Lucky fan Barry Barney has a champagne moment

Following the success of the 2008 and 2009 HiQ ‘Champagne Moments’, the fast-fit chain is bringing it back for the 2010 British Touring Car Championship starting April 4, 2010.

After each race weekend, spectators can log on to the HiQ website and vote for their star performer, whether it’s a first place finish or particular overtaking manoeuvre that impresses.

“From around 50 votes per round back in 2008, we have had nearly 1000 votes for each race up to Brands Hatch in October,” said marketing manager Geraldine McGovern.

“We want these awards to keep growing and long may they continue, as we always want to give back to the fans wherever possible at HiQ.”

The driver with the most votes is presented with HiQ’s Champagne Moment award and a bottle champagne before the next race.

A lucky fan is picked at random from the votes to present the prize, also scooping two free race tickets and a rare opportunity to walk down the grid before the action starts.

Convertibles have spent the long winter under wraps

With spring upon us, ContiTech is advising drivers of convertible cars to have their timing belts checked before venturing out on the road.

Many of the vehicles will have spent the long, hard winter under wraps and this could mean that important checks need to be carried out in order to avoid engine damage.

“The long period without operation puts as much strain on the belt material as would be the case if the car were driven regularly” said Helmut Engel, head of automotive aftermarket at ContiTech.

“The decisive factor in a belt change is not just the mileage, but also the age of the belt,” said Engel.

The company recommends that all the relevant drive components are changed during belt replacement.

ContiTech has produced a free flyer to help educate motorists about checks and the timing belt.

New service puts the legal record straight

Motor industry professionals have a new platform to share ideas and concerns after Retail Motor Law launched its new ‘Debate’ forum.

Former panel beater and RML managing director Andrew Moody, who is also a qualified barrister, explained: “It allows people from all sectors of the trade to ask generic legal questions and obtain fast, reliable and cost effective advice.

“All existing RML members get access to Debate as part of their subscription, but anyone can sign up for £18 a month or £200 per year… some firms charge that for a brief phone conversation!”

Subjects for debate in March included unfair dismissal, personal injury, referral fees, EuroNCap results and employment law.

Tim Ferris believes his website is the reason for increasing revenues

Members of the Unipart Workshop Partnership Programme and Unipart Car Care Centre (UCCC) network are being urged to consider a new website design scheme.

Unipart said its service, which includes both design and marketing of the website, is available for a reduced fee of £450 + VAT until June 2010.

Pilot customer and chairman of the UCCC, Tim Ferris, who owns Ferris Garage in Truro, Cornwall, said: “We’ve had a noticeable increase in enquiries leading to a rise in jobs that we wouldn’t normally get.

“The increase in work is significant and we’re attaining several new customers each week. I’m delighted with the website in every respect.”

More than 270 garages have taken advantage of the new scheme, which attracts motorists through Google, Yahoo, Touch Local and Thompson Local.

Included for free are value-added modules focusing on car sales, vehicle rental and vehicle leasing services if required.

"That'll cost ya." Look out for the OFT logo and avoid being ripped off, the government agency tells consumers

Research carried out on behalf of the Office of Fair Trading underlines the importance of good customer service, according to the government agency.

82% of the 2568 people quizzed by pollsters Opinion Matters said they would tell friends and family never to use a business from which they had received shoddy service.

And almost a third would write a negative review on a company website.

Meanwhile, the rise of social media means some consumers would even ‘Tweet’ or use Facebook to publish their complaints.

Conversely, 85% said they would recommend a business providing good customer service to their friends and family.

The OFT is asking consumers to look out for its ‘Approved Codes’ logo, which it says confirms a company’s commitment to providing an easily accessible and robust complaints procedure.

Charles Wallace, OFT head of codes said: “OFT Code approved businesses operate to a higher standard of service.

“If a consumer needs to make a complaint, then they can be assured that it will be dealt with swiftly and effectively.”

Ex Watchdog presenter Lynn Faulds Wood was also drafted in to add: “Savvy consumers need to do their research before buying goods.

“Using an OFT Code approved [business] means they will receive a standard of service higher than that required by law.”

The ATA scheme now boasts 20k accredited technicians

The Automotive Technician Accreditation (ATA) scheme has announced its 20,000th accredited technician, news which it hopes will help boost consumer confidence.

Badly repaired cars are a leading cause of traffic accidents, according to the IMI, which administers the ATA scheme.

The organisation cites survey results that suggests that over 80% of the population does not know how to tell a good technician from a bad one.

Sarah Sillars OBE, the IMI’s executive chair,  said: “The ATA scheme only started five years ago.

“To reach 20,000 accredited technicians in such a short amount of time – a rate of ten new members a day – is an incredible achievement.”

The ATA scheme is voluntary, allowing technicians to prove their skills and ensure they work to relevant codes of conduct.

