News

Research by Garage Wire has highlighted that technicians at over a quarter of independent motor vehicle workshops remain unaware of the differences between reconditioned and remanufactured engines and other components.

Saving customers money is perhaps the fundamental reason why independent garages tend to compete well against franchised operations but a survey carried out by Garage Wire has discovered that over a quarter of workshops could be failing to deliver significant potential savings to customers.

The fact that 27% of workshops said they were unaware of the differences between reconditioned and remanufactured parts clearly demonstrates that there is still much to be done in terms of educating the market.  Quality and adherence to industry standards are key factors that distinguish a remanufactured automotive major unit from an inferior reconditioned product.
 
Remanufacturing an engine or component back to a specific OEM standard is a complex process that requires significant investment in skills and equipment, let alone technical expertise and rigorous inspection procedures.  In contrast, a reconditioned engine is a unit that has been stripped or disassembled and cleaned - and may have had some damaged components replaced.  Put simply, reconditioning is an entirely subjective process that offers little or no reassurance to the customer in terms of longevity, warranty protection or performance to OE specification.
 
It‘s also important to emphasise that quality remanufactured products provide a commercial advantage to independent workshops operating in today’s vehicle repair market.  Typically costing up to 40% less than their OE equivalents, remanufactured products offer garages a competitive edge.
 
What‘s the reman‘ trend as far as Ivor Searle is concerned?
 
We are seeing and a constant and steady increase in demand for our all-makes range of high-quality remanufactured petrol and diesel engines, as well as our remanufactured cylinder heads, gearboxes and turbochargers for cars and light commercial vehicles.  We constantly monitor demand for specific engine types and new introductions to ensure our extensive product ranges are always up-to-date and reflect the latest trends in the UK’s vehicle parc.
 
What’s involved in reman‘ at Ivor Searle?
 
All remanufactured Ivor Searle engines are built to exceed the BS AU257:2002 Code of Practice.  This crucial standard sets out the difference between a high-quality remanufactured engine and an inferior reconditioned unit.  The standard fully details how petrol and diesel engines and components should be inspected and checked against OEM tolerances.  BS AU257:2002 also dictates that key components, including piston assemblies, big and small end bearings, as well as bushes, gaskets, seals, timing chains and drive belts are completely renewed.
 
Important additional operations, such as crack testing and machining components, are undertaken to ensure original performance is achieved with reliability.  In addition to having all key clearances and tolerances inspected during assembly.  Ivor Searle also fully tests and inspects all engines as the final stage of the remanufacturing process.
 
To guarantee peace of mind, all Ivor Searle engines, cylinder heads and gearboxes are covered by a transferable 12-month unlimited mileage parts and labour warranty, while a two-year warranty covers all turbochargers.  All products are also supplied with pre-installation guidelines for the workshop and model-specific instructions where required.  A supplier’s swift response can make all the difference in helping get a customer’s vehicle back on the road.  With this in mind, we also provide free next day UK mainland delivery on stock items ordered before 3.30pm.
 

Filed under: Reman vs recon engines