dollars because of deferred maintenance work.

When will this windfall happen? Probably not very soon because the same economic trends that have pushed people to defer maintenance work are still in play. That is not to say progressive service shops can’t finds ways to tap into these maintenance dollars. Maintenance work can only be deferred for so long before problems, sometime serious, begin to happen.

maintenance work.

What do you think?

Have your say and speak your mind! letterstotheeditor@ssgm.com 6 SSGM August 2012

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|| News Briefs Liqui Moly to Exhibit at Automechanica

The motor oil and additive producer Liqui Moly has announced it will exhibit at the upcoming Automechanica Trade Fair in Frankfurt, Germany from September 11-16th. With over 400 square meters of floor space the company will present itself in the entry area of Hall 9.1 at booth C06 — a major appearance at the world’s largest trade fair for the aftermarket. Newly developed products will also be on display. This includes a diesel additive to ensure that the particulate filter does not clog up so quickly, thus increasing its service life.

For countries with a high percentage of sulfur in their fuel, Liqui Moly researchers have developed the TBN Booster: In the engine oil this oil additive inhibits formation of sulfuric acid.

This allows an increase in oil change intervals of up to 25 per cent. And in terms of the motor oils themselves, a whole series of recently advanced and completely new grades will be introduced for commercial vehicles.

Vast-Auto Distribution Announces the Opening of a Distribution Centre in Quebec City

Vast-Auto Distribution announced the opening of its newest distribution centre in Quebec City next September.

Since the acquisition of Base Automotive in 2007 and the opening of a second distribution centre in Ontario in 2009, this newest addition in Quebec’s Capital brings Vast-Auto’s total number of distribution centres to four.

Vast-Auto is enthusiastic about this addition claiming it will offer a strong value proposition to parts store located in Quebec City and the surroundings.

The significant investment in inventory will provide local parts stores with a wide assortment of vehicle parts and accessories of both national and private label brands therefore reducing lead times and allowing them to better serve their customers. “The addition of a distribution centre in Quebec City will favourably position us to effectively and efficiently service parts stores located in the region” said John Del Vasto, presi8 SSGM August 2012

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dent of Vast-Auto Distribution.

Malcolm Sissmore to Lead Telematics, Diagnostics and Training Sales for Delphi

Delphi Product & Service Solutions announced Malcolm Sissmore will expand his current role as country director, Canada, to assume responsibility for leading sales efforts for telematics, diagnostics and training sales in North America effective July 1, 2012.

“Delphi’s OE engineering and manufacturing expertise enables us to deliver a robust aftermarket service solutions program well received by our customers,” said Lúcia Veiga Moretti, president, Delphi Product & Service Solutions. “With his technical background and extensive sales experience, Malcolm is a natural leader to coordinate the sales of telematics, diagnostics and training for Delphi Product & Service Solutions.”

Delphi’s telematics program was initially launched in the insurance industry and has grown over the past two years. Using a recently launched plug-in device with an advanced feature set, Delphi is now focused on making telematics a reality in the car care industry by working with key customers to develop innovative programs for repair shops. The business opportunity with telematics is significant for repair shops, as it moves them in the direction of social, relationship-based trends established with drivers through electronic connections to create loyalty and trust.

The Altrom Group announces Supplier of the Year, Sales People of the Year for USA, Canada at North America Sales Summit

The Altrom Group, a division of Genuine Parts Company, held its 2012 North American Sales Summit June 24th - 27th in Vancouver, B.C. This three-day event was attended by Altrom’s management team, sales professionals and key vendor partners from around the world. During the event, several awards were presented at the Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony celebrating achievements in 2011.

Akebono, a supplier of OE brake products was named 2011 Altrom Group Supplier of the Year. This award honors Altrom’s most accomplished vendor based on performance measurements including sales increases, fill rate, marketing, sales support, product quality and coverage. “Akebono has been a vendor partner of Altrom’s for the past three years and have proven their commitment to both quality and service,” said Scott Mountford, president of The Altrom Group. “They are committed to Altrom’s growth by providing Altrom outstanding product support with their high quality products and vehicle coverage. They have proven to be an outstanding vendor partner and they are truly deserving of this prestigious award.”

Tim Rose was once again named Altrom America Sales Person of the Year for 2011. Mr. Rose is a 28-year Altrom veteran who is responsible for a sales territory which includes Denver, Portland and Hawaii. “This award represents the second year in a row that Tim Rose has been presented with this prestigious achievement. Tim consistently out performs his sales responsibilities and is well respected by both the Altrom management team and his customers,” said Scott Mountford, president, Altrom Group. “He is truly deserving of this award.”

Ryan Wilford was named Altrom Canada Sales Person of the Year for 2011. “Although Ryan is a relative newcomer to the industry, he brings a wealth of sales experience and tenacity to the Altrom Canada team,” said Dean Medwid, vice-president and general manager of Altrom Canada Corp.. Mr. Wilford is responsible for the Scarborough, Ontario territory. Through hard work and dedication to his customers, Ryan grew his region by nine per cent in 2011.

New ProTech Technical Bulletins from Cardone Industries

Cardone has released more of their popular, time-saving, ProTech technical bulletins. Included with the written technical bulletins are links to several short new tech videos posted on www.ssgm.com

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|| News Briefs their growing YouTube page. For more information or additional ProTech bulletins visit the Tech Help section on www.cardone.com.

Uni-Select Congratulates Business Partners

Uni-Select Inc. recognized and congratulated the suppliers listed below for their excellent achievements in 2011.

The high fill rates achieved are a testament to their efficiency and level of service. The “fill rate” is the rate at which orders are expedited to UniSelect by our vendor partners, i.e., the percentage of the merchandise on order that was delivered to our distribution centers throughout North America.

“For Uni-Select, a high fill rate is very important in order for us to properly deliver to our customers. As such, with the support of our suppliers, this allows us to fulfill our customers’ orders effectively and meet delivery deadlines to which we are committed,” says Michel Laverdure, vice-president, corporate purchasing for Uni-Select Inc. For the Uni-Select Canada Automotive Group With a fill rate between 92 per cent and 94 per cent: • Affinia Canada Corp Wix • Honeywell • Wilson Auto Electric • Mark IV Industries (Dayco) • Grote Industries Canada With a fill rate of 95 per cent and up: • ASC Industries Inc For the Uni-Select USA Automotive Group With a fill rate between 92 per cent and 94 per cent: • Airtex Automotive Divison • BBB Industries • Honeywell • Spectra premium International With a fill rate of 95 per cent and up: • IAP Dura International • Grote Industries Inc • ATP Inc • Affinia Wix During the Uni-Select 2012 North American customer incentive trip, held February 4-11, 2012, suppliers joined customers on a seven-day Caribbean cruise which got underway at the Port of New Orleans and visited Cozumel in 10 SSGM August 2012

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Mexico, George Town in the Cayman Islands and Falmouth, Jamaica. During the Farewell Cocktail reception, attending supplier representatives were presented with their respective award

by Uni-Select’s VP corporate purchasing, Michel Laverdure and Executive VP, Gary O’Connor.

Carquest U.S. Leadership Changes

General Parts International Inc. president and CEO O. Temple Sloan, III announced that Carquest U. S. president Mike Broderick has decided to leave the company. In the interim, Sloan will assume responsibility for the Carquest U.S. business, and David McCartney, EVP chief information officer (CIO) for GPI Technologies will lead information technology and supply chain operations.

“David’s management experience and knowledge of the industry makes him the right person for this position,” Sloan said. “With over 20 years in leadership of distribution operations, including warehousing, transportation and customer service functions, David will have an immediate impact on supply chain operations.”

Ken Bush has been promoted to senior vice-president Merchandising and Marketing, and Braxton O’Neal has been promoted to senior vice president, Global Product Supply, both reporting directly to Sloan.

In his new role, O’Neal will lead purchasing, inventory management, pricing, classification, product information, and global sourcing. With over 34 years experience in the automotive aftermarket, O’Neal has been with Carquest for the past 25 years.

Study Finds Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa Are Among the Top 10 Most Congested Cities in North America

TomTom launched the first quarterly Congestion Index that accurately identifies and analyzes traffic congestion in major cities across North America.

The report, initially covering 26 major cities, finds Vancouver to be the most congested city in Canada and the second most congested city in North

America. On average, journey times in Vancouver take 30 per cent longer than when traffic in the city is flowing freely and 65 per cent longer during evening rush hour. Toronto (#9) and Ottawa (#10) also made the list of the top 10 most congested cities in North America. The TomTom Congestion Index, including individual city reports, can be found at www.tomtom.com/ congestionindex.

The TomTom Congestion Index is the world’s most accurate barometer of congestion in urban areas. The Index is uniquely based on real time travel data captured by vehicles driving along the entire road network within the select cities. TomTom’s traffic database contains over six trillion data measurements and is growing by five billion measurements every day.

