A motor parts reconditioning company has warned van operators about garges changing diesel particulate filters unnecessarily which could waste thousands of pounds.
According to DPF Clean Team, inaccurate advice is being given to 70% of fleet managers thanks to a lack of knowledge and training on the part of garage technicians relating to DPFs.
The company said it costs up to £2,000 to replace DPFs, and that’s before vehicle downtime costs are taken into account.
Research from the RAC suggests that each fleet vehicle being off the road costs businesses £500 a day in downtime, with findings from the Freight Transport Association showing that the average unplanned downtime for fleet operators amounts to six days a year per vehicle.
“Our research has uncovered a worryingly high level of inaccurate advice given to vehicle owners regarding DPFs from garages and vehicle technicians. We are not suggesting this is deliberate. In fact, it appears to be a combination of a lack of knowledge and technical ability about DPFs,” said Cameron Bryce, director at DPF Clean Team.
“The cost of having a DPF replaced can cost as much as £2,000 per vehicle, and that’s before the cost incurred by taking a vehicle off the road is even considered. By having DPFs unnecessarily replaced, fleet managers could also be wasting tens of thousands of pounds per year,” he added.