While these things are still important, their most important reason for choosing a master cylinder is more fundamental. The top concern for technicians is making sure the master cylinder box has in it EVERYTHING needed to get the job done right.
A major Aftermarket publishing group recently conducted a survey of automotive repair shops to better understand their concerns regarding master cylinder replacement. “For years, a trend has developed among master cylinder suppliers to ‘de-content’ their product,” said Tod Lange, product manager for Raybestos® brand master cylinders – a member of the Affinia family of brands. “In order to keep the purchase price low at the WD and jobber level, many suppliers are blending new and remanufactured master cylinders into one line.”
The three key findings of the survey are as follows:
- 95% of technicians prefer new units to
remanufactured product because the parts arrive
complete and ready to bench bleed and install.
- Technicians don’t want to re-use old parts,
especially if they don’t match the original components.
- Their concerns about comebacks significantly increase when reusing components from old units.
“As part of our commitment to the AASA’s Know Your Parts campaign, we took a serious look at what we can do to educate our channel partners and resellers about the importance of using high quality parts,” said Jeff Stauffer, Sr. VP, Global Marketing, Affinia Brake & Chassis. “Market pressure is forcing everyone to find ways to cut costs, but those savings should never come at the expense of safety, performance and customer satisfaction.”
While the cost savings of remanufactured master cylinders may seem attractive at first, their proliferation in the marketplace is causing confusion and frustration among technicians… due in large part to increased comebacks. Stauffer said, “The expansion of low quality, remanufactured master cylinders is causing irreparable damage to the Aftermarket’s image and it’s negatively affecting the reputations of technicians nationwide.”
Lange understands the frustration technicians face on a daily basis. “When suppliers force technicians to reuse reservoirs, reservoir caps, fluid level switches or proportioning valves,” said Lange, “they have no way of knowing if the parts will fit and seal properly. Without a perfect fit, the part will probably leak.”
Lange then pointed out that the true cost of a repair using a remanufactured master cylinder is typically MORE expensive than a repair using a new unit. According to market labor facts from ALLDATA, it can take an extra 30 minutes to install a remanufactured unit. Reclaiming a reservoir can increase labor time from 1.8 hours to 2.3 hours (including bleeding the brake system), which translates to added labor costs for the end customers.
Lange concluded, “Technicians are very clear about what they want. They want the convenience, quality and customer satisfaction that only comes from new master cylinders.”
For more information on the Raybestos brand new master cylinders or other Raybestos brake and chassis parts, visit www.raybestos.com or call 800-323-0354.
Raybestos brand brake parts are produced by affiliated companies in Affinia’s Global Brake & Chassis Group, the leading manufacturer of braking systems in the transportation industry. The Raybestos brakes product line includes everything from brake drums to rotors, pads, shoes, calipers and hydraulic parts. Raybestos brand racing brakes are used by premier teams such as Joe Gibbs Racing, Roush Fenway Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports in NASCAR® competition.
In addition, the Raybestos brand is the preferred racing brake pad of IZOD® IndyCar® Series and Firestone® Indy Lights road and street course competition. For more information about Raybestos brakes, visit www.raybestos.com.
Affinia Group Inc. is an innovative global leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and marketing of industrial grade products and services, including extensive offerings of aftermarket parts for automotive and heavy-duty vehicles. With approximately $2.0 billion in annual revenue, Affinia has operations in North and South America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.affiniagroup.com.
