SES Autoparts commercial director Mark Rigler looks back to the 90s to get some perspective on the automotive aftermarket.
In the past thirty years we’ve seen a lot of changes in the automotive industry , Looking back at 1991 you could buy gallon of petrol for £1.76 (40p litre), insurance for family saloon for £75 a year, and I can remember us selling a complete exhaust system for Ford Cortina for £14.95! How things have changed. Technology has played a large part in car reliability alongside design and manufacturing improvements. With tolerances much closer than ever before, buying quality parts have never been more important. At SES we pride ourselves on working with some of the worlds leading suppliers alongside our own Brand to bring OE specification for reliability with first fit quality.
“Since the introduction of the MOT back in 1960 the annual vehicle test has been a life saver (literally) MOT’s are a fantastic safety check and great opportunity to inspect and service customers vehicles annually.”
Technology has played its part over the years as cars have become cleaner and much safer, with the introduction of Catalytic Converters and ABS back in the 80’s and 90’ and in later years more and more manufacturers choosing to platform share to save costs. The biggest drive in the past ten years has been on making cars more efficient with more and more emphasis on the environment. One of the best ways to achieve this is for cars to lose weight. Weight was an obvious way to improve fuel consumption and lower emissions, but this has taken its toll on the parts construction and design. Lighter parts equal higher wear, so more often parts such as steering and suspension and braking components are failing much sooner than older more sturdy designs.
I believe the future to be challenging with the advent of Hybrid and fully electric vehicles but also exciting at the same time. The Automotive aftermarket has always adapted to change, and I believe with the correct Training and investment the private independent family garage and SES Autoparts have a great future.
Old Money New Money
The average UK house price in 1995 was £60,000. Accounting for inflation that’s £117,000 today yet the current average house price now is £225,000!
Cars are a different story, in 1991 a Renault 19 16v would set you back £12,725, today you could just about get a Megane for the same price which is £20,000 in todays money; and you get a lot more safety, comfort and a better entertainment.
Pity the farmers however; in 1995 a pint of milk was 74p in todays money, at the time of going to print a pint from Tesco only costs 50p!
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