Exchange units: why we need your old unit back and what happens to it

In the remanufacturing industry, we have a few names for the component that has been taken off a vehicle. Exchange unit, old unit and core unit are some of the most common.

We use the term core unit in our remanufacturing process. However, in our sales department we use the term old unit.

In a normal manufacturing process, the raw material would play a major part in the cost price of the item being made. In remanufacturing, the cost price of the raw material, the core unit, is not usually included in the cost price of the finished item. This is why it is so important that we get the old unit back to maintain supply. We use various strategies to do this. They are as follows:

Exchange surcharge – it may help if you think of this as a refundable deposit. This is used when core units are hard to obtain and very expensive. When purchasing an item that has a surcharge, you will be charged an amount of money which is refunded when the old unit is returned. This is a separate transaction to the actual purchase of the remanufactured item.

Exchange warranty activation – this one is a little simpler. The warranty on the component that has been purchased is only activated when the old unit from the vehicle is returned. There is no additional financial transaction.

No exchange required – this one is the simplest of all. We don’t require the return of the old unit from the vehicle. This might sound odd given what has been written above but there are rare occasions when we don’t require the old unit. This is mainly due to an inherent fault with the original equipment item on the vehicle which means it cannot be remanufactured, normally something like a very high percentage of the old units have cracked motors.

All of our product listings will clearly state which core return method applies.

Our remanufacturing process is not complete until we have received the old unit and put this back into our factory for remanufacture. We like to think of our process as being circular: taking a used component, remanufacturing it, selling it, getting the old back and starting the process again.

Remember to keep the box and packaging material the component was supplied in. When you are ready to return the old unit, we offer two options. Securely pack the old unit in the box you saved and give us a call or email. If you’re a business we can arrange a collection or we can send you a parcel label, the parcel can be dropped at any Post Office. Both options are free of charge.

Just a note about some of the companies claiming to be remanufacturers. If a company isn’t requesting the return of the old unit and they haven’t given a reason, this would suggest they are not remanufacturing the components they are offering. They may be selling second hand components that have only been painted. Not requesting the old unit would indicate they have no processes or equipment in place to remanufacture the core units.

Any questions?

If you have any questions you can contact us here get in touch and we’ll guide you to the best solution.