Investing in a Tire Changer & Wheel Balancer will Grow your Shop

Before I begin, a lot of you may think that you don’t have room for these two machines in your small shop or that it might not be profitable but when you look at the numbers, you’ll see otherwise.

Tire Changers and Wheel Balancers are two fundamental pieces of equipment any auto repair shop should have and for pretty clear reasons. Tire changers remove tires from wheels in an effective manner while Wheel balancers help keep the weight of the wheel evenly distributed. Investing in both of these machines can be quite beneficial mainly because your shop can offer many other services just by having a tire changer and wheel balancer among your equipment tools. Here are the Top 3 Reasons why investing in a Tire Changer and Wheel Balancer can Help Grow your Shop.

All-in-one Repair Shop

This is probably something everyone knows by now but there is nothing more annoying than having to go to multiple places for different services and products. Running errands is annoying and quite frankly, if I could get my lunch, drive my kids to school and buy auto equipment all at the same place, I’d probably do it. So buying multiple auto parts in more than a few locations is unacceptable.

Regardless of the size of your shop, your clients come to you and expect the best possible products and services available. Once a client trusts you, why not use this to your advantage and offer them the convenience of saving them time? With wheel balancing and tire changing services, never again will your clients ever have to go from shop to shop until they have all their needs taken care of.

Having both tools (at least entry level) will allow you to not lose business to other bigger shops. Owning both machines enables your shop to be the one place where your clients can have their vehicles serviced completely. Throw in a few beers and a TV with SportsCenter on all day and the only problem you’ll have is getting these guys to go home.

Pushing Products and Accessories

Not only will having a tire changer andwheel balancer be convenient for your clients but it will also allow you to sell other products as well.

Before owning a tire changer and wheel balancer, unless you sell tires, wheels and accessories at extremely low prices, people will be buying those products from the “experts” (or shops that balance wheels and change tires).Purchasing a tire changer and a wheel balancer allows you to become the go-to-guys for all vehicle related services and you can even start selling wheel and tire accessories to increase your profit margin. Since selling these accessories won’t be your bread and butter why not start with a few products, sell them at low prices and ensure the big repair shop down the road doesn’t take all the glory.

Identify your target market (see our 5 Tips and Tricks to Defining your Auto Repair Shop's “Niche” Market ) and find out what they’re buying and what they can afford. This not only allows you to understand what prices are competitive but also what products and accessories are worth investing in.

Return on Investment

Let me paint a scenario for you. Suppose you live in a small town with a population of 25,000 people where the median household income is $53,000. Most of these people own at least one vehicle which implies semiyearly maintenance.

Your average vehicle needs to have its wheels balanced every 7,000 miles (roughly 3-4 times per year) and have its tires changed every 30,000 miles. The prices for these two services varies but for the most part a wheel balancing service can run you about $50 (for all 4 tires) and a tire changing services $60 (x4=$240).

The reason I mentioned the families is so you can get a better understanding of your potential target market as well as how much money you can make. With a wheel balancing and tire changing service one family vehicle can make you about $150 per year which may not seem like a lot but multiply that times the 8,000 potential families living in your town for a task that takes your technician 45-60 mins to complete. For tire changing the numbers are similar, $240x8,000 gives you a pretty hefty sum.

Now that you have a sense of how much you can potentially earn, JMC Automotive Equipment’s tire changer and wheel balancer combo can be purchased at a fraction of that sum. An entry level wheel balancer and tire changer can be purchased for as little as $3000. At that price, you really can’t afford to NOT offer wheel services.

As repair shop owners we should always be innovating and looking for ways to garner new clients. If you think you don’t have room for a tire changer and a wheel balancer combo or think you can’t afford them, be aware that your customers come to you because they know you do a good job. Why not show them your wheel services are also unsurpassed with a tire changer and wheel balancer from the industry’s biggest names.