Everything Old is New Again

It’s a well-known fact that retailers don’t enter the petroleum market because of the high profit margins available. You sell fuel in order to get consumers to come into your store, and buy candy, soft drinks, and cigarettes. So you don’t have the time, or quite frankly, the expendable income, to worry about your fueling equipment. It just needs to work.  


By Kristen Waddle  

But when it doesn’t, you have a real problem. If you can’t sell fuel, you won’t sell anything inside the store. You need to get up and running, and fast. So you have two options: buy a new piece of equipment to replace the broken one, or have your existing one repaired. There are times when retailers are forced to upgrade to new equipment. But when does it make more sense to buy remanufactured products instead of buying new? There are actually several great reasons:  

1. When the product is no longer covered by the original manufacturer’s warranty.

Most manufacturer warranties cover the equipment for 1 to 2 years after the date of installation. If a component fails after this warranty period has ended, it is much more cost effective to purchase a remanufactured part than it is to purchase a new replacement from the original equipment manufacturer. The same equipment can be purchased for 30 – 80% less from a third-party rebuilder, with the same warranty included. This just makes good business sense.  

2. When the cost of keeping the equipment running is much less than the cost of a new product installation.

Manufacturers frequently phase out  “older” product lines, in order to make them obsolete, and thus force costly new upgrades. However, in many cases, the older equipment still functions well, and is not in need of  a regulatory technological upgrade.  When a piece of equipment breaks down, a retailer is faced with two choices: repair the existing piece of equipment or upgrade to a new one.  Most retailers don’t have the profit margins to allow them to upgrade to new equipment every five years, and so it makes better sense to keep their current equipment running.  Many third party rebuilders carry a wide range of products, from the newest equipment lines to product dating back to the early 1950s. So, unless regulations dictate otherwise,  you don’t have to upgrade! Why shell out thousands of dollars for new equipment when you can repair or replace your existing equipment with a remanufactured option for just a few hundred?  In addition, it’s always a gamble when you purchase a brand new piece of technology in any industry.  Third-party remanufacturers already know which components have a high failure rate, and which moving parts wear out easily, and therefore test for these problems. When a product line has been available for a year or two, rebuilders have the knowledge and the capability of performing preventative maintenance on these high-fail items in order to keep the equipment running for longer in the field.  


3. When you don’t have time to wait on a shipment from the factory.

It has become commonplace for OEMs to have a 2+ week lead time for outgoing shipments. When your equipment is down, you don’t have time to wait weeks – you’re losing money with every minute that goes by! Some rebuilders offer same-day shipment, so your equipment can be up and running again the very next day.  As a retailer, you have too much to worry about without the added burden of new equipment costs. Ask your service company to provide you with remanufactured equipment options, and protect your profit margin without sacrificing quality.  One important note: not all remanufacturers are created equal.  Make sure your service company is providing you with cost effective options from a reputable, experienced source.