The Congestion Index compares travel time during non-congested periods (free flow) with travel times in peak hours. The difference is expressed as a percentage increase in travel time, representing the congestion level. The top ten most congested cities, ranked by overall congestion level, between January and March 2012 were: 1. Los Angeles, 33 per cent 2. Vancouver, 30 per cent 3. Miami, 26 per cent 4. Seattle, 25 per cent 5. Tampa, 25 per cent 6. San Francisco, 25 per cent 7. Washington, 24 per cent 8. Houston, 23 per cent 9. Toronto, 22 per cent 10. Ottawa, 22 per cent “Over the years, with the help of our customers, we have built the largest and most accurate database of travel times in the world,” said Harold Goddijn, chief executive officer of TomTom. “When we combine this travel database with our detailed real-time traffic information and routing technology, we can not only pinpoint congestion, but can guide drivers away from congested areas onto faster routes.”

“Even when only a percentage of drivers use a different and faster route, the available capacity on the entire road network increases, which benefits all drivers,” Goddijn added.

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|| Automotive Training

Training time Cost and time aren’t the problems some think they are.

Want your techs to take training seriously? Start training at the top.

By Andrew Brooks

S

ome jobs are more secure than others. This is especially true of the kinds of work that have to be done on-site and can’t be shipped overseas — a list where automotive repair occupies top spot. For automotive technicians who master their trade, job security is very good. But the rapid changes underway in automotive technology also mean that keeping current is a challenge for techs, for the public and private institutions that offer training programs and for the shop owners who have to find the money and time to invest in their employees’ know-how.

“What I hear from trainers is that the curriculum is already so full that there’s no time to add new material,” says Craig Van Batenburg, CEO of Automotive Career Development Center (ACDC) in Worcester, Massachusetts. “They agree that new material is needed, but they say to fit it in they either have to remove something that’s already in there, or add a semester — and no one wants to do that.”

In particular there’s a big push to 12 SSGM August 2012

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Automotive Training || get hybrid and electric vehicle (EV) curriculum into the colleges, an area of training that Van Batenburg knows well. He’s recently launched a program to expand his “Up Your Voltage” training program into Canada, starting in Montreal, but with plans to spread to Toronto and Vancouver. The expansion includes a forthcoming French translation of the extensive curriculum he’s developed over the years and which he updates annually.

Van Batenburg says that many technicians find it’s a big leap to go from the 12-volt world to hybrid and EV technology. In his course, he shows trainees a slide that depicts a human brain with the label “Your 12-volt brain,” followed by one that shows a pea-sized brain labeled “Your high-voltage brain.”

In case they don’t get the distinction, Van Batenburg also gets them to start a hybrid in the shop — having unplugged the fuel injectors and ignition coils beforehand. “When they try to start the car, it cranks at 1,000 RPM for 30 seconds and then the computer

times out. But they all agree it had a spark and fuel, because it sounds like it was running. I show them what I’ve done, we head back to class, and I tell them ‘This is how your 12-volt brain can fool you.’”

Of course automotive training is a matter of more than the nuts and bolts.

Murray Voth, Senior Trainer, Total Automotive Consulting and Training (TACT), believes that shops generally aren’t focused enough on maintaining the profitability they need to invest in training. He adds that he hears complaints that the training they need just isn’t available — a claim he greets with skepticism, pointing to programs such as CARS (Canadian Automotive Repair and Service — www.carsondemand.com), CARSability (www.carsability.ca) and the NAPA Excellence training website (uap.strategia.ca).

For Voth, the problem is the attitude of the shop owners themselves. “Most of them seem to find it difficult to set up a discipline to get their technicians to take training. They have one

or two take it at night on their own time.” Voth teaches managers how they can develop and implement practical training plans for their technicians that can be run during business hours, which means technicians can actually get paid to upgrade their skills instead of shouldering the costs themselves and studying during personal time. “Sure there are employees who like to invest in their future,” Voth says. “But really, it’s not the technicians’ fault that the technology is changing so fast. In my opinion, management really should pay for the training.”

Voth says that companies that offer in-class programs tend to focus too much on manufacturer-specific systems. He favours a principles-based approach that instead focuses on the underlying concepts of electronics, voltage, fuel, control etc. common to all systems. “A focus on specific systems is needed, but a fundamental understanding of the principles behind all systems makes techs more adaptable, gives them a better understanding. Plus some

Continuing Education centennialcollege.ca/ce

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The School of Continuing Education at Centennial College offers a broad range of courses and programs covering: • Auto Mechanics – Introductory and Advanced NEW • Autobody Repair • Automotive Painting • Automotive Service Advisor Certificate • Automotive Electrical Systems • Automotive Suspension, Steering and Brakes • Introduction to Diesel Engines NEW • Diesel Engines Service NEW • Motorcycle Maintenance Certificate Visit centennialcollege.ca/ce for more information. You can also email our Program Officer, Joan Brooks at jbrooks@centennialcollege.ca or call 416-289-5000 ext 7105.

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August 2012 SSGM 13

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|| Automotive Training

shops simply don’t do certain systems.

So there has to be a broader scope.”

Training only becomes more critical as the nature of the technician’s job changes, and diagnostics has to be acknowledged as a larger and larger part of what any shop sells. “It’s a big

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shift that the industry’s had a hard time making,” Voth says. “In the 70s and 80s you could sometimes diagnose a problem just by listening to an engine, and you’d spend 80 to 90 per cent of your time doing the repairs. Now techs can spend half their time diagnosing. If

you’re not billing for that time the way a lawyer or accountant would, how are you going to pay for the training and equipment you need?”

Voth recommends an incremental approach, as most shop owners are reluctant to charge for diagnostics to the extent they should. He suggests slowly ramping up diagnostics charges and investing the revenue in equipment and also, of course, in training.

For Rob Brouwer, owner and president of Precision Automotive in Ottawa, training starts — or should start — at the top. “The bottom line is that few owners actually go to training themselves. They feel that they already know whatever they need to know — but how can you expect your technicians to get trained if you don’t do it yourself ?”

Brouwer understands that techs are usually too busy to take time off for training, but he points out that so much training is now available online that time — and cost — aren’t the problems they used to be. A tech can easily spare an hour or two here and there to go online and upgrade skills. More importantly, perhaps, Brouwer believes that business training for the shop owner and manager is actually more important in the long run because it enables a business to establish the sound footing it needs in order to develop its human and financial resources. Brouwer singles out TACT as a particularly worthwhile program — “it transforms your business,” is how he puts it.

Brouwer’s not a big fan of government involvement in automotive training, and he believes the industry’s suppliers are already doing the lion’s share, especially on the technical side, as opposed to the management side where government support does have a role to play.

“People forget that investing in your company doesn’t just mean buying the newest scan tool or hoist equipment.

A good portion of your investment should be in training. The discipline to run a reputable shop is so much harder today than it used to be — you can’t just run everything by the seat of your pants and expect to be successful.”

SSGM www.ssgm.com

12-08-07 2:22 PM

2000

1965

Valvoline launches MaxLife®, the first motor oil for high mileage engines

Valvoline introduces the first & best selling racing oil of all time

1866

Dr. John Ellis invents motor oil

1939

Valvoline develops X-18, a single grade oil which could be used in place of 18 different specified automotive lubricants

1996

Valvoline launches DuraBlend™, the first synthetic blend motor oil

2012

Valvoline launches NextGen™, the first national branded recycled motor oil

Valvoline invented the engine oil category almost 150 years ago – and we haven’t stopped pushing new innovations since.

NextGen™ motor oil is the latest in a long line of category-changing introductions.

Made with 50% recycled oil, NextGen™ delivers 100% Valvoline engine protection. NextGen™ motor oil is great for engines and better for the environment, it exceeds industry specifications with reduced environmental impact compared to non-recycled motor oil.

Naturally, NextGen™ is supported by the full force of Valvoline’s innovative marketing programs.

Welcome to the Next Generation in motor oil.

Learn more about NextGen™ at NextGenMotorOil.ca © 2012, Ashland Inc. TM Trademark of Ashland or its subsidiaries in various countries.

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|| Oil Report

Oil Changes Recycled motor oils are gaining market share, creating a new segment and feeding the demand for green alternatives

By Noelle Stapinsky

W

ith over one billion vehicles on the roads worldwide, billions of gallons of used motor oil are being disposed of annually. And although past disposal practices may have proved a little dodgy, environmental sustainability has become top-ofmind for consumers and industry alike.

Today, more of those oils are being collected and re-refined, and with such an abundance of feedstock now available more companies are looking for ways to reconstitute those oils to get them back in the automotive market.

