Maybe it’s because yours is starting to look like another cookie-cutter car or maybe it’s because you’ve seen a new gizmo on your neighbor’s SUV or maybe you want to equip your ride with the things you struck from your wish list to hold the price down when you bought it.
Whatever the reason, you just gotta have a new accessory.
You’re not alone. The specialty, performance and accessory aftermarket is huge. And everyone from your car dealer to the corner drugstore is trying to get a piece of it.
According to the Specialty Equipment Market Association, manufacturers’ sales totaled $7.47 billion in 1998, up 71.6 percent since 1990. SEMA is a trade group that represents and assists companies that manufacture, distribute and sell automotive specialty parts and accessories.
Specialty products can be broken into three general categories:
– Accessories and appearance
– Racing and performance
– Wheels, tires and suspension
Unless you’re a weekend racer or a regular hot-rodder, you probably go for the accessory and appearance items to personalize your car, truck or SUV. According to SEMA, this is the largest segment, making up 53 percent of the market with sales of $3.97 billion. The remaining two segments have roughly 25 percent of the market each.
“People add these types of products to make their vehicles more organized, safer or more fun,” said Chris Horn, vice president of consumer affairs at SEMA. “Specialty parts and accessories allow consumers to express themselves with their vehicles and to make their vehicles more compatible with their lifestyles, whether they use that car or truck for outdoor adventures, for commuting or as a family taxi.”
The accessory and appearance segment can run from a cheap compass at the dollar store up to the latest high-tech, global-positioning system.
Jim Spoonhower, SEMA vice president of market research, notes that because of the range of products offered, there are different demographics for buyers. But as a straight average, he says, “agewise, you’re looking at people in their mid-40s, though it varies by product type, from 25 to late 50s to early 60s. Household income (is) typically in the high-50s.”
“Enthusiasts have been involved with the products, on average, 15 to 20 years. The non-enthusiast probably has been involved a similar length of time but to a lesser degree, but probably wasn’t aware of it. Those are the people who’ve been buying dash covers and floor mats and didn’t really think of it as buying options for the vehicle,” says Spoonhower.
How much does the average car owner spend on specialty stuff? “You’re also going to have a couple of different averages as to the amount spent and when. For the non-enthusiast, the average is going to be down in the $600 to $800 range. For the enthusiast, you’re talking $1,500 and up annually,” says Spoonhower.
Unless it’s to replace something that has worn out or broken, most accessories are purchased soon after taking delivery of a vehicle. According to SEMA research, the enthusiast generally buys within 30 days. The non-enthusiast may take up to 90 days.
Roughly 44 percent of the accessories and convenience products are sold through discount chains such as Kmart and Wal-Mart. But “when it comes to the performance parts, a big chunk of that comes out of catalogs, and some is starting to shift to the Internet,” says Spoonhower.
Some car dealers are accessorizing their vehicles before selling them. Accessories increase the profits on vehicles that often bring in as little as 2 to 4 percent. And, most customers do not know how to comparison shop for accessories and often fall in love with a vehicle that doesn’t look like all the others on the lot.
Many dealers will restyle your vehicle by adding a sunroof or upgrading the interior to leather and roll the cost into your payments. Dealers usually farm the work out to a restyling shop that not only has the products but also the expertise to install them.
“Sunroofs, leather interiors and rear deck spoilers are our top three requests,” said Joe Johnston Jr. at Tops and Trends, a restyling shop in Kernersville, N.C. “Wood or simulated wood dashboards are also popular,” he said, adding that the typical customer will spend $900 to $1,800. Most of the shop’s work comes from car dealers and a smaller part comes from car owners, says Johnston.
McDonald’s and Burger King are not the only businesses that understand the benefits of “meal deals.” The burger-fries-and-drink combination makes ordering easy for the customer and helps the store’s bottom line. Likewise, automotive options often come bundled with others in a factory option package. To get the automatic dimming mirror, you have to take the leather seats, heated outside mirrors and CD player.
The savvy car buyer may shop around to see what accessories the new cars have and what others dealers have installed, then buy a base model and accessorize to their own taste, saving money. Here’s how:
– If you drive a lot, you need comfort. And comfort starts with seats. Long hours on the road can be more tolerable with adjustable lumbar support. Prices range from $50 to $200 and up.
