Extending Vehicle Life

There has been in the last 12 months a trend towards extending vehicle life, in particular in the bus industry. The bus industry in the UK and across Europe was not affected as quickly as the car industry as far as reductions in orders was concerned, when everyone else was feeling the economic crisis bite. It took longer before operators reigned in their spending on new vehicles, but consequentially it bit harder and deeper and will take longer to recover. With extra orders for London 2012 bolstering the bus industry in the early part of the year, hopes are high for a continuation of the recovery. However, during the economic down turn, a burgeoning refurbishment industry grew up, and is now an attractive alternative to new vehicles. Bus operators are extending the life of their vehicles buy refurbishing the interiors with new seats, ceilings and even LED lighting, and repainting the outside with new livery. To the customers using the bus they look like new buses. What lurks underneath however? We have noticed an increase in aftermarket sales over the last 18 months, which bears out the extension of the vehicle life, but along with a demand, come profit opportunities, and we are aware that there are many imported products from low cost countries floating around the aftermarket. Purchasing OE spares may seem a bit against the grain as we all know they are expensive right? OE parts however, have been tested specifically for that application, and in some, in fact many applications especially from us, have even been designed specifically for the loads the part is expected to carry. The same cannot always be said for some imported pattern parts, which may look the same in size and shape, but the material specification and design of the internal components may be nothing like the same.

As our products are safety critical, we spend a lot of time making sure they are fit for purpose, and stand by our products performance. If a ball joint were to collapse due to fatigue, it could literally be fatal. If you are extending the life of your vehicles, be sure to continue to fit OE parts for safety critical items, you won’t regret it.