When you’re running an auto shop, meeting new clients, making scheduled repairs, and keeping everything in tip-top shape is all in the day’s work. There’s no room for downtime except for your much-needed breaks, which are important to maintain your overall productivity and work quality.
Besides, you don’t have to do manual laborious tasks all the time, especially if you have the resources to get your shop the right tools and equipment to make your job a lot easier. Skimping on the upgrades you need will not only hinder you from maximizing your potential but also force you to exert much more effort than you actually have to.
So, do yourself and your employees a favor by splurging a little on energy-efficient upgrades for your shop when you have some spare room in the budget. Investing in getting the right tools and equipment can be beneficial to the success of your shop because you can accommodate more clients in less time. Here are four upgrades you can consider getting:
Tire Changers
Manually changing a tire can be both exhausting and time-consuming, especially because you can’t do all four at once. You have to remove the hubcaps if there are any, loosen the lug nuts, place the car jacks to lift the vehicle, replace the tire, tighten the nuts, and return the hubcaps.
Then you have to repeat that process depending on how many tires need to be replaced. But if you have a tire-changing machine in your shop that can streamline the entire process, it’s possible that you can accomplish more tasks in the same amount of time that you would if you had done so manually.
You can get a machine that can help you mount or dismount tires and integrate an inflation system in one. Some machines come with a roller or shovel-type bead separator to make it easier for you to fix the seating when you have to adjust tires.
Car Lifts
Don’t settle for car jacks if you can purchase automatic lifts for your shop. This will allow you to hoist the car that needs servicing in one piece of equipment instead of on four separate jacks, which can reduce your overall repair time. And because modern car lifts are more durable, they can help you accommodate clients for a long time before they need any replacements.
The kind of car lift that you get for your shop will highly depend on the types of vehicles that you service. There are mobile column car lifts that can be kept away when you don’t need to use them, but there are also that can be built into the floor for better leverage and stability.
Wheel Balancers
Imbalanced wheels are safety hazards not only for your clients but also for the passersby and other drivers on the road with them. This is something that should be ingrained in your mind even more so because your clients rely on you to make sure that their cars are safe to drive and working in optimal condition.
As such, you can make things easier for yourself by getting a wheel balancing machine that can help you gauge if the wheels are in good condition and correctly positioned before you release the vehicles back on the road. Reliable wheel balancers can improve your accuracy and immediately detect misalignment if there are any.
Automotive Paint Booth
Lastly, it could be time for you to expand the services you offer at your auto shop. Instead of solely focusing on repairs, maintenance, and vehicle upkeep, maybe you can start accommodating paint customization or other appearance enhancers. This way, you can increase your target market.
Having an automotive paint booth inside your shop can be a great way to introduce this new market offer to your clients. Of course, the size and capacity of your paint booth will depend on how much space you have at the shop, so it might be better if you measured the area beforehand.
You can also have your pick of the litter when it comes to paint booths because there are plenty of options to choose from. For instance, you can get an automotive spray booth that can deliver high airflow and fast curing speeds for more precise custom designs. Or you could get an industrial-sized paint booth if you want to accommodate larger vehicles in your shop.
The point is that it’s foolish to still choose the long way around if you have the means to make your job easier and more efficient. Through modern and innovative technologies, you can service more vehicles in less time without having to overextend yourself in the process just to meet strict deadlines.
