30 Jan

Lift Inspection and Safety

Auto repair is a popular and lucrative profession– there are more than 749,900 mechanics in the United States today. However, the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (USBLS) states that our industry is 14 times more likely to suffer injury or fatality in the workplace than the average worker. The USBLS found that in 2005 mechanics and service technicians were fourteenth on the likelihood of workplace fatalities. In USBLS’s latest study, in 2014 to 2016 workplace related fatalities increased by 34%. The scary thing is that there may be unreported instances that increase this statistic drastically. Together, these work related injuries cost auto repair businesses roughly $1,100 per injury and $1.5 million per death.

How can you prevent yourself or your mechanics from assuming additional liability? The answer is actually simpler than you may think. Look towards ALI, also known as the Auto Lift Institute:

ALI founded in 1945 is an auto lift certification group that is currently credentialed by the American National Standards Institute. ALI’s mission is to promote the safe design, construction, installation, inspection, and use of automotive lifts. ALI specializes in certifying people to inspect your lifts. It is recognized by the American National Service Institute as a recommended certification program for you and your lifts. It would save you on insurance and keep your customers vehicles and you safe from any accidents.

Getting your lifts certified and inspected will ensure the safety of you and your mechanics. Allowing for less headaches and potential liability issues.

How is this done?

Examining all accessible structural components, including welds, for any evidence of overloading, misuse or abuse.
Examining electrical components and wiring.
Checking the lift controls to ensure accessibility, an unobstructed view of the lift and an automatic return to the neutral or “off ” position when released.
Locating appropriate lift documentation, safety instructions, vehicle-lifting information, lift safety labeling and capacity labeling.
Confirming adequate clearances around the lift.
Checking all fastening devices for tightness and proper fit.
An annual lift inspection includes a thorough evaluation of the entire vehicle lift.
Checking the lowering speed over the full down travel of the lift.
Operating the lift through its full cycle and checking the operation of the positive stop. Checking to see if the lift locks engage in the fully extended position.
Checking all lubrication points for cleanliness, integrity of fitting and presence of lubricant.
Checking all chains and cables for excessive slack.
Checking all potential pinch points. The standard is just the starting point. Every lift manufacturer should provide specific directions for inspecting each of its lifts.
ALI Certified Lift Inspectors are qualified to inspect any brand or model of vehicle lift

Contact us for a lift inspection and set up an appointment.

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8 Aug

The Future of Advanced Driver Assist Systems

Since 2012, car manufacturers have begun incorporating ADAS technology or Advanced Driver Assist Systems and with promises of protecting drivers and reducing accidents, consumer demand is expected to increase exponentially. ADAS features can detect both moving objects, alert the driver of potentially hazardous conditions or in some cases, even slow down and automatically stop the vehicle. According to McKinsey, repurchase rate by drivers today who have used ADAS vehicles is 87-89% and is expected to increase as many have forgotten how to drive without it. After collision especially, these features need to be repaired to their pre-collision condition.

ADAS after Collision

In order to keep costs low and comply with insurance policies, many auto repair shops have been pressured to disregard OEM procedures almost completely but in doing so, these vehicles are more likely to get into future car accidents. More than 50% of new car owners with ADAS systems said that its features helped prevent a crash in the first 90 days they had the vehicle and 35% credited forward collision alert or automatic braking with preventing a crash. With the increasing instances of vehicles owners driving and relying on incorrectly repaired ADAS features, the landscape has become life-threatening, state and federal governments have stepped in.

New York State will soon require repair shops to strictly follow OEM guidelines for collision repairs and forbid insurance companies from requiring repair shops to sway from those set standards. If OEM procedures require a scan, calibration or diagnostic test of a vehicle’s electronic system before and after, insurance shops must not instruct repairers to deviate and thus, they will have no choice but to comply. Over 60% of vehicles that went through a body shop had inadequate repairs that affected the value or operation. With this alarmingly high statistics, many states across the nation such as California and New Hampshire have followed suit and are introducing and drafting ADAS vehicle inspection and protection bills in hopes of increasing vehicle and passenger safety to prevent future collisions.

Since 2009, California has passed various regulations updating the driving standards for ADAS as well as autonomous vehicles. Proposed and passed was a bill pinpointing the liability for ADAS featured vehicles that have gotten into a car accident. Not only are manufacturers held to a higher standard in terms of collision liability but auto repair shops are also expected to correctly repair these systems. California legislature has also mandated inspection tests by the manufacturer before selling them to consumers and hopes to reign in on vehicle safety by increasing the number of regulations that car manufactures and auto related facilities must comply with in updating ADAS features and in the future, autonomous vehicles. California, amongst others have pressured the federal government in passing ADAS safety legislation and as the industry continues to expand, vehicle safety standards may very well be stricter and pro-consumer.