Conventional motor oils are formulated using about 80 per cent virgin base oil and 20 per cent companyproprietary additives for performance attributes. Such additives are comprised of dispersant and detergent — the former keeps contaminants such as sludge, residue and carbons in a state of suspension, while the latter helps clean areas where contaminant deposits can form.

“It’s not quite like laundry detergent, but it’s similar in chemistry,” says Jeff Hsu of Shell Projects and Technology US. “This is probably the biggest part of the technology that gives us the ability to keep the engines clean.”

Because of the dispersant additive, when used motor oil is extracted from a vehicle it often has fuel, metals and sludge built up within the formula. A common myth most people believe is that used motor oil breaks down or burns out and is not reusable. But, in fact, as oil goes through the drain cycle in the engine, it’s the additives that wear-out, and the vast majority of

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www.ssgm.com

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|| Oil Report molecules that make up the base oil are still intact.

Certainly the process of re-refining oil is not new.

Traditionally, used motor oil was put through an acid clay [filtration] treatment.

Although this process did clean the oil relatively well and was reusable for ocean vessels or incinerators, for example, it did not meet the standards for automotive purposes. But a new technology has come into play, allowing companies to return the base oil to an automotive standard.

Safety-Kleen, a North America’s collector and refiner of used motor oil and maker of the EcoPower-branded recycled oil, says it reclaims over 200 million gallons of used oil from 115,000 locations per year, and uses a vacuum distillation and hydrotreating process to refine that oil.

And just a little over a year ago, Valvoline, a worldwide distributor and producer of automotive and industrial products, launched NextGen conventional motor oil, which uses 50 per cent of re-refined oil in its base.

“We started looking at this about 10 years ago,” says Fran Lockwood, senior vice-president of research and development for Valvoline. “There were a number of things that had to come into play in order to do it. One, there had to be enough of the higher quality material available to make a product that’s going to sell at some volume.

Secondly, we also looked at the consumer acceptance factor. We feel that in general consumers are becoming more educated on the importance of environmental aspects.”

Like crude oil, used motor oil is often dark and smelly. To create NextGen, the technology used is very similar to how crude oil is processed today.

“The front end of the process is a little different, but the backend of the process — putting the oil through catalytic converters and adding hydrogen — is similar. And using modern refinery processing techniques you can attain a 18 SSGM August 2012

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very high quality product,” says Lockwood.

The process is started with a flash distillation to remove water, fuel and other contaminants. It’s then put through a film evaporation to remove heavy particles. Next is the hydrotreating process to refresh the oil molecules and reduce nitrogen and sulphur.

“Hydrotreating attacks the molecules we don’t want and converts them to hydra carbons that we do want. It chemically reacts to molecules that are unsaturated and may have sulphur or crude oil in them,” says Lockwood.

“One benefit of the recycled feed is that it’s far higher in the molecules that we do want. It’s already undergone a lot of reaction processes to get rid of the materials that we don’t want. It has also been rearranged, so relatively it’s a much purer starting material, particularly from engine oil.”

The last step in the process is a final distillation to remove remaining contaminants and separate the oils into different grades. “We use Group One and Two grade base oils. Group One would be for more traditional categories, while most of today’s [vehicle] production in North America has gone to Group Two.” The difference between the two is basically performance levels and differ-

ent viscosity ratings (or flow resistance).

Calgary-based Newalta, which specializes in recovering and recycling industrial residues, recently started advertising its re-refined base oils under the name Advanta Eco. Alain Portelance, Newalta product sales and marketing manager says, “Re-refined

Valvoline’s NextGen motor oil uses a formulation that is 50 percent recycled oil while delivering complete engine protection, matching other Valvoline motor oils. www.ssgm.com

12-08-07 2:24 PM

Oil Report || base oil isn’t that different from virgin base oil. We use it in all the lubricants we manufacturer, such as passenger car motor oil (PCMO), heavy duty engine oil and hydraulic oils.”

For Valvoline, NextGen has been one of the most successful in its PCMO history in first year launches.

According to Darryl Gaines, marketing manager for Valvoline, “In the first year of launching NextGen it outpaced MaxLife, which was one of our most successful launches 12 years ago. Having said that, we realize we’re still in the early adopter phase of the new product for trial and awareness.”

To promote the product, Valvoline offers communication materials, online and in-store training, and in the retail environment it’s priced the same as traditional oils.

“We did research and got some consumer data. If the price of NextGen was cheaper than traditional Valvoline products, the consumer might perceive it as a less quality product,” says Gaines.

www.ssgm.com

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“Customers might think it’s dirty stuff going into a bottle, but it’s not. It’s better, newer and re-refined just like the traditional Valvoline motor oil that you find today.”

For those that need more evidence of performance quality, Gaines says, “One of our biggest proof points is through NASCAR and NHRA. Matt Kenseth who won the Daytona 500 this year had the NextGen racing formula in the vehicle.”

In terms of process cost, Portelance says, “Group Two re-refined base oils and virgin oils operate under the same market conditions.” Of course, the competitive advantage the recycled products has is that it decreases our dependence on foreign oil — which needs to be found, drilled, transported and refined — consequently reducing the carbon footprint.

With increased pressure from government and consumers, sustainability and environmental issues have many industries scrambling to decrease waste

and adopt more sustainable practices.

Although for this segment, the government has not yet completely stepped in.

“Recycled oils are an interesting concept,” says Hsu. “There are some municipalities that we test with where there is a mandate for reconstituted base oils in order to get state or federal money.”

According to Portelance, most government authorities in Canada are yet to put requirements in place for rerefined content in lubricant purchases, but the US government is leading the charge, where certain jurisdictions include minimum requirements in their tenders.

“The demands are growing for more environmentally and sustainable practices. There is going to be growth [in this segment],” says Portelance. “The fact that a major like Valvoline has gone into the marketplace, you have to ask yourself how long it will be until their competitors react to it?”

SSGM

August 2012 SSGM 19

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|| Chicago Part Two

WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

Aftermarket vs. OEM Parts

From the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium 2012

P

erhaps one of the biggest challenges in selecting auto parts is dealing with the decision between OEM versus aftermarket parts and how do you really know “What’s in the box?”

Panelists at one of the sessions at the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS) in Chicago earlier this year discussed just that. Their backgrounds covered OEM and aftermarket part manufacturers, parts distribution, a dealership shop manager and an independent shop owner/technician.

As you’ll notice, the shop owner’s comments tended to be the most relevant to SSGM readers.

The two-day GAAS conference was attended by aftermarket executives from across the globe along with a spattering of shop owners. There was a very strong showing from North and South America as everyone came together to discuss their various perspectives on the automotive aftermarket with a special emphasis on parts.

What Is In A Name?

Simply looking at a part, or even comparing it to the component being replaced, is not enough in today’s marketplace. Parts that appear the same on the outside do not always perform the 20 SSGM August 2012

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same. This begs the question, “Is this an OEM part or is this an aftermarket part?”

“I have to say coming from a tierone manufacturer … I was very confused because for me an O.E. part is the aftermarket part,” said moderator Lúcia Moretti, vice-president, Delphi and president, Delphi Product & Service Solutions. “But, again, I think the market sees it in a different way.”

“I would suspect that all parts that you buy in a box are actually aftermarket parts,” said Edward Covington vice-president Quality Assurance, Affinia Global Filtration. “The only OEM part is the part that actually came on the vehicle itself. All other parts are service. In the O.E. world they generally refer to it as OES or O.E. service.”

Although most consumers and even technicians may believe that what’s in an OEM branded box is the same thing as what came on the vehicle, that may or may not be the case says Covington. It depends on category and/ or brand. In many cases O.E. branded parts are not truly “Original Equipment” at all.

“Our challenge always is to have an aftermarket part that performs just

as well as the O.E. part or better,” said Gary Dettman sales director, Auto Wares Inc. a parts distributor “So if we have to, at some times, go to the dealership to get that part, that’s okay.

We want to be their only call for those replacement parts.”

On the dealership side of the equation, what’s in the box is also very important, but for very different reasons.

“You know, when you talk about what’s in the box, in the dealership world that I represent, it’s all about ‘The Box,’” said Paul Devers president, Vin Devers Autohaus. “In our case, Mercedes Benz or Audi is on that box.”

“Sometimes it has a seal on it that proves it hasn’t been opened up,” Devers continued. “They’re quite strict about that. So, our industry revolves around what that box looks like and the markings on it. … We’re required to utilize those parts for warranty and only utilize those parts.”

An Alternator By Any Other Name

The representative for the independent repair shops clarifies that shops like his are more interested in what works than what brand is on the box. www.ssgm.com

12-08-07 2:25 PM

Chicago Part Two ||

again, looking on the outside of the part, you can’t see that.