Kwik-Fit technician Doug Creed, based in Bromley, Kent, was the 20,000th person to be approved.

“The accreditation is great because it means I’m always up to speed with changes in this fast-moving industry,” he said.

Technicians interested in accreditation can find information on the ATA website.

Nationwide Autocentres is performing well for Halfords one month after its acquisition.

It has delivered like-for-like sales growth of 5% in the four weeks since the buyout was completed on February 18, 2010.

Rebranding the 224-strong chain of service and repair centres as Halfords Autocentres will begin in the coming financial year.

RETAIL STRONG

In the UK retail market, Halfords also reported positive trading for the 11 weeks to March 19, 2010. It posted increased revenues of 1.3% with like-for-like sales 0.8% higher than the previous year.

But it was margin-enriching car maintenance products and services that led revenue performance, delivering like-for-like growth of 13%.

This reflects the effect of the prolonged winter weather together with a record quarter of fitting participation of bulbs, blades and batteries, the company said in a statement.

The news was not so good in the leisure category, which traded below expectations. Cycle revenues in particular delivered disappointing performance with revenues only increasing by 1.9% on a like-for-like basis.

SAT NAV CHALLENGES

The company also said that the satellite navigation market remains challenging with revenues continuing to decline sharply year on year.

David Wild, Halfords CEO, said the results point to a strong year of trading for the group with full year earnings now expected to grow by 25%.

“The acquisition of Nationwide Autocentres, completed during the quarter, logically extends our successful service proposition and provides a further opportunity for future growth,” he said.

“The financial year has been a positive one for Halfords and with both of our divisions continuing to trade strongly in the fourth quarter, we expect that full year Group earnings before exceptional items will be ahead of market expectations.

“Looking forward, while the consumer environment remains challenging, we are confident that our leading positions, combined with further cost saving initiatives, will enable us to deliver another good result in FY11.”

COST SAVINGS

Halfords plans to make cost savings of around £6m by changing its distribution centre infrastructure and “realigning” store labour.

The group’s performance in Central Europe has not mirrored UK activity, with the operation posting an operating loss of £2.8m. Halfords will close its seven stores in the Czech Republic and Poland this summer.

The search for Motor Codes’ Golden Garage is hotting up and CAT’s 2010 Garage of the Year, ABP Motorsport, still has everything to play for.

The Crewe-based independent, owned by Chris Meredith, has made it to the top 10 list and will now face a panel of judges and a site visit by the RAC, along with 9 other finalists.

The 10 regional winners, who will each bag prizes worth £1000, are:

A1 Motorcare – Cardiff, Wales

• ABP Motorsport – Crewe, North West
• Anglo Continental Cars – Milton Keynes, Midlands
• Arnold Clark Renault – Paisley, Scotland
• Clive Woolford Motors – Tewkesbury, South West
• Fred Henderson – Durham, North East
• Kinghams – Croydon, South East & London
• Kings of Witcham – Ely, East
• Prestige Services – Wakefield, Yorkshire
• SERE Motors – Lisburn, Northern Ireland

But only one can be crowned Golden Garage, a title which comes with an enticing prize pot worth £5000.

Over 8000 motorists voted online for their favourite local garage in the month-long contest.

Remy's poster guides you through diagnostic checks

Remy Automotive UK has produced a poster to remind installers to replace the steering rack and pump together.

The remanufacturer says that failing to replace both components at the same time leads to a 25% risk of premature failure of the replacement rack.

“Our research has proved conclusively that more than a quarter of steering racks and pumps have failed because of contamination,” says Michael Flensborg, Remy’s sales and marketing director.

“Quite simply, if contamination caused a steering rack to fail, then the problem will not just involve the steering rack, it will affect the pump itself.

“Not changing the power steering pump at the same time gives a more than 25% risk of premature failure of the replacement rack.

“This will lead inevitably to a very dissatisfied customer when he or her is told that another steering pump is required as the original problem experienced has not been solved.”

The full colour, A1-size poster shows the technician how to locate the correct cause of the steering fault before embarking on the replacement.

It can also act as a sales tool when explaining to customers why the dual job should be done.

XPart says it has saved 4 out of 5 cars destined for the scrap heap

XPart is slashing the price of high value mechanical parts for MG Rover cars suffering a major mechanical breakdown.

The company wants to slow the decline of the MG Rover car parc and hopes that if repair costs can be brought down fewer cars will be declared total losses.

It previously focussed on price reductions for crash repair components but is now extending cuts to engines, gearboxes and cylinder heads.

“If a car is in danger of being written off due to major mechanical failure, we will consider offering price reductions for the basket of parts required,” said Roger Clarke, product planner.

“The more MG Rover cars we can save, the greater the number of cars available for continued servicing and repair.”

XPart claims to have saved nearly 80% of damaged MG Rovers in danger of being written off since launching its cost reduction scheme in 2006.