“Lumbar support not only provides comfort, it helps maintain alertness,” says Debbie Dickinson of Schukara Manufacturing, which supplies the original equipment and aftermarket. If you have ever tried the four-way lumbar feature in a 1999 or newer Cadillac DeVille and wished you could have it in your car, it can be installed by a trim shop.
– Some high-end cars pamper drivers’ tushes with seat heaters– irresistible on a February morning in Chicago. If your Hyundai doesn’t have them, you can get “bun warmers” installed at trim shops and restyling shops.
Bob Check, President of Check Corp., which makes heater kits for all makes and models, says the job runs from $115 per seat for a standard heater to $300 for the electronically controlled units.
– There is nothing like the luxury of leather, but it can be pricy when buying a car. But you don’t have to live with burgundy velour. Brain Goodman of Katzkin Leather Inc. in Montebello, Calif., suggests replacement leather seat covers. Installed, the prices range from about $600 for a two-seater to around $1,000 for a big SUV such as a Ford Expedition. If you really want to upgrade the interior, add leather door panels, too.
Of course, the interior would be inferior if you didn’t add a leather shift knob.
– Don’t like the bench seat that came with your sedan? Get buckets. Hate those bucket seats because you like to spread out your laptop and notes? Try a bench. At least one company, Performance Products of Van Nuys, Calif., offers them via mail order. Any average do-it-yourselfer with the proper tools can do the installation in an afternoon.
– Speaking of seats, are you frustrated because there isn’t enough room to carry the soccer team in your new SUV? Consider an additional, rear-facing seat in a third row from Cerullo Inc. of Ponoma, Calif. According to Tony Cerullo, the company has third seats for virtually all American SUVs and Toyota 4Runners, with the Cadillac Escalade a hot seller. They run $600 to $700 installed.
– Now that you have buckets in place of that bench, there is a big gap and an ugly floor between the seats. And your right elbow seems to hang in space. You need a center console. If your vehicle has one, maybe you need an additional overhead console or a seat-mounted console to keep the kids separated in back. Steel Horse Automotive has the answer.
– One of the problems with pickup trucks and SUVs is keeping your stuff from prying eyes. One answer is a window shade style cargo cover to hide your belongings behind the back seat of your Blazer. Pickup owners often opt for a tonneau cover for the bed. While many covers are flexible vinyl, the rage is rigid fiberglass such as the cover on the new Ford Harley-Davidson F-150. Hartmut Schroeder, president of the Truck Cap & Accessories Association as well as SnugTop, says, “28 percent of pickup owners put some sort of top on it.”
A tonneau cover can run $700 to $800, says Doug Pientok, president of Lot O’ Fun in Schererville, a truck-cap specialist. For those needing a little more space, there is a camper-type top with windows ranging from $1,000 to $2,000. Don’t forget running boards or nerf bars (tubular running boards), bed liners and a sliding rear window.
– Driving is all about vision, and there are a variety of enhancements here. Ford is probably the leader in equipping vehicles with high-intensity discharge headlamps, which are very bright and appear blue. These headlights are available in the aftermarket from companies such as Xenon Lights. Prices range from $775 for the unmodified conversion kit (not beam-pattern corrected to keep the light from spraying too widely) to $925 for a partially installed beam-pattern-corrected kit. According to the company, a typical installation takes four to six hours. Fog lamps and driving lights are also popular and enhance night driving–especially on dark country two-lanes.
– If you’ve seen them, you probably thought the outside mirrors with built-in red, LED arrows that blink with the turn signals on the Expedition were way cool. They also alert drivers in your blind spot that you intend to turn. Made by Muth Mirror Systems of Sheboygan, Wis., similar mirrors are available for about 70 other vehicles. The prices range from $150 to $349 and “we suggest professional installation, which usually takes from one-half to two hours,” says Kristi Lawrence, marketing manager. The company also has a universal convex mirror.
– Speaking of mirrors, power outside mirrors are handy, especially since your right hand won’t reach the passenger-side mirror to make an adjustment while you’re driving. SPAL Advanced Technologies of Des Moines not only markets electric mirrors, they also offer other goodies such as power door lock kits (about $50), power window kits, keyless entry systems (about $50), remote starters (about $70) and hatch and trunk releases. Installation times depends on the vehicle.
