Would you like to create an ongoing annual revenue stream for each sale you make? Reorders are one good way to keep the cash flow flowing into your business while saving a lot of time.
One consistent source of reorders is consumables -- that is items that are used up and replaced regularly. Fluid testing kits are great consumables. I especially like test kits because they have the added benefit of increasing a shop owner’s fluid exchange sales far more than the pocket change they cost.
Q: What are fluid test kits?
A: If you’ve ever got a blood test in your doctor’s office, you get the idea.
Basically, it’s like a nurse drawing blood and sending it to the test lab. But with automotive fluid test kits, there’s no long wait. Results are available immediately right in the shop’s service bay. The kits all work similarly: fluid is placed on a test pad and compared to a chart to decide if the fluid is good or needs replacing.
There are test kits for most vital fluids in a vehicle. The most common test kits are for engine coolant, brake fluid, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, gear oil and motor oil. Some kits even test diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), and fuel.
I especially like the “Show and Sell” nature of these tests. By creating visible evidence, the test gives a technician or service writer something he can show his customer to support suggesting a fluid change.
Q: How does a fluid test kit work? Does it involve a lot of training?
A: The first fluid test kits in the automotive industry hit the market in the late 1980’s, says Ron Schornstein CEO of Acustrip Company, Inc. (acustrip.com). But even earlier than that, some form of fluid test kit technology was first used in the railroad industry over 100 years ago.
As I see it, fluid test kits basically use one of two general techniques: I’ll call them “chemical” and “spot” testing. Both methods are simple to perform.
The Chemical Method
In the chemical test, fluid is placed on a test strip and creates a chemical reaction changing the color of the strip. This technology is used by Acustrip and Phoenix Systems. These technical tests require different test strips to measure each fluid (like brake fluid, coolant or antifreeze in ATF) or contaminant (like moisture, wear metals or bacteria/mold). These kits have a shelf life of two to three years.
“A coolant test strip determines the pH (acidity) and glycol (freeze point) of engine coolant,” says Jeremiah Terry, VP sales and marketing, Phoenix Systems, LLC. (brakebleeder.com). “Low pH levels means an engine cooling system is acidic or corrosive. Consider what battery acid does to metal ... Ethylene Glycol levels too high or too low may cause coolant to freeze and destroy the cooling system.”
The Spot Method
With the spot method (“radial planar chromatographic analysis” -- if you’re ever quizzed), a drop of fluid is placed on a test pad creating a pattern and color. This methodology is used in Fluid RX Diagnostics. One universal test pad can be used for transmission fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid, motor oil and gear oil. There’s no shelf life on these types of kits, so inventory never “spoils."
“It provides a measure of additive depletion and the total sludge and/or debris content in the fluid as correlated to laboratory analysis,” says Ron McElroy, CEO of MagnaGuard, Inc. maker of the Fluid RX Diagnostic kits (fluidrxdiagnostics.com), which use the spot method.
In both cases, the resulting color and/or pattern are compared to a supplied chart. The results are easy to understand -- even by the average shop customer who can plainly see if a particular fluid in his or her vehicle needs to be serviced.
No matter the method, once a test pad is used, it can’t be used again.
Q: What’s the street price on a fluid test kit?
A: It depends on what you’re testing. But most kits are sold to shops in bulk packages and run from $0.17 to $0.79 a test. (You probably have more change than that in sofa cushions!)
Some kits can be used to test multiple fluids. Others are fluid- or contaminant-specific. So, it’s important that the shop owner be aware of his inventory.
Q: How reliable are these fluid test kits?
A: All the kits are reliable. That is, they all do what they say they do.
There is a question of scientific accuracy and industry standard. Some kits meet ASTM International standards and some meet other industry standards. But that’s all outside the scope of this article.
From my perspective, all the manufacturers and kits mentioned (see sidebar) provide at the very least an acceptable rule of thumb measurement and a marketing tool for independent shop owners servicing consumer vehicles.
“One of the most neglected segments of vehicle preventative maintenance is vital fluids including gear oils, transmission, power steering and brake fluids,” says McElroy. “Adding fluid diagnostics to every multi-point inspection will up ticket averages and promote customer trust and confidence in preventative maintenance service recommendations.”
Shops servicing commercial fleets may also choose to use fluid test kits in their Preventive Maintenance (PM) programs, at which point science and standards may be more important to the fleet owner/manager. Most fluid test kit manufacturers provide this technical data in their literature and on their websites.
Q: How do I sell a shop owner on using fluid test kits?
A: This seems like an obvious tool for oil changes facilities. But any shop doing fluid exchange services can dramatically increase sales by doing fluid tests on each vehicle they service.
“AMRA/MAP (Automotive Maintenance & Repair Association/Motorist Assurance Program) and the industry in general acknowledges that additive depletion requires the servicing of a fluid." says McElroy. “On average, every car that leaves [a] service bay had at least one depleted vital fluid that needed servicing. That’s money that just rolled out [the] door.”
“With the average number of oil changes now going down to two a year from four a year, you have the customer coming in for service less often,” says Schornstein. “So it’s making the semi-annual check up more important than the quarterly check up was.”
“In a world with ever increasing skepticism and government regulation, it will become imperative to provide our customers with scientific proof for the services we perform,” says Terry.
Selling a shop on fluid test strips can be a win-win-win situation. The vehicle owner can extend his vehicle life, the shop will sell more fluid related services, and you will regularly restock every shop on your route that you sell into.