Price Wars

By Phil Sasso

Of course in the independent and franchise repair world, the choices of some parts are less about functionality and more about dollars and cents.

“The pricing has a lot to do with it,” said Jobst. “The way everything is right now, price has become a big issue.

That’s why a lot of times [we choose] the aftermarket part — sometimes it’s cheaper, but [it’s a hard choice because] your reputation’s on the line then.”

More and more parts are being sold with Good, Better and Best options.

Although this offers consumers more choices, it can also create a problem for shops. For example: Who chooses what quality part goes on a vehicle?

The customer or the shop? And what happens if the choice fails to perform

as expected?

“I’m a high quality shop, I am going to choose the better part,” said Jobst. “But … with the way things are, it’s [becoming] more price-driven. It comes down to: Are they going to keep the car six months, a year, two years?

You know, if it’s a newer car that’s got 30,000 miles on it … I am going to use the better part. But if I know the car’s got 200,000 miles on it and they just need to put a Band-Aid on it, I’m going to look for a value line part.”

But with the proliferation of parts, choosing a part has become more and more of a challenge for the repair shop.

Jobst said his shop often relies on the parts store for advice. On occasion, the parts store jobber will offer a frank response like “Well, yeah, I wouldn’t use that one. We’ve had some failure rates with that one.” Thus he can avoid comebacks and embarrassment.

“From my perspective if I buy an O.E. part from the dealer, usually it’s a better part,” said John “JJ” Jobst, owner, Schaumburg Automedics. His response initially surprised some of the panelist.

“It’s designed for that car. When you buy aftermarket sometimes you’ll get an O.E. part — they just re-box it.

“As far as fit and quality, in my opinion, sometimes the O.E. part is better, it’s designed better. But then some other [parts] like … suspension parts, the aftermarket is made better. They’ve got a little bit more research and development in it to make it last longer. But bottom line is when we order a part sometimes [when we] open a box, it’s a surprise.”

Jobst explained that sometimes just looking at a part you can’t assess the quality. What looks the same as the part that’s being replaced on the outside can be very different on the inside.

And a shop won’t know that until later when they’ve already installed the part and it fails. “[For example] alternators on newer cars [with] internal regulators,” Jobst explained. “The aftermarket will use, you know, a certain voltage regulator [which is different than] the O.E. part, and it creates issues in the vehicle. But, www.ssgm.com

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August 2012 SSGM 21

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|| Chicago Part Two

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Does The Warranty Warrant It?

There is a wide range of warranty offers depending on the brand and the distribution channel.

“If I buy it from the dealer, [the warranty is] 90 days,” said Jobst. ‘But if I buy it through one of my suppliers like NAPA, it’s backed by one year, 12,000 miles. So that becomes the fine line. How far do we want to carry the warranty?”

Jobst clarified that although the parts store program warranties tend to cover a longer period and the OE warranty a shorter period, in his experience the chances of an OE part failing are a lot slimmer.

Dettman from Autowares talked about the benefit to the customer and shop owner of the Bumper-toBumper program warranty.

“As any of our members, have the satisfaction to offer to their customers that if they’re traveling,” said Dettman.

“With the Confidence Plus Warranty … they can sort of piggyback on that as well. So if they break down outside of their 25-mile area of that certified service center, they know that they can be covered if it’s the same repair. So we think warranty is a very valuable asset to the products that we offer.”

“Like I said, I’m a quality shop, so I’m going to try to pick the better part,” said Jobst. “Whether you buy it from Auto Wares or NAPA, you are buying the whole package. You’re buying the warranty, the backing on it,

22 SSGM August 2012

your business partner. That’s all huge factors.”

“But bottom line it boils down to the consumer,” Jobst continued. “The consumer has no idea. To them a brake job is a brake job. They have no idea that there are different levels of brakes.

Prime example, we have a board that has four different brake pads on it.

And there’s little descriptions on it and all that stuff, so we explain it to them.”

The key is that what’s in the box all boils down to having a good relationship with your parts store and your customer. You parts jobber can help steer you to the best part choices. On the other hand, educating your customers on the value of quality parts can make for more satisfied customers.

Jobst summed it up well: “The bottom line is when I open up that box I want it to fit and work,” said Jobst. “Price is always the issue but I definitely hear it from my techs. ‘You know, when you buy the value line part. How do you expect me to make this fit? It doesn’t even look like the part I took off.’ So what’s in the box? I want it to work and I want it to work well. Bottom line.”

SSGM Phil Sasso is the president of Sasso Marketing (sassomarketing.com), an automotive aftermarket advertising, public relations and Internet services agency.

He’s also a speaker and strategist. Sign up for his free weekly marketing tip email at philsasso.com/blog. www.ssgm.com

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12-08-07 2:14 PM

|| Shop Profile

Transmissions

Are No Trouble Specialization is the formula for continuing success

F

or some, success is measured in larger than life superlatives. Does having a massive shop providing everything to anybody really spell success to a shop owner?

Tucked into a residential area in West end Toronto is Toronto Automatic Transmission. At first glance one might be tempted to dismiss the shop as an aberration of zoning laws. I’ve passed by it many times beforehand and scarcely gave it a notice. How can

a shop survive in a residential area?

How do the neighbours tolerate the commotion? Is it a retiree, fixing cars at a slow pace?

Fleeting first impressions are often mistaken. A good second look tells more to the story. The cars that crowd around this small, tidy shop are all gleaming late-model imported cars. We are not talking about Kia or Toyota models here. BMW’s, Jaguars, Mercedes are stuffed cheek by jowl.

Toronto Automatic Transmission owner Bob Maderic who took over the business from his father Joseph Maderic in 1993.

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By Nestor Gula

Running Toronto Automatic Transmission is Bob Maderic. He’s a secondgeneration owner of this business, taking over from his dad, Joseph, in 1993.

Joseph started the business in 1961, not long after arriving in Canada from his native Croatia, just as automatic transmissions started becoming more available.

“My dad started working for the first guy to open a transmission shop in Canada, John Jerbic at Annex Motors,” said Maderic. “He was one of the first people to work on automatic transmissions in Canada.”

Although automatic transmissions were developed in the 1930s, the depression and World War II delayed their mass introduction. The company was started east of downtown Toronto, on Berkley Street, near the intersection of King and Parliament.

The company moved from this industrial area to its new location in 2010. It was not just a big move in location, but also in downsizing. “We had seven bays on Berkley Street,” said Maderic. “We have four now.” For some people, cutting your bays in half would signal a business failure. For Maderic, it was a deliberate move and liberation. “I wanted to slow the pace down. I did not want to have to take on every single job,” he said. He doesn’t do fleet vehicles or trucks like he used to when he was in the city. “I like it better this way. It is definitely better.” Maderic said he makes more now because of the higher overheads in the city.

The shop is small, about 2,000 square feet. Back in 1926 it used to be a blacksmith shop. It was a service shop when Maderic bought it. “I fixed it up and put an office onto it,” he www.ssgm.com

12-08-07 2:26 PM

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|| Shop Profile said. There are four employees besides him and most have been working at Toronto Automatic Transmission for well over a decade. The manager, Matthew Portelli, came to the shop 13 years ago as an apprentice. He likes the atmosphere, “It is pretty tight. We are like a family here.” Working on these high end imports is a large part of his job satisfaction. “It is a little more complicated and gets your brain thinking.

You want to fix cars that not everybody else can fix,” he said.

Maderic was keen on specializing on imported cars. He noted that until the 1980s, most cars on the road were North American. “It was probably in the late 80s or early 90s, when we started to do more and more imported cars,” he said. “We wanted to specialize in the import section. It was a bit more interesting than the domestic.” He said originally it was not a conscious decision. “It came our way. We came and fell into it.”

Because of the specialization, Maderic is never wont for work. “We never really had a recession. It has been pretty good we have always been busy. Back in the 80s we had a bit of a recession where we slowed down a bit but still kept going,” he said.

Technology gallops forward

Toronto Automatic Transmission has been in the forefront of automatic transmission service since these gearboxes started appearing on Canadian streets. It is no wonder than that keeping up with technology is paramount in this shop’s line of work. “We go

26 SSGM August 2012

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through seminars organized through our suppliers (King-O-Matic, AutoStan, Matech BTA and Eurowa), they all have seminars,” said Maderic. “Most of the seminars are on the weekends, or on a Saturday, so it does not take up a lot of time.” The transmissions that come into his shop are not the ubiquitous three speed slush boxes of yore. “It used to be four on the floor standards or three speed automatics,” he said.

“Now we have, five or six speed automatics and we have a Mercedes that has a seven speed transmission that we are working on.” New CVT transmissions are also showing up at the shop. “It is very complicated and very expensive too. Parts for a CVT transmission are about three times more than for a regular transmission.

That’s because they are new and it is a question of supply and demand. There are not a lot of them out there.”

