The chassis parts and steering business is a foundational component of the automotive aftermarket and has been for a long time. But it continues to change with the vehicles on the road, and the economic realities of drivers.

Having the right inventory in place that matches with changes in demand, in terms of both coverage and product level, takes ongoing attention to detail that this staple category might not always receive.

Yet, stable as it may be, the undercar business is changing in big ways and small.

There are already signs that EVs, despite the small proportion of these vehicles on the road, are seeing more than their fair share of shop visits due to failed suspension components, worn ride control, even broken wheels.

We’ve all heard the tales of how they’re heavier than ICE vehicles of their given size, and how that fact is coming home to roost in larger than expected repair bills.

In 2020, the Tesla front suspension aft link and rear suspension upper link-in were singled out for a recall in China. No recall was issued in North America, with Tesla blaming failures on driver abuse.

And about 5% of the 12,858 Model S and Model X vehicles on the road in Tesla’s southern Europe and Middle East markets needed repairs because of aft-link failures, according to a Reuters calculation of data reported by French engineer Valentin Oetliker.

For those in EV-rich areas, such failure rates can present opportunities. For the rest, it’s a different picture.

“My stance is that it’s a small portion, but even as it starts to penetrate market share, the actual time I will sell parts for, i.e., suspension parts, is so many years down the road it’s not on the radar,” says Zara Wishloff, owner of Automotive Parts Distributors, based in Red Deer, Alta., but with six locations in Alberta and one in Saskatoon, Sask.

“I’m not ignoring it and I’m not saying it’s not happening. It’s just, for our business, it’s a long way away.”

What is on his doorstep, however, is an evolving chassis business, a continuing strong light truck component, and a customer base that is asking for some different options.

“And a lot of that that tends to be more fleet-oriented; more work truck, more off-road type environments. It drives a different sale as well. You’re doing things far before warranty. You’re doing things far before a normal wear and tear, especially up in the Fort McMurray market. We’re on sites and they’re literally scraping 2000 pounds of debris off these vehicles before they work on them. So, it’s a whole different world.”

He says the characteristics of the markets APD sells in are driving two key trends.

“So the economy is starting to dictate more economy parts as a rule. The request is there, where it was never even there for the last few years. They still might be able to upsell, but the state of the consumer and their personal debt situation, I guess, is driving some budget-conscious decisions. But again, the work’s still being done.

“When it comes to trucks and fleets, it’s basically more that they need something that’s going to last. Even doing warranty work isn’t good; downtime on these vehicles is expensive. They don’t want to mess around on price basically at that point.”

While the Alberta market has its own specific characteristics, the budget considerations of Canadians run across provincial borders.

Carlo Sabucco, owner of Sil’s Auto Care Centre in Oakville, Ont., says he’s noticed an increase in more involved repairs in his market – generally considered to be on the upper end of the financial scale – as people opt to hold onto their vehicles.

“The last two or three years has people holding onto their cars. Now 10, 12, 14-year-old, 18-year-old cars, they’re not going to get rid of them. So, the chassis side of the industry has seen an uptick, because those components are failing.”

In the past, vehicles that old wouldn’t see such extensive chassis work as they do now, he says. “People wouldn’t spend that much money for that type of work, saying, ‘Well, I’m going to get rid of it in a year.’ Now people are not getting rid of their car. So they’re saying, ‘Well, I guess I should invest and do that work.’ So that’s interesting. Struts, shocks, control arms are more labour-intensive suspension-related repairs; they’re fixing them because they’re holding onto the car.”

He offers a specific example. “On a Ford Escape where the K frame rots out, it’s an expensive job. And in the past when we quoted, they would be like, ‘No, I’m not doing that big repair; I’m just going to replace the vehicle.’ And now, we’re getting K frames in and doing sway bar links and struts on these cars at the same time. Because now they’re saying, ‘Well, I don’t have $65,000 to go buy another small sport utility. So, if the rest of the car’s in good shape, I might as well invest and do it.’

Those extensive repairs can go to $3000 or $4000, but customers, says Sabucco, recognize that’s still cheaper than a new car payment. According to recent data, the average new car payment in Canada is over $1,000 a month; average used car payments are topping $600.

Sabucco says that the overall chassis parts business isn’t a big proportion of his overall service picture – about 10% to 12% – because they tend to catch issues early, replacing a bushing here or a smaller part there before big problems develop.

Even then, however, he’s noticed an increase in requests for mid-grade parts.

“There are people who are hanging onto their cars, but they’re looking for the midline or the economy line. We get asked that more often [than we used to].  So, I’ll take the ‘in-between’ product line from a jobber.” Increasingly, he says, they have to reprice jobs, stepping down from the “super premium” parts.

He hasn’t seen a need for a lot of white-box product in his market – though he understands some markets have to rely on this due to the financial challenges of their customers – but his relatively well-off market also means there’s an above-average EV penetration. And that, he says, is providing an interesting facet to the business.

“We see more suspension on the EV, because what they say in the media is true. It’s a heavy car and the suspension pieces get beat up. Tesla’s a good example of it. And at 80,000 km I’m putting struts on my Nissan Leaf, because they’re done. Suspension and steering are the Achilles heel on my Leaf: control arms and sway bar links. At 85,000 kilometres, I’ve already had to replace them all.”

He says the good news is that aftermarket supply of EV parts is improving.

“It used to be only Tesla would supply the parts; then it was independent Tesla dealers. But now in the aftermarket, the jobbers are starting to pick up some of the Tesla suspension parts, which is a real big bonus.”

This article also appeared in the June/July print issue of Jobber Nation. You can read the entire digitial edition HERE.