Why should you teach your customer to identify a turbocharger?

If you are a green hand in turbocharger field, or you are going to start your turbocharger business, you need learn this skill.

It will help your customer get the right replacement first time, and save both (you and your customer) time, money and hassle.

If you are a retailer, one day your customer tells you “I want to buy a turbocharger for Audi A6 1.8AWT”. What will you do?

Your probably will directly tell your upper seller (such as manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler, importer), “I’m looking for a turbocharger for Audi A6 1.8 AWT.”

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

4 disadvantages

  1. Exposed that you are a green hand
  2. Exposed that your purchasing quantity is not much
  3. Have risk of buying wrong turbo
  4. Getting price and details at longer time than others

“Why? “You probably ask.

Let me tell you reasons.

  1. Because only green hand supplies car model when buy a turbocharger.
  2. Because final customers usually buy one.
  3. Even though you know the engine #, the turbocharger probably different. So only tell your upper seller the car model, it is not far enough to identify correct turbocharger.
  4. When you directly offer OEM #, your upper seller can search photos, price, inventory, delivery times from data base easily. But when you are not able to offer OEM #, you need to depend on the upper seller to looking into it. Customer A is easy to quote; Customer B is not easy to quote. Who will your upper seller serve first?

 

What is OEM #?

OEM number is Original Equipment Manufacturer number. OEM # for turbocharger is as the same as ID card for a person. So identify OEM # is to identify a turbocharger.

 

How to get OEM #?

# 1 Find it from turbocharger itself. Usually, the OEM # is engraved on compressor housing or identification name plate attached to compressor or bearing housing.

NOTE: Often the numbers are hard to distinguish, so the area needs to be washed or cleaned firstly.

# 2 connecting the vehicle dealers gets the OEM part number.

Which # should I take?

After you find the plate on the turbocharger, you will find few lines of numbers on the plate. Now you almost get the OEM #.

Go ahead, and here are two ways- “Super easy way” and “Easy way” for reference.

Super Easy way:

Step1. Let your customer take the photo of whole plate

Step2. You forward the photo to your upper seller.

Easy way:

Step1. Find “Part NO. (P/N)”, “Serial NO.(S/N)”,  “Turbo Spec.” on the plate. (Some Toyota turbochargers don’t have these letters, only has digit number.)

Step2. Find the longest digit number (Format is like “digit-digit-digit” 5314-970-7805);

Step3. Find the second longest digit number;

(Format is like “digit-digit” 49177-02510, 17201-0L030 or like “digit” 312172);

Step4. Send the digit numbers to your upper seller.