right to repair
As mentioned in our previous Right to Repair articles, there are many intriguing aspects that underlie this debate, and we now give you part three, the final
part of a series of articles written by Andrew D. Graham, managing director of SUPLEX GmbH, about the perceptions of quality, and how these perceptions
are formed. This series has been extracted from a letter Andrew wrote to Peter Lawton, editor of CAT Magazine, one of the UK’s leading automotive
aftermarket trade publications.
A Moral and Legal Obligation
And because the vast majority of parts
offered in the UK aftermarket are described as
“matching quality parts”, price has become
the primary differentiator instead of the quality
of the part itself. In this respect, OESAA’s drive
to force aftermarket suppliers to describe all
parts correctly is to be both commended and
applauded. It is, as we have seen, far too easy
for others to find fault with any new initiative
and I am sure there will be plenty who will find
fault with the initiative I have described here.
No matter, we’re ready to listen to criticism,
ready to ride the ensuing storm.
The coil-springs fitted to the current
generation of passenger cars
are often sophisticated designs
and many cannot be satisfactorily
reproduced by some aftermarket
suppliers. Quite often, they redesign
the spring to make it fit their
manufacturing plant and in doing so
change the spring characteristics.
The curved, side-load spring is only
one example.
D
esigned to reduce friction
between the shock absorber
piston rod and its seal, many
aftermarket suppliers offer instead a
parallel design, the only benefit of which is
to the mechanic, because a parallel spring
is easier to fit! Car owners should not be
surprised when they experience a harsher
ride after such springs have been fitted,
especially at low speed. Sometimes we
forget what the independent aftermarket
is about: it is our job to make cars better,
not worse.
This brings me to an aspect of our
business which is often overlooked and
that is our moral and, as managing
directors and owners of our businesses,
our legal obligation to correctly describe
and represent the products we are
introducing to and promoting in the
market. The UK market, quite frankly, is
awash with poor quality coil-springs that
are being promoted as matching quality
parts.
This is often a well- known fact amongst
those promoting them and the supplier’s
matching quality certificate provides the
comforting sense of security they need
to justify their actions: the mask, if worn
long enough, becomes the face.
➲ The taper wire Miniblock Spring for the GM “Epsilon” platform
(Opel Vectra C). Epsilon is General Motors’ mid-size front-wheel drive
automobile platform. The architecture was developed by Opel, and debuted
in the 2002 Opel Vectra and 2003 Saab 9-3. Since this platform falls
squarely in the centre of the worldwide automobile market, GM produced
a great many Epsilon vehicles with over a dozen variations. As of 2005,
it is GM’s highest volume worldwide platform. Even after the dissolution
of the GM/Fiat partnership, both companies retain the rights to continue
developing Epsilon-derived models.
On the left: the taper wire design supplied by SUPLEX to their clients.
In the middle: the taper wire Original Equipment design fitted at the factory.
On the right: a constant wire, “matching quality” aftermarket replacement
part for the same application. Note the much shorter free length.
This free length issue causes much head-scratching in the workshop.
| words in action
56
may 2014
The horsemeat scandal really has sounded
the death knell for self-certification and our
industry, our customers, surely deserve
something better. Let’s offer it to them. As
George Bernard Shaw once said, “Making
a start is half the work.” You’ll be pleased to
learn we’ve progressed well past the halfway
mark.
Any c oil-spring manufacturers or
suppliers interested in learning more
about our initiative are welcome
to contact Andrew D. Graham at
e-mail [email protected] or
tel. +49 171 459 0221. In the next issue
of aBr, we will have a look at how
Suplex educates the market to identify
the differences in products offered.