ABRN readers still concerned about ROI, space required for ADAS calibrations
Survey finds more readers are taking on in-house calibrations and relying less on dealerships, but questions remain for some about feasibility of doing it themselves
For the second year in a row, ABRN polled readers on how they approach ADAS calibration. Although not purely scientific (the same readers as last year did not necessarily respond), it does give some insight to the attitudes and buying habits of ABRN readers. There seems to be greater understanding among readers of the space, training, and equipment required to perform ADAS calibrations, along with both believing less the dealership is the best qualified and relying on them less for these operations.
More shops represented in the study seem to have bought equipment in the past year. Of those who do not currently have ADAS equipment, about 43 percent plan to add it this year or next, down slightly from last year’s respondents, 50 percent of whom said they planned ADAS purchases in that year. For scan tools used in-house for calibration, 20 percent of respondents reported using only OEM tools; 37.5 percent reported using only aftermarket tools.
More shops report having a bay dedicated to ADAS calibrations, up from 31 percent last year to 40 percent this year.
Jay Sicht is editor-in-chief of FenderBender and ABRN. He has worked in the automotive aftermarket for more than 29 years, including in a number of sales and technical support roles in paint/parts distribution and service/repair. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Central Missouri with a minor in aviation, and as a writer and editor, he has covered all segments of the automotive aftermarket for more than 20 of those years, including formerly serving as editor-in-chief of Motor Age and Aftermarket Business World. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
