UK Replacement Exhaust and Catalyst Market Stabilises

The replacement exhaust market has gone through shrinkage over the last five years, but our figures show that it has levelled off now; the market for replacement catalytic converters however is showing a steep increase and represents a great future opportunity. There are a number of factors at work here.
 Klarius International Business Development Director, Paul Hannah

Firstly, and most obviously, the reason for the market shrinkage is an improvement in the quality of OE fitted equipment that started around 7-10 years ago, aftermarket exhausts from premium suppliers such as TIMAX also last longer now, we use corrosion resistant aluminised steel throughout the exhaust and this allows us to offer a two year warranty as standard.  Looking back 7-8 years ago, a car would typically have 3-4 replacement exhausts during its life, today it may only have one, or less frequently two. This is where the shrinkage has happened.

What is offsetting this trend and will maintain business for garage and MoT businesses is the fact that there are far more vehicles on the road now, and the wear components on many of them are starting need replacement, the gap in demand seems to have largely passed. Motorists are starting to expect their replacement components to last longer though, so fitting a better quality replacement, a type-approved CAT or exhaust product for example is advisable.

There are still non-type approved parts out there and the poor quality can lead to a short life through corrosion, TIMAX exhausts use only Aluminised steel which is very corrosion resistant, non-type approved manufacturers use thinner steel and thinner levels of corrosion resistant coating, and no corrosion resistant materials on some of the silencer internals. Non-type approved commonly don’t last long and have a higher back-pressure, due to cheaper silencing methods, this can lead to a 3p per litre fuel penalty and more importantly a breakdown of trust with the garage that fitted it.
 
Another important factor that is levelling out the demand for exhausts is a change in the failure mode, 10 years ago the majority of exhausts failed due to corrosion, more fail now due to a mechanical failure, speed bumps, mounting rubbers withering and dropping the exhaust on the road are the most common, both can result in replacements being needed.

Catalytic converters are a different story, there has been a lot of news coverage about early CATs being stolen due to the amount of precious metal in them, fortunes have also been made from recycling them, but the technology has moved on and the coatings within the CAT are thinner making them far less valuable. The replacement market for these items is starting to take off, and garage and MoT station professionals need to learn quickly about what to do to protect profits.

The law changed in 2001 requiring all vehicles to fit a catalytic converter, the number of failures now occurring is naturally starting to rise as the first wave of CATs start to fail. A CAT is a higher value item than an exhaust, but the difference in quality between ‘good un’ and one which will cause problems is huge. A recent Department for Transport consultation document points towards the law changing, requiring replacement CATs and diesel particulate filters to be type-approved in order to improve air quality, so everyone needs to be clued-up on this now.

Anyone who has (unknowingly) fitted a poor quality replacement CAT will know that the vehicle often comes back to the garage a few months later with the emissions warning light on the dash illuminated. The reason is usually that the Lambda sensor after the CAT have detected that the replacement isn’t working very well (and not at all in the case of some that have been tested), the customer will return with the warning light issue, and a new CAT will usually be fitted, unless this a type approved item from a supplier such as TIMAX then the light will come on again, (incidentally the lambda sensor should be changed with the CAT as a matter of routine as these can also cause similar problems). 

There is a good margin to be made from CAT replacements, but a little bit of insider knowledge is needed to make sure you have a happy customer and don’t end up making a loss on the job. The law will most likely change later this year, requiring only type approved CATs to be fitted so the industry needs to know where to get approved items from. TIMAX has just launched the UK’s most comprehensive catalogue of replacement exhaust and CAT products, with over 5,500 type approved items easy referenced by manufacturer, model, year and reference number. Give them a call on 01253 400400 or visit their website at www.klarius.eu for a free copy, neither are TIMAX products difficult to get hold of, they are manufactured and stocked in the UK and available same or next day from over 40 UK distributors.

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Today, the Klarius exhaust range includes over 5,500 references and covers 97% of the European car park, and includes production and distribution across Europe. In addition, the past year has seen over £1million invested in the UK manufacturing sites, including the introduction of an advanced Technical Centre, designed to improve the quality and delivery of Klarius Group products.

Contact Details

For reader enquiries contact: Véronique Auger, Marketing Coordinator, Europe, Klarius group Ltd. Squires Gate Lane, Squires Gate Ind. Estate. Blackpool, Lancashire, England FY4 3RN. United Kingdom
Tel: + 44 1253 400 400 Fax: + 44 1253 406 475
Email: Veronique.Auger@Klarius.eu Web: www.klarius.eu

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Fax:  01299 403092.  Email:  roland@dmaeuropa.com

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