According to Fischer, the local aftermarket for engine conversions and optimisation turns over some R5-million per month, of which the franchise he founded, Steves Auto Clinic, accounts for approximately half. Nationwide, the organisation’s 11 outlets enhances about 600 engines per month, and including normal servicing and maintenance jobs, deals with 3 000 customers each month.
Much of the conversion works revolves around cylinder heads and valves, exhaust systems, intercoolers for turbodiesels, and of course electronic upgrades to engine management systems. Another avenue in which they lead is in addressing the reliability issues surrounding turbocharged vehicles in general and older turbodiesels in particular. They’ve researched and developed replacement components – both actual turbines and exhaust manifolds – to replace systems which have over the years have proved themselves incapable of coping with high exhaust gas temperatures, and the high altitude/high ambient temperature coupled with high cruising speed conditions experienced in many parts of our country.
But he warns that the average customer who wants a conversion carried out to a high standard needs to look carefully at the credentials and bona fides of the service provider, because as vehicles become more and more complex, the risk of doing more harm than good is increasing. For example, the barriers to entry for electronic tuning (basically accessing a car’s electronic management system to alter fuel and/or ignition parameters) are low, and the changes are not always for the better in terms of engine longevity. Additionally, organisations that aren’t able to offer products such as an authentic warranty of their work, are also creating the impression that the industry as a whole lacks professionalism, who know little about providing service.
“SAC takes a thoroughly professional approach to our business,” comments Fischer. “All work is covered by a six month/20 000 km ‘Why Worry’ warranty, and we have also been market leaders in creating products that takes over where the original warranty leaves off in the event that a manufacturer deems the work carried out to invalidate the original warranty.”
SAC Holdings is once again the exception to the rule in that they go to the trouble of buying vehicles on which they see a market need for a specific conversion. Not only does the company have a proper engineering facility, but the actual road testing – by independent test company Roadworks – forms an important part of this process to measure real world improvements and not just dynamometer figures. This is invariably followed by a road test programme in the hands of the top local motoring magazines, many of whom put the cars through the test mill once again.
“It is easy to be follower, rather than leader,” says Fischer wryly, “because all they have to do is get their hands on a car which we have converted and then copy it. Maybe we should take it as a compliment . . .”
SAC adds value by making the process of dealing with any of its branches as easy as possible and the organisation takes pride in being able to offer a collect/deliver service, or provide customers with the use of a courtesy car, and also take the trouble of ensuring that cars are comprehensively insured while in SAC’s possession. This might not seem unusual in the world of the franchised dealer, but it is the exception to the rule in this market.
But not only is SAC an organisation able to meet customer needs on various levels, it is also an organisation which is passionate about cars. An involvement in motorsport runs through the holding company, and many of the franchise holders have an enthusiasm for the sport too. This means there’s a deep-rooted understanding of the technical challenges that go with making mass-produced engines perform to its optimum (and few engines are at their best when they come off an assembly line), without compromising reliability or integrity.
“There’s a tremendous transfer of intellectual property within the Group,” says Fischer. “It means knowledge gathered in the field is rapidly transferred to other branches, reducing costs and potentially expensive errors. It also speeds up the research and development process, enabling us to get well-tested products to market before our rivals.”
SAC Holdings set high standards both for those at head office and for franchise holders and there is an ongoing training programme, both on a technical and a customer liaison level. In fact, SAC will soon be opening a dedicated training centre, with franchisees required to send certain strata of staff on various courses. This would include counter sales, dynamometer tuners (every SAC branch is required to have a rolling road as well as a variety of diagnostic equipment), and managers.
Regular audits from head office, and random client calls to measure customer satisfaction are the order of the day. In addition, SAC is an Automobile Association Quality Assured company, which mean it must comply with regular audits from the AA too.
SAC will soon commemorate a quarter-of-a-century in the tuning and servicing business and in that time has cemented its position as the market leader, developing a reputation for excellence and offering value for money work. Peace of mind motoring has become a common claim in automotive servicing circles, but SAC is able to live up to that promise.
Ends April 4, 2006
Issued by Roadworks Publishing on behalf of SAC Holdings. For more information contact Adrian Burford on 083 274 1139, or Steve Fischer on 082 451 7039
For more information contact Adrian Burford on 083 274 1139, or Steve Fischer on 082 451 7039. Contact details of individual SAC stores available at www.steves.co.za