Most of their business comes from referrals. Being in the business for such a long time Toronto Automatic Transmission has built up a stellar reputation.

“A lot of import garages, small garages, will send us vehicles. Ninety per cent of our business comes from referrals,” he said. “It’s all about customer service. We always look after the customer. There have been cases where we have given a year warranty on a particular job and a customer comes in and it has been a year and six months, I won’t turn my back on that customer.

I will take care of it. They don’t forget that. You have to go above and beyond, even if a customer comes in within two years. I won’t charge them the full price.

There is always good will. You have to look after the client.”

This policy applies equally to dealers coming in or individual clients. He said that come backs are very infrequent because he uses OEM or better parts.

“Sometime you do get a faulty part though. We don’t make the parts, obviously. Whether you get a bad spring or a bad torque converter – things happen.”

He has a good relationship with dealers and other garages and does a lot of work for them. A bulk of their work comes from private warranties that people purchase on their high-end cars.

“The warranty companies will come to us because we will be less expensive than the dealerships.”

Proper diagnosis is crucial for their business he intones. “With a manual transmission you see a broken gear you know that’s it. With hydraulics it is more complicated. We’ve had cases where other garages have removed the transmission and brought it to us. We can’t see anything wrong with it. They did not properly diagnose the problem because it ended up being a computer issue, something external to the transmission. We took it apart for no reason.” When a car comes in they want to replicate the issue to make certain what work needs to be carried out. “We get the whole vehicle. We also try to diagnose it, to find the problem before we do anything to the transmission,” Maderic said. “You can’t just work on the transmission. You will be working blind. Half the battle is diagnosing the problem.”

SSGM

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|| Reputation Management

Reputation Management

Online reputations are one of the most important assets Tom Venetis, Editor

W

hile social media has provided businesses new ways of engaging customers and promoting products and services, there are downsides. While services such as Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, Digg and a host of others can be used to drive people to your business and to directly engage with them, these same services can just as quickly take your business down several notches. Sometimes, the fall can be precipitous, permanently harming your reputation and hitting your bottom line.

Take the troubles that happened to a local Toronto butcher. In a bid to reach new customers and to give something back to long-time patrons, the butcher decided to use an on-line group buying service to offer discounts on its highquality meats. The coupon offer proved successful. Over 11,000 coupons were sold over two days. There was no way to honour all the coupons sold over a few days or even weeks, though the owner and staff tried their best.

The problems were compounded upon when many frustrated coupon holders took to social media sites and other on-line business rating services to voice their frustrations. The negative fallout lasted for months and was soon written about in newspapers and reported on local television and radio programs.

Building Up; Tearing Down

What this local butcher discovered is that one’s reputation is terribly vulnerable online. It is vulnerable because the very tools that allow a business to engage with customers online and to build a business’ reputation can also damage that same business reputation.

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|| Reputation Management Let’s take a closer look at how this can happen to a business regardless if that business is a large, multinational corporation or a local butcher or service shop.

Social media sites such as Twitter and others have revolutionized how large and small business can create and build a reputation using real-time customer feedback. Think of social media as today’s ‘word-of-mouth’ publicity, but with a wide electronic reach. What all businesses want is to have positive feedback from customers and for those customers to tell others about the quality service provided to them. It is the best kind of advertising, which is why all businesses are turning social media to get that ‘word-of-mouth’ publicity.

The problem is obvious. People with negative impressions of your business, customer service or quality of work can post their feelings to these sites and forums. Get enough negative comments from persons and you can soon watch your online reputation and business suffer.

Polly Wood, senior team leader, special projects with Reputation.com, a pioneer in online reputation management, points to a Harvard Business Review study showing a one-star change in an online rating can have a five to nine per cent impact on revenue.

“One bad review, negative comment, Twitter tweet or Facebook post can seriously harm the reputation of a business,” she adds. “This is true whether or not the comments are in any way fair or accurate. Negative customer experiences are often transmitted instantly and can be very difficult to control.”

The reason why it is so hard to control such negative comments on social media and review sites is you almost never have a chance of pulling that person aside to find out exactly what is going on. A face-to-face meeting in the ‘real world’ is often enough to cool the situation down, discover what the problem is and to come to a mutually agreed-upon solution.

Micah Solomon, a customer service speaker and marketing strategist (www. micahsolomon.com) says owners and managers need to keep in mind that some criticism put online is legitimate 30 SSGM August 2012

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while others are simply people venting steam, not thinking clearly as to what they are writing or its consequences.

“Try to remember that while many customers have legitimate and longignored grievances, even with wellmeaning companies, others, some of the people who are randomly hurtful online — the folks I call “Click Puppies” — are doing it off the cuff, on the fly. Unlike your staff and yourself, they may be reacting in an unprofessional manner at that moment of outrage, even if the rest of their lives they are perfectly reasonable people. In fact, in many cases, after they’ve trashed you publicly online, they’re off to something else, to their next little 140-character haiku, with no memory of what they’ve done and how it may have affected you.”

Don’t Overreact

Company X double-bills all customers — Must Think W R Suckrs — _FAIL Take a look at the comment above: How are you feeling right now reading it? If this was posted about your service operation, you are probably feeling that you want to take this person out and throttle them (or at least comment that they should learn how to spell before posting anything). It is a natural reaction to being criticized in a manner that you believe is undeserved or false; and you naturally rush to defend your reputation and that of your staff.

“Many business owners are unprepared for the experience of being attacked online,” Wood says. “They

lash out or attempt to solve the problem in other ways that only makes it worse.”

Attacking the person who posted the remark, questioning their integrity or competence to make a judgment on your service operation and staff, will likely provoke another angry remark against you. This back and forth can soon degenerate into an online ‘flame war.’

How should you respond? Solomon says if the person who made the comment can be reached directly, through a Twitter account if they have one, for example, it is best to reach out to them right away and see if you can pull the conversation off the public social media sites.

“By responding this way, you have a good chance to move the discussion out of a public venue and into a oneon-one situation, where you can work directly with your antagonist without thousands of eyes dissecting every more, or worse, catching bits and pieces as things progress, without ever grasping the whole story,” Solomon adds.

“This dispute resolution approach is like an in-store situation where you take an irate customer aside, perhaps into your office, to privately discuss the matter, giving you both a chance to work together to arrive at a resolution.”

Another thing to avoid is trying to force the person who made the comments to take them off the social media sites, usually by threatening legal action or intimidating them in some way.

Why is this course of action a terrible? www.ssgm.com

12-08-07 2:27 PM

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5/9/12 2:12 PM 12-08-07 2:16 PM

|| Reputation Management Remember the old comment about Richard Nixon: it was not the break-in at Watergate that was the problem, it was the attempted cover-up that was the problem.

Well, threatening the person with legal action is a sure way to get people to take notice of what is going on and to think there must be some truth to what the person criticizing you is saying. If it wasn’t true, you would not be threatening them. You are likely going to generate a lot of unwanted publicity by this approach that will make things worse.

Solomon: “There’s even a term for this: the Streisand Effect, named after Barbara Streisand, who sued a photographer in a failed attempt to remove a photo of the singer’s mansion from the California Coastal Records Project, a strategic backfire that resulted in greater distribution of the photo than would have happened before. At the very least, threatening your customers does nothing to reduce the damage — and is very likely to backfire.”

Protecting an Online Reputation

So what can be done to protect one’s online reputation? First, sit down with your staff and create a plan of how you will react to any negative criticism.

When you find a negative review or get an angry Tweet, everyone from the owner of the service operation to the apprentice should be one the same page as to how it should be handled. It is also a good idea to decide a pointperson whose job it will be to monitor social media sites used for promoting the business and review sites that rate the business.

That person should also be charged with making sure you online presence, from the company website to its Facebook page are optimized to enhance the business reputation. What does that mean? Remember, your service shop employs trained, certified technicians with many years of experience.

Make sure you online presence reflects that: use bios of your technicians, list their qualifications, certificates, experi-

ence and training they have received.

Point out if they have unique vehicle qualifications, such as expert BMW technician, for example. If your service operation has received local business awards for customer service or outstanding community work, make sure you have that known. Include articles, blog posts, videos and social media updates to push your business more prominently on web searches. If you are on the third page of a Google search for automotive repair shops, you might as well not exist for many.

One thing that must be considered is to use a professional reputation management service, to monitor the growing number of social media sites and review sites and to proactively tackle potential posts, comments or criticisms that could harm one’s online reputation.

Such services have the advantage of being able enhance and protect your business reputation online while leaving you and your staff free to concentrate on running the business. SSGM

Classified Advertising Help Wanted A 27 year old Mississauga, Ontario (near Derry & Argentia) company has select opportunities for full-time customer service agents.

