Each week, The Pulse provides insight into the buying, sourcing and brand-loyalty habits of counter professionals and professional technicians. This week, we look at technicians’ sourcing habits for AC Compressors.
The compressor is the most often replaced A/C system component, according to the Mobile Air Conditioning Society. It is also a category with a high return rate, historically. So it makes sense that 60 percent of technicians surveyed by Counterman magazine only use a brand they trust for AC Compressors.
When it comes time to order an AC Compressor, 47 percent of shops surveyed by Counterman rely on a jobber as their primary source, followed by WD direct (21 percent) and retailers (16 percent).
These and other statistics can be found in the Professional Automotive Repair Technician Survey (P.A.R.T.S.), produced annually by Counterman magazine. Eight years ago, Counterman began surveying repair shops annually to determine when, how and why they source specific automotive parts and products. The resulting data, published every Fall, offers perspective on how sourcing and brand-loyalty trends have changed.