Can you trust your local garage?

i also run a small independent garage in bolton where quality and customer satisfaction counts, my advise to any customer for any purchase is ask friends and family if they can recomend anywhere as this is the best way of avoiding cowboys , and ask if you can see the mechanic or technician so they can explain to you what they have found , and people resent paying for work on their cars when the tools and training costs thousands of pounds but dont begrudge paying for clothes or hair styles where the tools and training for that costs hundreds

I was in a depot of national chain of tyre /exhaust suppliers recently and over heard.

Customer – ‘How did my free safety check go on?

Mechanic:
‘Well love ,all your four tyres are borderline and your windscreen wipers are duff. We’re looking after your safety and while the tyres would pass an MOT, they will need replacing, and if you’ve got kids in the back – you can’t be too careful can you?’

Customer: ‘ Well i suppose I better have them done then’ ……………………

Done …she was.

I own and run an independent garage in West Yorkshire and have done for almost 26 years. We are part of the Bosch franchise which means we are approved by the Office of Fair Trading.

We are, and always have been, very honest with our customers. In fact 80% of our customer base is returning customers. My reception staff are female so other females feel okay to come to us without worrying that they’re being ripped off. We rely on our reputation and word of mouth. If you have a problem with your garage – tell them!! We give you the opportunity to look at your old parts before we dispose of them. We also take you into the workshop and show you where the problem is on your car.

Main dealers are the worst culprits – we have had so many customers coming for second opinions after seeing the main dealer and being told they need work for things when it’s complete rubbish. This tars all garages with the same brush, main dealer or independent and is not fair on the garages that work hard and are honest.

Also, beware of ‘offers’ – this is more than likely just to get you through the door – as we say in Yorkshire ‘you don’t get owt for nowt’!!

Having spent a number of years in the motor trade as a mechanic I have now quit and taken up another occupation. It has been my experience that most small garages are not interested in quality..only quantity.Owing to the complexity of modern cars and the unwillingness of my last employer to fund even basic training I found myself lacking the skills to do the job properly.
It is about time the trade was regulated and a minimum skill level established along with ongoing training made compulsory.

Hi with the new law on L.E.Z. and having to put a new exhaust system on my campervan, i got a few quotes these range from £2000.00 to £4000.00 + V.A.T. + £45.00 for the smoke test; this almost gave me a heart attack, it’s seems that garages doing the fittings are ripping us off ( the units can be purchased for about £600 ) but can only be fitted by certified garages. Transport For London / The Mayors Office / or V.O.S.P.A. did not seem to know the price or wish to comment on this subject. Why is it only within the M25, if a law is passed surely it should include the entire country? I feel this will cause a lot of small buisnesses to close; putting more people out of work. The bigger companies will pass this on to the consumer along with the public transport with a price rise to pay for this new L.E.Z law ( does the tax payer pay for re-fit to public transport vehicles )? Why is there no help, in the form of reducing petrol / car tax / mot’s / even insurance as the roads are in a dreadful state that causes us to have our vehicles repaired all too often.