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32 SSGM August 2012

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www.ssgm.com

12-08-07 2:27 PM

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|| TACT Team Management

All Of My Customers Are Cheapskates

By Murray Voth, TACT

S

ome years ago, I was putting on training in a Canadian city with a population of at least a quarter of a million people. I had 12 shop owners in the class. We were covering the topic of price, how to charge properly for what we do and become more profitable as a business. We came to a statistic in the material that mentions 14 per cent of consumers at automotive repair facilities in Canada are all about price. These customers are looking for the lowest price possible, regardless of value. In an instant, all 12 shop owner’s hands shot up in the air and they all said, “And they are all in my city!”

There may have been some humor in the comment, but they were under the distinct impression that they had been saddled with the majority of the cheap people in Canada.

My first reply was to point out that it was not possible. I had paid just as much for a hotel room and a rental car in their city as I had in any other part of Canada. I also mentioned that as I had driven into town I had seen a brand new Lexus dealership being built. Other major nameplates also had new dealer operations as well. We began to discuss what types of vehicles their customers brought to them and their frustration with some of the old junk they had to work on. I did a survey of the room as to what was the newest car anyone remembered working on in the last month. The newest vehicle that anyone in the room had worked on that month was at least five years old.

Why do you attract only the ‘price focused’ customer?

My next thought was these shop owners had attracted the majority of the cheap people in their own city, rather than their thinking that the whole city was the residence of all the cheap people in Canada. Why did these shop 34 SSGM August 2012

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owners, like many other independent shop owners across the country, not attract a clientele that had money and or was willing to spend money? Where were the newer cars, the ones without all the seized bolts and corroded fittings? Why don’t more people in society see the value in these shop owners and their teams?

I think that it is because most shop owners are trades people. Many shop owners don’t understand that knowledge is as billable as labour and parts, and they don’t see the value that they bring to the consumer and society in general. As well, some shop owners and technicians find it hard to charge properly for what they do, because they feel that they could not afford it themselves.

How did this vicious circle start?

First of all, this whole challenge is about perception and belief. What we perceive and experience, creates many of our beliefs. These beliefs then create actions or behaviors on our part, that in turn create perceptions in other people.

I do not want anyone to get the impression that the term trades person is negative in any way. I can proudly say I have been a trades person for much of my working life. I have been a carpenter, motorcycle mechanic, aircraft technician and automotive technician.

As a trades person working for an employer and usually paid by the hour, we understood the direct connection between the time we worked, the work we got done and the money we were paid. In our minds, we had worked hard, broke a sweat and busted some knuckles. We were worth every dime we were paid, and Lord help the boss who shorted us a half-hour on our pay cheque, whether by mistake or on purpose. We would fight for that money.

Now fast-forward ten or twenty years. You now own a shop, and be honest, how many times have you or

one of your employees worked on a car, broke a sweat, busted some knuckles and not charged the customer for all the time you spent on their car? What is the difference? The difference is that when you were an employee you believed you were worth your hourly wage; now you feel like you are ripping customers off when you charge $85, $95, or even $120 dollars an hour.

You do not believe you are worth your hourly shop rate.

Knowing how to value your time, expertise

Here is an exercise that I hope will help you change your beliefs regarding the value of what you sell and the prices you should sell it for.

Let’s talk about your operating cost per hour. Take your fixed operating expenses for one month and add them all up.

Let’s say, for example, you have a total of $29,000 in expenses. Then calculate your labour inventory in hours for the month. Take the number of technicians, multiplied by days available and hours per day.

Our sample shop has two technicians available eight hours a day and average 21 days open. That equals 336 hours of labour inventory. Divide $29,000 by 336 and you get $86.31 cost per hour. By the way, this sample shop has a labour rate of $82 per hour.

I recognize that this is over simplified, we have not included profit on parts or cost of technician wages in this calculation, but I think that it illustrates very powerfully why so many independent repair shops are not profitable.

We believe that we are only worth the wage we are paid or that we pay our technicians. We forget all the value we offer to clients. In those fixed expenses are the costs of training, the upgrades to diagnostic tools, subscriptions to repair databases, parts and labour warwww.ssgm.com

12-08-07 2:28 PM

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12-08-07 2:17 PM

|| TACT Team Management ranties, etc. If you unlocked your shop door in the morning and saw $172 ($86 X 2) fly past you every hour, you would reach out and grab it. Hey, that’s my money you would yell out! But that is really what is happening. The good news is that customers are bringing money back in to offset it; but if you do not invoice properly, you will never be profitable.

But, you say, my customers won’t pay, they can’t afford it or they can get a cheaper price somewhere else. Think back to my opening remarks: If all of your customers are cheap, you have attracted the wrong customers. Because of your belief that you are only worth $20 per hour, that is whom you attract, people who themselves may be underpaid or underemployed. But now that you know you cost $172 per hour, you are going to figure out how to show the value and collect the revenue you need to stay in business.

Now back to my question to the group of shop owners about the newest vehicle that they had worked on in the

last month. I stated that one of them recalled working on a vehicle that was five years old. On average, the group was primarily servicing and repairing seven- to 12-year old vehicles. At the lunch break, I looked out of the meeting room window into an adjacent parking lot. This parking lot belonged to a large office building across the lane from our hotel.

I called the shop owners over to take a look at all of the vehicles in the parking lot, easily more than a hundred.

As we counted, we found that over 90 per cent of the vehicles in that parking lot were five years old and newer. They needed to see for themselves that there were many people in their community with good jobs, good cars, and probably money to maintain those cars. Sometimes when you look from a different vantage point, you get a different point of view. We tend to believe what we see and what we experience.

My hope is that you will not only understand what it costs you to do business, but also how much you are

worth. Because technical and mechanical concepts and processes come easy to you, you do not know their worth.

You might not understand that a large majority of people in this world are completely ignorant of most mechanical and technical processes. Think of the last time you were stressed out but not knowing something.

Let’s say for example your computer in the shop crashes and you might loose all your data. If you are not computer savvy, you will need to hire a computer technician to come solve your problem.

I would hazard a guess that you would be willing to pay almost anything to get up and running again, and not have lost any data on the hard drive. That is how many vehicle owners feel. They are looking for someone to take away their stress about their vehicle and maintain the most expensive piece of equipment they own, and they know it will cost money.

You can contact me at mvoth@proshopmanager.ca SSGM

Get back to enjoying your business!

Learn how to improve your repair facility’s profitability, productivity and reduce your stress.

Dave Meunier’s Automotive Management Training and Consulting group is one of the most sought after providers of business solutions for shop owners in Canada.

Flexible training courses are offered across Canada and include:

The explanation, for the success of TACT students comes from a well tested common sense approach to managing every aspect of day to day operations, starting in the bays and working its way to the income statement.

Advance PROShop Manager Modules – Full day topic specific sessions designed to allow you to get answers to your own shop challenges.

Topics include: � SHOP SYSTEMS & PROCEDURES � ADVANCED SERVICE ADVISOR SKILLS � PROFIT IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES

Enrolling in one of Dave Meunier’s shop improvement courses will provide you with the confidence to analyze your business monthly to look for ways to improve profits and lower your stress.

3 Day Shop Management Course - This interactive training

course will teach owners to take better care of your customer, save them money and allow your shop to be more profitable than ever before.

PROSHOP Performance Groups – This is a once a month program, where automotive repair facilities come together to receive training, solve concerns affecting their business, implement solutions and take better care of their customers.

Just contact Lee Meunier, Toll Free at 1-866-489-8228 (TACT) or by email Lee@proshopmanager.ca

Brought to you by TACT Total Automotive Consulting & Training Group 36 SSGM August 2012

p 34-36 TACT Team.indd 36

www.ssgm.com

12-08-07 2:28 PM

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12-08-07 2:18 PM

SSGM BAYWATCH New Products

Rislone Heavy Duty Radiator Stop Leak Rislone’s Heavy Duty Radiator Stop Leak with Water Pump Lube, features the Rhizex Pelletized Formula that dissolve in minutes to solve most common cooling system problems, including internal, external and coolant-to-oil leaks in radiators, freeze plugs, gaskets, and heater cores. It is specially formulated to seal larger leaks. It also conditions the cooling system, inhibiting rust and corrosion, lubricating water pump seals and helping to control electrolysis. As a result, it reduces the risk of

engine failure due to overheating or poor lubrication. Rislone Heavy Duty Radiator Stop Leak with Water Pump Lube is compatible with all types of coolant, including yellow, orange, pink, red, blue and green silicate-based and non-silicate based (OAT/HOAT) antifreeze and/or water. It will not harm the cooling system when properly installed, nor will it clog the heater core. It works on plastic, aluminum and metal radiators, heater cores, gaskets and freeze plugs.

