Why High-Quality Engine Parts Are Essential for Reducing Fleet Downtime

When it comes to any type of vehicle that involves the use of mechanical parts, making sure that you use the correct parts and those that are of the highest quality will always ensure they last longer and cause few issues. However, when you own a fleet of vehicles, the need to limit the amount of downtime becomes even more vital since any car that isn’t making you money is inevitably costing you money.

In this article, we’re taking a look at why high-quality engine parts should always be purchased and thought of as a long-term investment that will keep your vehicles on the road for longer and reduce the number of headaches you experience whenever you have to take one off the road due to an issue that could have easily been avoided if you had just bought an OEM or high-quality third-party part rather than the cheapest no-name part you found on eBay.

High-Quality Parts Enhance Vehicle Reliability

It’s probably best to begin this post with the most obvious point, which is that when you choose either OEM parts or those from a very reputable third-party manufacturer, you are essentially ensuring that your vehicles will last far longer than if you opted for cheaper parts. This becomes even truer when you look at diesel parts, which tend to go through far higher levels of stress than their petrol counterparts and are involved with much higher compression loads. However, regardless of the fuel your trucks, cars, or bikes use, the reality is that high-quality parts will have been manufactured to a much higher specification than cheaper options and, thus, will be able to manage the extreme usage that most fleet vehicles are put through.

Reducing Downtime Saves Money And Resources

While it might appear apparent why you would want to reduce downtime, far too many fleet operators eschew these reasons out of the simple fact that they believe they can save a few bucks by choosing lesser parts and managing the problems as they arise. However, taking this approach will only end in disaster, and as any fleet manager who has ever experienced significant downtime will almost certainly let you know, it can cause all kinds of problems, from losing money and resources to causing a substantial hit to your reputation. Let’s take a look at the former point first.

When you skimp on parts, you will eventually find that they degrade far faster than you might have anticipated. This is not to mention the point that if they are made using shoddy processes and cheap materials, they could actually disintegrate and wreak even more havoc on other components. All of this means that you will have to take the vehicle off the road and invest in new parts (as well as those potentially damaged by the inferior part). Moreover, you will need to take more of your staff off other jobs to deal with these problems, which could cause an even more difficult backlog to deal with. 

When it comes to your reputation, well, it ought to be obvious. The longer you have a vehicle off the road, the less business you’re able to take. In the cut-throat world of this industry, all it takes is an exciting client to choose to move to another company to service their needs and ensure they’ll never come back again. This leaves you back at step one and scrambling around to find new clients when you should be servicing an exciting client base.

Quality Components Improve Fleet Performance

When you invest in quality, you will get out quality. From your vehicle functioning more effectively to reducing fuel usage, genuine parts or those made to a very high standard are often able to withstand higher stresses. This means they will stay in their intended shape for longer without degrading as much as inferior parts may do. While most modern vehicles can withstand a small amount of degradation (such as with pistons, valves, and other parts), the fact is that the more they become damaged, the less efficient they can operate. Opting for better parts results in dramatically improved performance all around and will result in them being able to stay on the road for longer, making you money for longer.

Investing In Parts Ensures Long-Lasting Durability

When it comes to replacing parts, you usually have the choice between a cheaper alternative that you will need to replace more often or one that costs more initially but won’t need to change quite as regularly. While it’s easy to think that a cheaper part might be best because you can replace it several times over and still end up paying less, once you factor in the dreaded downtime and labor costs, you will probably discover that you end up spending far more than you thought. Instead, it’s pretty much always best to choose a more expensive but higher-quality part that will last longer and keep your cars on the road without issue. Moreover, you will avoid the inevitable breakdowns that can occur from a lower-grade component deciding to give up the ghost at the most inopportune moments.

Reliable Parts Decrease Maintenance Frequency

Any sort of fleet, whether it is filled with bicycles or enormous trucks, requires regular maintenance to keep on the road. This is valid regardless of what parts you choose to put inside them. However, the reality is that those that have been manufactured using higher tolerances will keep going for longer and, therefore, require much less maintenance. In other words, you can have them operating at peak efficiency for longer with only the usual upkeep requirements necessary (such as keeping things well-oiled and lubricated).

Properly Maintained Engines Boost Fuel Efficiency

One of the more considerable costs of operating any sort of fleet, aside from salaries, will be fuel, and this is where better parts can make a significant difference. If you take the piston as an example, if you select a less well-made part to save costs, you could find it degrades faster and starts to let oil and fuel escape from the combustion chamber, causing all kinds of problems, most notably reducing fuel efficiency and increasing oil usage. The same is true of all parts, so by choosing a more expensive but higher-quality part, you are ensuring that you use less costly consumables. 

There are plenty of reasons to select quality over cost, and those we’ve discussed are only a few. But the main point is that when you choose the types of parts that have been designed with longevity in mind, you will keep your vehicles on the road and make you money for longer rather than costing you.