Garage equipment specialist Absolute Alignment is arguing that pot holes, whilst a headache for drivers, can be a source of profit for workshops. What gets bigger the more you take out of it? Pot hole profit margins…
In the latest RAC report ‘RAC Pothole Index – statistics and data for UK roads’ the motoring organisation highlights their ‘Pothole Index’ which shows that drivers are 1.7 times more likely to suffer damage from poor road surfaces than when records began, in 2006. With each repair costing around £460 on average, it is clear that this is a huge market for automotive workshops. Most garages can fit new suspension components, wheels or tyres but many are still unable to take the final step that completes the job – wheel alignment. This process is so important that Aldershot-based Absolute Alignment has launched a new Know the Facts campaign, which highlights how correct wheel alignment:
- Improves EV range
- Improves safety
- Improves comfort
- Improves tyre life
- Improves fuel economy
In addition, correct wheel alignment is vital for the safe operation of ADAS. Most in-built Advanced Driver Assistance Systems need correct steering and/or rear thrust angle to work, and a modern vehicle cannot function safely if one parameter is out of kilter. Wheel alignment has never been more important and workshops that outsource the work – or, worse, ignore it – are both losing out on control over their work and on extra profits.
Investment potential
Absolute Alignment can help workshops that either want to get into wheel alignment or upgrade ageing equipment. The latest version of the Bluetooth Lite Wheel Aligner can be leased for under £30 + VAT per week, that is just a couple of decent coffees per day and gives access to a whole new world of profits. Check out Absolute Alignment’s Payback Calculator for more details.
According to the RAC, their patrols attended 33 per cent more pothole-related breakdowns in 2023 compared to 2022, and government figures show that 60 per cent of local councils did not resurface their roads despite the cash windfall from the cancellation of HST North. The need for wheel alignment is not going away. Workshops that are not talking to Absolute Alignment are potentially missing out on thousands of pounds of repair work, which along with a programme of regular four-wheel alignment check-ups for customers adds up to big profits and total control over their work.
