Just because you offer a service, doesn’t mean it’s profitable. Here Are five top-sellers that shops say are among their favorites for boosting revenue.

Traditionally, independent service shops have been in the “repair” business. Your customers come to you with a problem, and you fix it. For the customer, this is not always a pleasant experience, especially when the work ticket climbs into the hundreds or thousands of dollars. And then there is the even more unpleasant situation of comebacks, when, regardless of actual fault, the customer perceives that the failure is linked to incompetence, or worse, greed.

Offering preventative maintenance service is one way to turn it around. Customers feel good when they realize they are extending the life of their sizable investment. Comebacks are few, if any, because the work is much less complicated, improving your shop’s professional image. And it establishes a dialogue between you and the customers, showing that you care about the work you perform, as well as their safety and well-being.

For the shop owner, maintenance work offers high profit margins and the luxury of scheduled bay time for slower periods. We talked with a number of shop owners who have recognized these facts and are successfully converting a substantial percentage of their business into maintenance work. And, they were eager to share their ideas on improving a shop’s bottom line through maintenance. Here are their ideas on the subject.

1. Fluids: the lifeblood of the vehicle
Fluid flushes came in as a resounding first place with everyone we spoke with. Statistics abound showing that fluids are the most neglected maintenance item by consumers, even though they understand how vital they are to the proper operation of the vehicle.

The experts concur: Bobby Likis, owner of Car Clinic Service, Pensacola, FL and radio host to the nationally syndicated “Car Clinic” radio show, shared the details of an interview he had with Larry Lyons, vice president, Small Car Platform Engineering, DaimlerChrysler Corp.

“What can we tell car owners to do to keep today’s cars running well for years to come?” Likis asked.

“[Maintain] fresh fluids, fluid levels, tire pressure. Use common sense. Follow the maintenance schedule,” Lyons responded.
Consistently, we heard from shop owners and industry representatives alike that fluid flushes are highly profitable, not only because they are necessary, but also because multiple procedures can be performed all at one time.

“If you can ‘couple’ services, that can be hugely profitable,” said Dave McKallagat, director of sales and marketing for BG Products. He explained that if a car needs four flush procedures done, such as brake fluid, transmission fluid, engine coolant and power steering fluid, then it’s merely a matter of hooking up the necessary equipment and letting it run. The entire job may take only one hour to perform, but the job is billed as four separate line items, each with it’s own fee, McKallagat added.
This strategy is one that is employed by many of the shop owners we talked with, too. To many of them, it is what makes it number one in their minds.

“We don’t do ‘services,’ we do ‘procedures,’” said Likis. “That is how it is billed. If there is a car in the bay, and the tech is performing three procedures, we bring in three times the shop’s rate because these are all being done simultaneously.”

And, for a side note, of all the flush/exchange services you can provide, shop owners consistently told us that brake fluid flushes were among their most profitable offerings, but it is one that is “most overlooked.”

2. Engine/fuel injection cleaning
The grocery list for engine and fuel injection cleaning services can range from sophisticated equipment to simple, inexpensive additives, but overall, they can have a tremendous first-impression with the customer.

“Normally, eight out of 10 times, we get a ‘seat of the pants’ difference with those canned treatments. If it is done properly, it cleans out the engine and allows the car to idle properly – something the customer can immediately recognize as an improvement,” said Drew Paras, owner, Honest-1 Auto Care, Beavercreek, OR.

“With the machine, it does this job even better,” he adds. “With the can, there is more profit margin: It is easier to do; there is no equipment cost. With machines, you do a better job and give the customer a better service.”

Paras told us that this is his number one favorite because the procedure can be set up in 10 minutes and left to run while his techs are working on something else. He calls it ‘free labor’: “My mechanics are free to do something else, so costs are minimal and profits are high, even with the initial equipment purchase.”

3. Belt and hose replacement
The numbers from last October’s National Car Care Month events were recently tabulated, and AAA is reporting that 8 percent of the inspected vehicles had hoses that were blistered, cracked or glazed. The Car Care Council reports that 16 percent of the vehicles inspected needed new belts.“AAA’s Car Care Month inspections confirm that motorists gen-erally under-maintain their vehicles, and this is the primary reason for the millions of roadside break-downs that occur each year,” said Marshall L. Doney, vice president of AAA Automotive.

Preventing roadside breakdowns is key to C&M Auto Service’s (Vernon Hills, IL) approach to selling maintenance: “For us, belts are another high-profit item. Most are single serpentine – not very difficult to replace,” says Mike Starovich, C&M president. “Customers love you when their belts don’t break.”

4. Tire rotation/balancing and wheel alignment
Starovich told us that his shop doesn’t do a great deal of this business, but he says it is quite profitable. And with the new technologies available today, balancing and alignments make even more sense for tires that aren’t quite ready to be replaced.
“How do we convince customers that a tire balance is a good idea? We advise them, ‘You have 30,000 miles on these tires, you might want to balance these. The tires will ride better, the car will ride better, the tires will wear more evenly and, ultimately, you will save the suspension from extra wear-and-tear,’” Starovich states.

A 2001 Frost and Sullivan report, “The North American Automotive Maintenance Service Market,” places wheel alignment service as one of the most popular service packages available, representing nearly 11 percent of maintenance revenues and 7.7 percent of the jobs performed in 2000. The report further states that this segment will see the second highest compound annual growth of revenue – 1.5 percent – through 2007, which is all the more reason to consider marketing it as “preventative maintenance.”

5. Filter replacement
Now replacing air filters may not qualify as a high-margin maintenance item, but there are plenty filters all around the car – air, oil, fuel and cabin air. Of those, cabin air filters appear to be the newest ‘hot ticket’ in maintenance service.
National Oil and Lube News publishes an annual survey full of facts and figures on the quick lube industry. The 2002 report, published last September, shows cabin air filter replacement being offered at 42 percent of the stores. For those respondents, it is the second most-profitable add-on service. In addition, 23 percent of the respondents said that they plan to add cabin air filter replacement to their service offerings in 2003.

It’s hard for anyone to argue with replacing a dirty filter, says Starovich. “When you get a car with 80,000 miles [on it] and pull out the filter, and it’s black, well, it’s a no-brainer.”

Motorage 2002