If you have any questions regarding Advanced Driver Assist Systems or its affect on auto shops and insurance company related legislation, give us a call at 1-800-LIFTNOW or sales@liftnow.com.

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18 Dec

First Look for 2019

2018 was a hallmark year for LIFTNOW. We hired more sales professionals and engaged with more customers than ever before. We made visits to manufacturers, attended trade shows, and even held our own seminars and events. We also extended our geographical footprint from only NY and parts of CT to the entire Tristate area, including North/Central Jersey, and as far east as Hartford, CT.

2019 is poised to be another groundbreaking year—here’s why:

Dedicated Sales Professionals: Many of the sales professionals we hired have been the last few months, but 2019 will really see us serve you in the way that LIFTNOW is famous for. They’ve been trained well in all product lines and can look out for service (keeping your workplace safe and profitable), shop design and financing options for all shops.
Community Engagement: Look out for the press release in the first week of January, but we’re proud to announce that we’ve help found the New York City Auto Repair Association (NYCARA for short), the first trade association dedicated solely to auto repairers in the New York City area.

Past that, look out for continued engagement with other trade organizations in the area, including AASP (New Jersey), where we’ll have a booth again and give educational seminars, the NETSA show (New England), and other small organizations across the region.

Website Development/Update: We made a few important updates to our website for 2019, including a product catalog, a “Find-a-Sales-Rep” tool, and the ability to fill out credit apps online. It’s never been easier to research and equipment for sale.
New Product Offerings: At SEMA we worked closely with some of the highest quality manufacturers and added some new lines of equipment that match our philosophy of only selling the absolute highest quality, as it’s the way to attract and keep customers. We’ve been keeping it a secret, but here’s who we added:
1. LSI: Lighting specialists based in Ohio, they’re known for dealership lights and service department lights. They have a good product mix, and many of them are made and shipped out of New York. Many OEMs, including Kia and Mazda, mandate that LSI lighting is used.
2. Champion: Champion is known for their reciprocating air compressors, which are common in gas stations and small repair shops.
3. Martins Industries: Canadian company known for inflation cages, tire shelving/racks, tire conveyors and more.
4. Omer- Parking Lifts: Italian-made lift company with headquarters in Georgia known for high-end parking lifts, from the simplest double stacks, to the most elaborate, completely robotic parking setups.
5. American Forge & Foundry (AFF): Company known for jacks, presses, vises and more! Industry-leading shipping time and product offerings.

See something you like? See something you hate? Let us know!

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2 Dec

SEMA Report 2018

With over 160,000 attendees and 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space, SEMA is one of the largest trade shows in the world. We spent 3 full days hitting the trade show hard, looking for new trends so you don’t have to.

Here’s what happened:

The automotive aftermarket remains strong and steady and has grown 4% since last year, so both new technology and buying was strong at the show. Every year, there is a New Exhibitor tent at SEMA—while it was mostly international companies trying to take a bite out of the United States, there were some new products that were interesting.

SEMA 2018 also saw a record number of exhibitors offer solutions for shop marketing, shop integration to equipment, and more. As we enter phase 2 of the digital age, mobile app compatibility is not a “cool feature”—it’s a necessity. Many of these companies continue to make progress, but none seem ready for mass-market appeal.

There were also a couple of interesting car concepts at SEMA, which seemed stronger than previous years. This included a widebody Tesla Model S, an electric Chevrolet Camaro, a Toyota Corolla hatchback and an open-air Honda 4×4. As usual, there were a ton of exotic sportscars and pick-up trucks showcasing paint jobs, wheels, and more.

There’s also been a “Do-it-Yourself” trend among many consumers who think that they can repair their broken cars with parts from Amazon and videos from YouTube. While that may be the case for certain components, like chemicals (78% of consumers doing it themselves), lighting (69% DIY) and Interior (65% DIY), certain things are still FAR from affected by this newfound trend. Wheels/tires see only 21% of consumers attempting to do it themselves, while Advanced Driver Assist-Systems are at 34%.

Hunter Engineering Company

At the Hunter Booth this year, inspection took center stage with the new Quick Check Drive; in just a few seconds (without a technician), a vehicle’s vital statistics are taken, and can identify repair opportunities faster than any YouTube video. Hunter also debuted the Quick Tread Edge, which is able to seamlessly integrate with Quick Check Drive to take a tire’s tread depth and wear from 6 different locations on each tire instantaneously. As always, Hunter Wheel Balancer had its Hawkeye Elite Wheel Alignment Systems, Tire Changers, and Balancers on display. There are incremental but important changes across the board, including the introduction of the new TC39 Tire Changer.

From our standpoint, we were on a precision mission to fill important gaps in our product offerings to stay true to our value proposition. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for press releases on the new brands that we’re currently adding to our arsenal. Want to learn more about the SEMA show, or get a first look on what we’re picking up? Contact us now to learn more.

