Controlling cycle times is crucial to staying profitable in the collision repair business. Yet, most shops give up some of that control whenever they send a car to an alignment shop instead of doing the work in-house.
In a recent online survey of U.S. collision repair industry professionals (conducted by an independent third-party July 2017), 58 percent reported they send out all their wheel alignment work. Most said they do so because they don’t have space available for an alignment bay and the alignment equipment itself is too expensive.
Chief said it has changed all that.
Chief’s new line of wheel alignment systems can be used on almost any lift or Chief frame rack already in the shop — no need to dedicate a bay and no massive towers to install. Quick checks can be done virtually anywhere, for faster, more accurate estimates. Plus, Chief wheel alignment systems cost less than half the price of legacy systems.
“Sending out alignment work wastes time, stretches out cycle times and costs shops money,” says Lee Daugherty, director of collision sales, the Americas, for Chief parent company Vehicle Service Group (VSG). “Chief’s new line of wheel alignment equipment makes it affordable for shops to keep their alignment work in-house, so they maintain control of their customers’ vehicles, their cycle times and their costs.”
Chief offers a choice of three wheel aligners. The C3080 3D is equipped with fixed cameras with automatic target search and recognition, tire-grabbing clamps and remote-controlled sensors and can provide an alignment reading in just eight seconds. The C3060 CCD provides wireless efficiency as all the characteristic angles of both vehicle axles are controlled by means of four measuring heads with eight CCD sensors and infra-red transmission. The C6000HD is a fast, accurate, easy-to-use system suitable for larger commercial vehicles.
All Chief wheel aligners feature portable consoles that can be positioned anywhere for maximum convenience. Unlike systems that require a large fixed tower, Chief’s tower-free aligners maximize available workspace and have no minimum bay space requirements. Chief systems provide automatic and instant target visualization. And while other systems only work on a dedicated lift at a single height, Chief systems can be used at any height.
To learn more about Chief wheel alignment systems, visit www.chiefautomotive.com/Wheel-Service/Wheel-Alignment/, contact your local Chief distributor, call (800) 445-9262 or visit Chief booth No. 10122 at the SEMA Show.