– One of the faster-growing items is the automatic dimming rearview mirror from MITO Corp. of Elkhart, Ind. The base model lists for $99, but the top-of-the-line with outside temperature and a compass and a flashing “ICE” indicator to warn of black ice if the outside drops below 37 degrees runs $249. Installation takes about an hour and a half.
SHOPPERS GUIDE
Here is a listing of some of companies that supply aftermarket add-ons. Others are available from the Specialty Equipment Market Association at www.sema.org. Click on Products & Services.
Company: Anchor USA
Address: 6755 Mira Mesa, Suite 123, San Diego, CA 92121
Phone: 800-500-9690
URL: www.anchorusa1.com
Specialty: Floor mats, cargo area mats, cargo area liners
Company: APA Industries
Address: 10505 San Fernando Rd., Pacoima, CA 91331
Phone: 800-515-6438
URL: www.apaindustries.com
Specialty: Consoles
Company: Auto Custom Carpets
Address: 1429 Noble St., Anniston, AL 36202
Phone: 800-633-2358
URL: www.accmats.com
Specialty: Custom floor mats and replacement carpets
Company: C.R. Laurence Co.
Address: 2503 E. Vemon Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90058
Phone: 800-421-6144
Specialty: Lumbar supports for seats
Company: Cerullo Inc.
Address: 828 Towne Center Dr., Pomona, CA 91767
Phone: 909-392-5561
URL: www.cerullo.com
Specialty: Rear-facing seats, third-row seats
Company: Check Corp.
Address: 1394 Piedmont Dr., Troy, MI 48083
Phone: 800-927-6787
URL: www.checkcorp.com
Specialty: Built-in seat warmers
Company: Katzkin Leather Inc.
Address: 6868 Acco St., Montebello, CA 90604
Phone: 800-842-0590
URL: www.katzkin.com
Specialty: Leather kits for seats, door panels, other surfaces
Company: Lot O’ Fun
Address: 2041 U.S. Highway 41 Schererville, IN 46375
Phone: 219-865-1000
Specialty: Truck accessories, tops, hitches, tonneau covers
Company: Lund Industries 911 Lund Blvd., Anoka, MN 55303
Phone: 800-328-9005
URL: www.lundinternational.com
Specialty: Exterior visors, running boards, hood shields, deflectors, spoilers
Company: MITO Corp.
Address: 54905 Country Rd., Suite 17 Elkhart, IN 46516
Phone: 800-433-6486 www.mitocorp.com
Specialty: Automatic dimming rearview mirrors
Company: Muth Mirror Systems
Address: 4221 High Tech Lane P.O. Box 418, Sheboygan, WI 53082
Phone: 800-844-6616
URL: www.kwmuth.com
Specialty: Outside mirrors with built-in turn signals
Company: Performance Products
Address: 7658 Haskell Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91406
Phone: 800-423-3173
URL: www.performanceproducts.com
Specialty: Mail-order seating, cargo covers
Company: PIAA Corp. USA
Address: 156370 SW Millikan Way, Beaverton, OR 97006
Phone: 503-643-7422 Fog lights
Company: Schukra Manufacturing Inc.
Address: 310 Carlingview Dr., Etobicoke, Ontario, M9W 5G1, Canada 800-663-7248
Specialty: Built-in lumbar supports
Company: Snugtop Custom Fiberglass Manufacturing Co.
Address: 1711 Harbor Ave., P.O. Box 121, Long Beach, CA 90801
Phone: 562-432-5454
URL: www.snugtop.com
Specialty: Tonneau covers, truck caps
Company: SPAL Advanced Technologies
Address: 512 Tuttle St., Des Moines, IA 50309
URL: www.spal-usa.com Universal power window and lock kits, trunk releases, remote entry and start devices.
Company: Steel Horse Automotive
Address: 601 W. Walnut St., Compton, CA 90220
Phone: 800-533-7704
URL: www.steelhorseautomotive.com Consoles, covers
Company: Tops & Trends Inc.
Address: 700 Park Centre Dr., Kernersville, NC 27284
Phone: 336-996-7250 Distributor and restyling center
Company: VPA Corp.
Address: 369 E. Blaine St., Corona, CA 91719
Phone: 909-273-1033 Power accessories
