Aftermarket November 2022

www.aftermarketonline.net NOVEMBER 2022 AFTERMARKET 3 CONTENTS BUSINESS 8 Big issue: A waste of energy? 12 Adam Bernstein: Disarming an angry customer part 1 14 Deko: Buy now, pay later? TECHNICAL 16 Aftermarket of the future 18 Andrew Marsh: Li-Ion batteries 20 Frank Massey: Left carrying the CAN 22 Ryan Colley: Son of a Shogun 24 Kevin Toms: A day on the farm 26 Kalimex: Marketing on a shoestring 30 Repairify: Counting the cost TOP TECHNICIAN/TOP GARAGE 31 Top Technician and Top Garage 2022 finals plus Awards Evening IN FOCUS 40 Steering and suspension 44 Filters 46 Clutch and transmission 48 Bodyshop Equipment 50 Remanufactured components 54 Trade clubs PLUS... 55 Competition/General products 56 On the Road: Schaeffler at Oldsfields Garage 58 EVs and hybrids 60 Recruitment 64 Training update 66 Teabreak THE RIGHT CHOICE... 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 Adam Bernstein | Dee Blick | Ryan Colley | Neil Kennett | Andrew Marsh | Frank Massey | Huw Phillips | Martin Pinnell- Brown | Kevin Toms 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 putting the finishing touches on the November issue of Aftermarket, news broke that Kwasi Kwarteng had been fired from his job as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and replaced by Jeremy Hunt. Now, as you may have noticed, Aftermarket is not a national newspaper, and normally such political stories would not really be our bag. Unfortunately for us though, the now-ex Chancellor figured in our Big Issue piece that looked at the impact of September’s mini-Budget measures on the automotive sector, as well as the support for businesses being proffered as a result of soaring energy costs. Typical. Out comes the trusty old red pen for some hasty on-the-page re-writes… The way things are going with replacements and policy U-Turns, I am starting to wonder if any of it is going to be relevant once the mag reaches your doormat. Will Jeremy Hunt still be Chancellor then? Will Liz Truss still be Prime Minister even? I have been thinking for a while now that since the start of 2020, world events seem to have been dictated by some sort of 20th Century history randomiser; Worldwide pandemic? Here you go. European border wars? Sure, why not? Here in the UK we seem to have been lurching up and down the 1970s, stuck somewhere between the Three Day Week and the Winter of Discontent. I was feeling like it was 1979, what with the new female P.M and strikes aplenty. Now with chaos in the Treasury and threats of planned blackouts for the winter, I am wondering if it is in fact 1973-1974 under Edward Heath. Sometimes you just have to switch off the news – not Aftermarket though, always keep our website news section open on your browser – and just focus on what you can control. In this situation, with interest rates and therefore mortgage payments rising, motorists will be looking to cut back on unnecessary expenditure. This means buying that new car will be less of a priority, and keeping the current car on the road will be the key concern. This puts the automotive aftermarket in a prime position to be able to help motorists, and make the most of what is a bad situation for everyone. Of course, there will be some drivers who figure the best way to save money is to spend none on their car, but we need to be ready to really start leaning on our marketing and putting the right messages out there. Speaking of the right message, on Saturday 1 October, Top Technician and Top Garage came to their exciting conclusions. This was a special year for Top Technician too, as it was the 20th anniversary of the original run in 2002. After the finals, held at the Delphi Technologies Training Centre, the winners for both competitions, plus the new Top Service Advisor category, were announced at the Top Technician and Top Garage Awards Evening. You can read all about this across our special souvenir pull-out spread on pages 31-38. Congratulations to everyone who won, well done to all those who made it to the finals, and a special thanks to our sponsors Snap-on, VARTA, Blue Print & febi bilstein, TechMan, Motul and TPS.