The Wheel Alignment Blog | More to Alignment than just Alignment

Seized components shouldn't stop wheel aligners!

With almost 30 years experience in the tyre trade, you notice a few things. One thing you can't miss out on is the opportunity to increase revenue through the fair work that comes alongside using your wheel alignment servicing equipment.

A most common type of work I see? The same old issue of seized components that never go away.

People realise the potential profit that wheel aligners offer as part of their service structure. 

It used to be the case when selling alignment that I would experience a lot of negative feedback around this exact issue. "I can't be bothered to spend hours unseizing nuts and bolts for the sake of what should be a quick alignment job."

Know your worth and tell your customer

Having the correct tools will help ensure you never have to turn a wheel alignment job away or lose money on it.

I've always stuck by a simple rule that ensures every alignment job equates to fair profit for a garage without ripping off a customer.

It's simple enough. If the bolts don't unseize within 10-15 minutes then you should pull the customer over and explain that, in order to continue the alignment, you'll need to unseize these adjusters. Many customers will be aware of this common problem. They'll understand the extra work required, including heating the component, cleaning, greasing or worst-case scenario replacing.

All this serves to keep your customer safe and their vehicle on the road for as long as possible so it would be neglectful to ignore the alignment issue just because of an issue like this. 

I've always classed seized components not as a bad problem, but as extra revenue. You'd do the same if you had a seized in diesel injector, or maybe even call a specialist in to do it.

Be prepared, have the right equipment for dealing with seized components and be honest with your customers. ​

Author | Warren Carr | Wheel Alignment Specialist​​

My name is Warren Carr and I'm from the team of alignment engineers at Hofmann Megaplan. I will be using this blog to regularly highlight some practical hints and tips which will help you, our garage professionals, achieve great results with your equipment, no matter the make of alignment machine.