Rislone Inc. www.rislone.ca

BOLT Trailer Spare Tire Lock Now Available BOLT Trailer Spare Tire Locks are available from STRATTEC Security Corporation to fit steel rim wheels to a studded mount.

Featuring One-Key Lock Technology, the Trailer Spare Tire Locks are designed to permanently program to a vehicle’s particular ignition key and eliminate the need for multiple keys. The locks, which don’t come equipped with their own key, are programmed during the first use: When drivers insert their ignition key into the padlock cylinder, spring-loaded plate tumblers move up and down until they are matched exactly to that key. The first time the key is rotated, the cylinder is uniquely coded to that key. When the key is removed, the cylinder moves into

Canadian Distributors

Better-Than-OE ABS Sensors Available Through Airtex Vehicle Electronics Airtex Vehicle Electronics have launched a new line of better-than-OE sensors featuring heavy-duty insulation and other enhancements. These sensors are available for virtually any popular latemodel domestic or foreign-nameplate application. Designed for direct replacement of OE ABS wheel-speed sensors, new Airtex sensors match the original parts’ mounting and connector

38 SSGM August 2012

p 38-45 Baywatch.indd 38

the locked position.

When the key is turned again, it will rotate to the unlocked position.

STRATTEC Security Corporation www.boltlock.com

designs and wire lengths to ensure fast, easy installation. Airtex units are equipped with heavier wire insulation and harness sheathing to prevent impact- and corrosion-related damage.

Each sensor also features weather-pack connectors that lock out dirt, moisture, chemicals and other contaminants.

AirtexVehicle Electronics www.airtexVE.com

www.ssgm.com

12-08-07 2:29 PM

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12-08-07 2:18 PM

SSGM BAYWATCH New Products

Robinair Announces Product Compliance for Infrared Refrigerant Leak Detector Prolong Offers Fast Fuel Gasoline Fuel System Cleaner Prolong Super Lubricants’ Fast Fuel Gasoline Fuel System Cleaner is designed to rid a vehicle’s entire fuel system of the grime and dirt to improve operation and maximize fuel economy. The cleaner is formulated to thoroughly clear the carbon build-up in the fuel system as well as add lubricity to the fuel thus unclogging the injector tips to ensure a full, uninhibited spray pattern for optimum firing. To use the cleaner, add it to a nearly empty gas tank before filling it up with fuel. The Fast Fuel Gasoline System Cleaner treats up to 20 gallons of gasoline.

Prolong Super Lubricants www.prolong.com

40 SSGM August 2012

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Robinair announced that its Infrared (IR) Refrigerant Leak Detector (P/N 22791), which formerly met SAE J2791 standard, is now certified to comply with the new SAE industry standard for use with R1234YF refrigerant. The Robinair 22791 is a hand-held tool designed to uncover hard-to-find refrigerant leaks in A/C systems, making an automotive technicians’ job easier, faster and more efficient. With its compact design, the 22791 Leak Detector fits naturally in hand and its ruggedized construction stands up to abuse most other leak detectors can’t handle. It automatically recalibrates in highly contaminated areas to help pinpoint the exact location of a leak and it won’t trigger on oil or moisture. Eight-hour battery life lets you work all day before recharging and the advanced infrared sensor is designed to last a minimum of 10 years.

Robinair www.robinair.com

www.ssgm.com

12-08-07 2:29 PM

Comprehensive, affordable training for automotive professionals* is coming to the Big Easy • 200+ hours of education & training • All skill levels • Classes starting at $70/ea.

With something for everyone, it’s the only place where professionals like you will find everything you need to accomplish your business goals for the next year: education & training you won’t find anywhere else, and opportunities to meet with the brightest minds in the industry and see a wide array of products/services. We provide the resources. You decide where they will take you in the next year. *The ASRW Conference Program is specifically for shop owners/managers, service advisors/managers, office staff & technicians.

TRY US OUT! Register today to receive a $10 Expo Pass & $50 off any conference purchase! www.carsevent.com/attendee/earlybird

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7/3/12 1:29 PM 12-08-07 2:19 PM

SSGM BAYWATCH New Products

Maradyne Mach Two Extreme Dual 16" Fan for Trucks w/34" Radiator Maradyne High Performance Fans offers the Mach Two Extreme Dual 16-inch Fan (part # MM22KX) to fit trucks with radiators whose core is 34" wide. Featuring the manufacturer’s quiet S-blade design, the Mach Two Extreme Dual 16-inch Fan works as a powerful puller fan to deliver a maximum airflow of 4320 cubic feet per minute (CFM) with an amp draw of 35.4. The fan, which has two 225 watt sealed heavy duty motors that are IP68-certified dustproof and waterproof, is designed to provide increased horsepower, more cooling and better fuel efficiency. It measures 17" high by 33.5" wide by 3.9" deep.

Made from all glass-filled nylon construction, Maradyne fans feature concentric rings that prevent the blades from flexing as they achieve maximum RPM. The fans are dynamically balance to provide smooth operation, less noise and longer life for the motor.

Maradyne High Performance www.maradyneHP.com

Versatile Coolant/Auto Body Leak Detection Dye Tracer Products has made life easier for technicians who service trucks, trailers and auto bodies by introducing TP-3900 Dye-Lite Coolant/Auto Body Dye. TP-3900 fluorescent dye quickly finds leaks in radiators, hoses, water pumps and fittings. Just add 1 oz (30 ml) of the dye to a cooling system and allow it to circulate.

Wherever the coolant leaks out, so does the dye, which remains at the site of each and every leak. When the system is scanned with a Tracerline ultraviolet or blue light inspection lamp, the dye glows a bright green showing the exact location of all leaks. In addition to locating coolant leaks, TP-3900 is ideal for

pinpointing wind and water leaks.

Tracer Products www.tracerline.com

Snap-on 12 Volt Camo Jump Pack Gates Parts Image Capture (PIC) Gauge Belt Wear App Using state-of-the-art digital imaging technology in concert with industry-standard specifications for serpentine belts, Gates PIC Gauge utilizes a photograph taken with the Smartphone’s built-in camera, which is then analyzed by patentpending software to determine the degree of rib wear detected.

The analysis returns one of three results: within specifications (green), wear detected (yellow), or replace belt (red). Belt wear meas­urements can be captured from any automotive or heavy-duty K-section serpentine belt. The PIC Gauge is simple to use and the results, which are immediate, can be stored and retrieved for future reference. It is the first digital belt wear tool available that is designed for professional technicians and service writers.

Gates Canada Inc. www.gates.com 42 SSGM August 2012

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The new Snap-on Camouflage 12 Volt Jump Pack (EEJP500iCAMO) with 400-watt power inverter and 110 VAC outlets is powerful, yet safe, providing the additional power needed whether in the woods or in the dark. The Snap-on Camouflage 12 Volt Jump Pack (EEJP500iCAMO) provides 2250 peak and 330 cranking amps of power as well as 275 cold cranking amps from a high output AGM battery. It features an easy-to-read multi-function digital display that indicates inverter wattage, internal battery percent of charge, and voltage plus vehicle battery voltage. Easy to use, the on/off power switch disconnects clamps from the internal battery to help prevent accidental sparking and a reverse connection audio warning will sound if clamps are connected in reverse.

Snap-on www.snapon.com/shoptools www.ssgm.com

12-08-07 2:29 PM

Now, We Do It All!

ValvolineÂŽ now offers a full line of Valvoline Professional Series automotive service chemicals. With Valvoline Professional Series, you get a comprehensive line of professional-grade products, services and solutions all backed by industry leading marketing programs.

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12-08-07 2:19 PM

SSGM Service Station and Garage Management

.com

Automotive Internet Directory

Visit these companies directly at their web addresses or check out the growing list of Hot Links at www.autoserviceworld.com.

To find out how your organization can be included in this directory and on the web, contact aross@jobbernews.com

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To learn more about our products, request a catalogue today. www.aisinaftermarket.com Goodyear Engineered Products www.goodyearep.com/aftermarket www.goodyearbeltsandhose.com The officially licensed belt of NASCAR. Gatorback, the quiet belt. You can never replace Goodyear quality.

NGK Spark Plugs Canada Limited www.ngksparkplugs.ca The World Leader in Spark Plugs, Oxygen Sensors and Ignition Wire Sets.

Used by 87% of the World’s OE Manufacturers S.B International Inc. www.sbintl.com “We keep engines humming”

AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLERS Carcone’s Auto Recycling and Wheel Refinishing www.carcone.com With over 32 years of experience Carcone’s Auto Recycling & Wheel Refinishing is your one stop for quality recycled products and wheel refinishing needs. Call today at 1-800-263-2022 or visit us on line at www.carcone.com

AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLERS Standard Auto Wreckers View Our Online Inventory @ www. standardautowreckers. com or call 416-286-8686. Experienced Shipping Department to Ensure Parts Arrive Safely.

