Aftermarket October 2022

www.aftermarketonline.net OCTOBER 2022 AFTERMARKET 3 CONTENTS BUSINESS 8 Big issue: Nice work if you can give it? 12 Tina Drayson: Squeaky wheel 14 UFODRIVE: Hybrid lie? 16 MEWA: Wipe your way to efficiency TOP TECHNICIAN/TOP GARAGE 18 Top Technician 2022 semi-final TECHNICAL 20 Aftermarket of the future 22 Andrew Marsh: Fast Aston Martins 24 Frank Massey: Building the better garage, part two 26 Ryan Colley: Too rich, too lean 28 Kevin Toms: Building in a fault 30 Repairify: Broadening support on EVs 32 Kalimex: Back to basics marketing IN FOCUS 34 Timing systems 38 Exhaust system and DPF 42 Batteries and chargers 46 Tyres and tyre bay 48 Wipers PLUS... 50 Competition/General products 52 Automechanika Frankfurt review 56 On the Road: Point S 58 Garage visit: Hillclimb Garage 60 EVs and hybrids 62 Recruitment 64 Training update 66 Teabreak CHANGE: THE ONLY CONSTANT Editor | Alex Wells alex@aftermarket.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 345 Managing Director | Ryan Fuller ryan.fuller@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Media Sales Executive | Hayley Sibley Hayley@aftermarket.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 349 Contributors Dee Blick, Ryan Colley, Tina Drayson, Neil Kennett, Andrew Marsh, Frank Massey, Aidan McClean, Martin Pinnell-Brown, Kevin Toms, Günes Yenen Operations Manager | Emma Floyd emma.floyd@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Marketing Executive | Hope Jepson hope.jepson@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 371081 Finance Manager | Caren Brown caren.brown@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Chief Executive | Ian Atkinson ian.atkinson@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Published by | DFA Aftermarket Media Ltd 192 High Street, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1BE Alex Wells, Editor Average net circulation July 2019 to June 2021 18,265 @aftermarketmagazine @aftermarket01 @aftermarketmagazine ISSN 2516-9149 Aftermarket is published 10 times a year and is sent free of charge to applicants meeting the publisher’s criteria. All others may subscribe at £60 per anum, £120 Europe and £150 rest of the world. While every care is taken to provide accurate information, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors or ommisions, no matter how caused. All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior consent of the publisher. The views of contributors do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. Copyright: DFA MEDIA LTD 2022. A s we were finishing the October issue of Aftermarket, news broke that Queen Elizabeth II had died at the age of 96. As I wrote this, in fact she passed away yesterday. Everyone in the Aftermarket team were saddened by that news, along with the rest of the world. By the time the mag reaches you, I am sure that the funeral will have taken place, the period of national mourning will have concluded and we will all be a little more used to the idea of King Charles III, and living in the Carolean age. It is a big change for all of us, and it seems so sudden, but we live with change all the time, even if some changes seem far more dramatic. While the rise of EVs seems like a huge shift, and it is, the truth is that the cars that are seen in garages today are radically different to those seen 30, 20 or even 10 years ago. The complexity of many of the most basic vehicles would shock your younger selves I am sure, and certainly your predecessors in the trade. The change to an electric powertrain is a noticeable lurch into a new era, but it is not as if things had stayed the same since, let’s say the 1960s. Garages have been dealing with the march of technology since they first came into being. If those old-time guys could handle it, you can handle it. In contrast to reflecting on something that has just happened, I often appear to have written about things that have not happened yet. According to the contents listed on the right, the review of Automechanika Frankfurt is on pages 52-55, but from my perspective it has not happened yet. In fact, while the rest of the issue is complete, I have yet to even travel to Germany. Are you cross-eyed yet? Welcome to the inside of my head. It works because of planning. Do you know how you can handle change, if you see it coming? Yes, that’s right; Planning. That being said, some changes, like the rocketing cost of energy will be hard to handle even with months and months of warning. As a business, if something costs more than you can really afford, all the strategies in the world won’t help you pay for it. Then you have to consider passing the costs onto your customers, with the consequences that brings. Tough times and tough choices ahead for some. Speaking of choices, in Big Issue we are asking why young people choose university over a life in a garage, and why many of those who have chosen a life in a garage then decide to choose, well, anything else, and opt to exit the sector in every direction. Turn to pages 8-11 to find out more. Those who entered Top Technician and Top Garage made a choice, and for some it will lead to their lives changing dramatically. The semi-final of Top Technician was held at the beginning of September. If you turn to pages 18-19, you can see what happened on the day. In news, you will also find out who the finalists are who will be competing at the finals on Saturday 1 October. If you want to be one of the first people in the country to find out who wins, make sure you are at the Top Technician and Top Garage Awards Evening, being held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Coventry, also on 1 October. Make the choice.