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15 Oct

Hunter Engineering Headquarters Visit

The LIFTNOW Team just got back from yet another productive visit at Hunter’s World Headquarters just outside of St. Louis. This time, we brushed up on all of Hunter’s new and existing products before SEMA in a couple of weeks. For those not familiar with SEMA, it is THE automotive aftermarket trade show that takes place in Las Vegas. For a pre-show report, click here. We’ll also have a show report a few days following the event.

In a word, the Hunter Headquarters is spectacular; walking in, the walls are lined with over 350 patents, and hundreds of awards that Hunter has received over 5 decades for excellence in Engineering. (Ask any Hunter employee and they’ll tell you Engineering is their middle name). Over the three days we were there, we were able to get a refresh on some of the existing products, along with some of the newer automotive equipment, like the completely automated Quick Check Drive.

Quick Check Drive can check a car’s vital statistics and measurements, including alignment angles. Having a quality piece of inspection equipment is important to diagnose a customer’s vehicle and finding additional repair opportunities. When over 70% of “healthy” cars on the road need alignment, it pays to check every car.

Hunter Engineering Headquarters Visit — The AutoComp Elite brake lathe.

Another highlight was Hunter’s new on-the-car brake lathe, called the AutoComp Elite. The AutoComp Elite automatically compensates, calculating the perfect position of the solution to eliminate guesswork. Using a simple touchscreen interface, the user can set and vary speeds for the lathe. The AutoComp Elite also oscillates speeds automatically to prevent vibrating, which can potentially damage a rotor. All of these features make the AutoComp Elite the easiest and most efficient solution in today’s marketplace.

Another highlight of the trip was the factory tour. Hunter Equipment is “proudly made in the USA”, and they proved it. Hunter maintains three factories (two in Mississippi and one in Missouri that shares space with its corporate offices). We took an hour-long factory tour, and while pictures were prohibited to maintain confidentiality, what we can say is it was IMPRESSIVE.

The tour guide explained that whenever possible, Hunter sources, designs and assembles parts in the United States, like manufacturing their own balancer collets in-house, and sourcing the steel from a mill just 30 miles away. We were personally blown away—it’s the epitome of strong, reliable American manufacturing.

Stay tuned for more surprises from SEMA, coming up in a couple of weeks! As always, if you want to talk about something or have any comments, contact us here.

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26 Sep

SEMA 2018 Pre-Show Report

With over 160,000 attendees and 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space, SEMA is one of the largest trade shows in the world. We spend over 3 full days hitting the trade show hard, looking for new trends so you don’t have to. About a week after the show, we’ll release a show report, so you get the full picture. Want us to look for something or report on something specific at SEMA 2018? Let us know here and we promise to report on it, just for you.

Here are some of our predictions:

The automotive shop equipment aftermarket remains strong and steady and has grown 4% since last year, so we expect strong products and strong interest and the show, with plenty of buying.

Unsurprisingly, 45% of consumers look for parts info on search engines like Google and Bing, and review websites. But word of mouth also dominates, with 41% of consumers asking their friends and families for recommendations. We think that SEMA 2018 will see more companies offer solutions for shop marketing but remember that search engine and good old-fashioned recommendations still reign supreme.

There’s also been a “Do-it-Yourself” trend among many consumers who think that they can repair their broken cars with parts from Amazon and videos from YouTube. While that maybe the case for certain components, like chemicals (78% of consumers doing it themselves), lighting (69% DIY) and Interior (65% DIY), certain things are still FAR from affected by this newfound trend. Wheels/tires see only 21% of consumers attempting to do it themselves, while Advanced Driver Assist-Systems are at 34%. As Hunter distributors, we already know that wheel service and driver safety systems will continue to play a large part at SEMA 2018.

Another interesting trend is purchasing parts online. It’s become more difficult for the independent repair shop to sway motorists to purchase parts from them, in addition to the actual repair. While online purchases only make up 38% of total parts purchases, this will grow. One solution for repair shops to keep profit in-house is to open their own small parts store online or offer online tools for their motorists like scheduling appointments, that come with parts included.

Young people may be online more than their older counterparts, but everyone wants a one-click solution. If you can provide a one-stop shop to buying parts and scheduling local repairs with their favorite mechanic, you’ll keep more profit. We saw them last year, and we’ll see them again: eCommerce and other tech companies promising this solution. But, the same way you scrutinize who you buy your tires and equipment from, make sure you do the same with these “soft services.”

automotive shop equipment

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Blog Posts

Lift Inspection and Safety

The Future of Advanced Driver Assist Systems

First Look for 2019

See something you like? See something you hate? Let us know!

SEMA Report 2018

Hunter Engineering Company

Hunter Engineering Headquarters Visit

SEMA 2018 Pre-Show Report

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