Meyle argues that technicians should be insisting on replacing the whole set of control arms when one wears out.
One could say: Happy customer equals happy mechanic. So how do we make sure that our customers leave the workshop happy? Certainly not by having them come back multiple times a year to do repair work on the axis.
But what can you do if one control arm after another wears out and needs to be replaced?
The answer is as simple as it is clever: Change the whole set of control arms in one go. You may think that this will take much longer and cause significantly higher costs for the customer, right? But let’s take a closer look at these two aspects, shall we?
Haven’t we all been there, where we’ve returned a car to its happy owner, only for it to be sent back to the workshop two weeks or a month later? Diagnosis: damaged control arm. Again. A problem you thought would be fixed for the next couple of years. But the issue is not the single broken control arm, but rather the time that both the mechanic and the customer have to invest, to keep the car up and running. Again.
Time that could be saved by replacing it with a whole new set of control arms. Mechanics get an all-in-one package with bolts, nuts and control arms – basically everything they need to repair the car in a time-efficient and reliable way that ensures a longer service life. Because when working on the axis, the mechanic has to remove and reinstall several other parts just to get to the broken control arm, which sometimes takes a while. In addition, nuts and bolts often wear out and have to be replaced once they have been undone. On top of that, wheel alignment and ADAS calibration have to be carried out each time the mechanic has to work on the axis.
Customers, on the other hand, have to invest time and money over and over again, which is a decisive factor for many, especially in high-wage countries. With the replacement of the entire control arm set, they benefit from the fact that they can rely on a longer period between repair intervals, thus saving time and money.
Although it may seem that replacing a part that isn’t necessarily broken would cost more, it still saves money in the long run. So how do you do that? As mentioned before, time is something very valuable, if not the most valuable thing when it comes to a workshop.
So the answer is as simple as it is clever. You save money by saving time. Time that the customer needs to take the car to the garage. Time, that the mechanic needs to remove and reassemble various parts each time. Time, it takes the customer to pick up their car. And last but not least: Time they would have to spend without their faithful companion.
Sure, the first invoice will be higher for them, but what they gain is a longer service life for their car, a longer period between repairs and the most important thing: trust in their mechanic. Because let’s be honest, as much as you like having them over, seeing each other frequently is not a good basis for a mechanic-customer relationship.
In summary, it can be said using control arm sets contributes not only to customer satisfaction because they save time and money, but also satisfied mechanics because they have all the necessary components, which are of high quality and easy to use.
So putting in a one-time additional effort by replacing the whole set of control arms in one go, results in ultimately less work – for both the mechanic and the customer.