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT SERVICES The Automotive Aftermarket E-Learning Centre Ltd www.aaec.ca AAEC - BEST - Business Evaluation Support & Training - Instructing and Coaching with the Proven Business Management Tools that drives a shop’s Bottom Line, Team Culture and Marketplace Credibility.

HAND CLEANERS GOJO Industries, Inc. www.automotive.gojo.com GOJO is a leading manufacturer of skin care products and services for many marketing including automotive and manufacturing. GOJO continues to pursue a commitment of creating well-being through hand hygiene and healthy skin.

REFRIGERANT Duracool Refrigerants

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TOOLS & EQUIPMENT AIR LIQUIDE CANADA INC. www.airliquide.ca Your one-stop shop for all your industrial gases and welding supplies.

WAREHOUSE DISTRIBUTORS & BUYING GROUPS Bestbuy Distributors Limited www.bestbuyautoparts.ca Independent buying group and warehouse distributor that allocates its profits to member shareholders and provides unbeatable value for independent jobbers.

The E.R.I. Group www.theerigroup.com Canada’s Premier Machine Shop Buying Group Kerr Machine Shop Group Inc.

www.kerrmachineshopgroup.com Buying group for machine shops and performance shops.

Go to www.ssgm.com to see the latest technical videos and tools tests with SSGM Magazine’s Technical Editor Jim Anderton.

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX Advertiser

Page #

Website

ALLDATA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.alldata.ca Auto-Camping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.autocamping.ca BMW Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.bmw.ca Cardone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.cardone.com CARS ESSENTIALS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.carsessentials.ca Centennial College. . . . . . . . . . . . . 13. . . . . . . . . . . www.centennialcollege.ca/ce Chevron. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.Havoline.com Chrysler Canada. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.mopar.com Denso. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. . . . . www.densoaftermarket.com/ssgm Equus Products Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . 19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.equss.com Ford Motor Company . . . . . . . . . . . 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.ford.ca Fram Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.framgrp.com Gabriel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.Gabriel.com 44 SSGM August 2012

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Advertiser

Page #

Website

Mister Transmission. . . . . . . . . 31,32. . www.mistertransmissionpartners.com Tenneco, Monroe Shocks . and Struts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.monroe.com NACE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.asrwevents.com Nissan Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.nissan.ca Ross Tech, LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.VCDS-ProKit.com SPX Canada. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.otctools.com Valvoline Oil Canada. . . . . . . . 15,43. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.valvoline.com VDO TPMS Replacement Parts. . 22. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.redi-sensor.com Veyance Technologies. . . . . . . . . . 35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.goodyearep.com VL Communications . . . . . . . . . . . 37. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.vlcom.com Volkswagen Canada. . . . . . . . . . . 48. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.vw.ca WORLDPAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. . . . . . . . . . . . www.worldpac.com/2012ss www.ssgm.com

12-08-07 2:31 PM

SSGM BAYWATCH New Products

Custom Hose Candy Kit Available for Ford Mustangs Oomph! Labs offers a complete Hose Candy Ford Mustang Kit (Part No. 80001A) that is designed to improve the look of 1965-69 Mustang engines and includes performance solutions for radiator, heater, brake booster, vacuum and windshield washer hoses.

The Mustang kit features Hose Candy Hose Skins with Skinposite Carbon Fiber and Kevlar technology, which are designed to create the ultimate bullet-proof protection for radiator and other hoses. Simply installing Hose Skins over the existing hoses delivers improved protection and a high-tech appearance. Hose Skins are available in a combination of colors, including Red/Black, Green/Black, Orange/Black, Blue/Black and Carbon Fiber Black. In addition, the kit includes leak-proof BOA Clamps — which heat shrink to conform to any shape and never need to be tightened — to eliminate less attractive, inefficient metal clamps.

Oomph! Labs www.hosecandy.com

ENJOY

SHOCKING SALES RESULTS!

Truck Adapter from Gates The Gates 4.5" cone accessory (Part # 91002-9) fits the POWERCLEAN Flush Tools whip hose for larger ID coolant hoses. This allows for proper cleaning of the radiator, heater core and engine block; Perfect to ensure optimum cooling system operation and to reduce downtime on fleets. Improper maintenance can lead to coolant contamination and premature failure of water pump seals, which can void manufacturer warranty. Gates developed the new POWERCLEAN Flush Tool to help eliminate these problems using pulsating technology to ensure a completely clean cooling system. The POWERCLEAN (Part # 91002) tool uses water and compressed air to safely remove accumulated sludge and scale deposits without the use of harsh chemicals or solvents. The tool’s patented process allows pressurized air to scrub deep into corners and crevices, and it automatically regulates the pressure to a safe level if a hard blockage exists, eliminating the possibility of cooling system damage.

Gates Canada www.gates.com

Beck/Arnley Adds Two New Automatic Transmission Fluids to Line

Contact your local Monroe representative or visit .com www. for promotion details.

monroe

Beck/Arnley announced it has added two new automatic transmission fluids to its line of genuine OE quality fluids specifically designed for Asian vehicles and formulated using the same technology that OEMs use.

Type Z-1 is for Honda and Acura, and Type WS is for Toyota, Lexus and Scion. Beck/ Arnley’s premium automatic transmission fluids are superior quality formulations of high-performance base oils and carefully selected additives. The fluids are chemically balanced to help protect seals and “O” rings, provide corrosion, rust and wear protection and to give oxidation resistance for prolonged life.

Beck/Arnley www.beckarnley.com

This is a mail-in rebate. Restrictions apply.

Offer may not be combined with any other discount, offer or rebate.

PROMOTION VALID:

SEPTEMBER 1 OCTOBER 3 1, 2 012 © 2012 Tenneco

August 2012 SSGM 45

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The Monroe Shocktober ® Fall Consumer Promotion gives your customers an incentive to buy!

7/25/12 1:00 PM

12-08-07 2:30 PM

|| Jim’s Rant

Maintenance?

What maintenance?

Y

By Jim Anderton, Technical Editor

ou gotta love some motorists. They just keep driving no matter what. As long as the engine goes, they’ll press on regardless. Mike Cukrovani from Caledonia Tire and Auto Centre in southern Ontario sent me these amazing pictures of a customer’s Jeep that Mike reports “came in with a little brake noise! The rear of the Jeep and sides were covered in metal dust!” This is one of those “Gotta see it to believe it” stories and the pictures Mike sent are almost beyond belief.

By the look of it, the fraction material wore to the backing plates, which promptly ate into the brake rotor until it ground down to paper plate thickness.

“Brake noise?” I guess so! What astounds me is that the owner somehow drove the vehicle in this condition for some time to get the rotor to wear to that level. You would think that the low pedal would be a warning sign, or maybe metal debris all over the Jeep; or maybe just the fact that the 4X4 just wasn’t stopping very well.

This isn’t a case of idiocy; it’s an abject lesson on how some owners pay attention to their vehicles.

There are lots of wear items in cars and light trucks that will fail gradually, slowly, like tires and ride control. It’s hard to notice the performance loss over time, so motorists need regular maintenance and a trained eye to find potential problems before they get out of hand. In this case, it’s amazing that the owner got the machine into Mike’s shop in one piece, let alone survived public roads and traffic. What this mess really tells us, however, is the danger of waiting for the catastrophic failure. Had the rotor exploded or split, the instant loss of braking, and probably brake fluid as the pistons popped out of the caliper bores, would have brought the owner into the shop, ideally “on the hook.”

In this case, it looks like the caliper pins froze too, leaving the piston hanging by a thread, and by the look of it, leaking fluid too. This owner is very lucky not only to avoid an accident, but also to avoid a post-accident criminal charge for driving this junk. Why do they do it? Two reasons: Because they can get away with it and because they don’t trust shops to give then an honest appraisal of the vehicle’s fitness. That’s what makes Mike’s pictures so valuable. Every shop should keep a digital camera handy to record this kind of mess, both to show the customer and as a record of what poor maintenance does to the health and safety of a vehicle and its owner. I hope the guys at Caledonia Tire and Auto blow these pics up and show them to every customer asking about brake work. I’d love to see the difference in price between this job and what the simple pad replacement would have been in the first place. I’m sure other shops have seen similar horror stories. Send them to me and I’ll harass Editor Tom Venetis to let me put them in SSGM. It’s funny, but from a safety standpoint, it isn’t!

What do you think?

Have your say and speak your mind! letterstotheeditor@ssgm.com 46 SSGM August 2012

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vw.ca

The right parts at the right time.

Visit vw.ca or your Volkswagen dealer for details. “Volkswagen” and the Volkswagen logo are registered trademarks of Volkswagen AG. © 2012 Volkswagen Canada.

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