Motor Codes has announced the top 20 garages in the UK.

As part of its Garage of the Year competition Motor Codes asked consumers to vote for their favourite garages. From all over the UK nominations flooded in, leading to the top 100 being announced some weeks ago.

Now the best from each region have been whittled down to leave two businesses in each area, separated into large and small garages.

The full list of regional winners is given below, but there are some notable achievements including an appearance by three time CAT Garage of the Year award winners ABP Motorsport in Crewe.

ABP Manager Chris Meredith was understandably elated: “We are delighted to have made it through to the finals once more. After falling short of the judged final hurdle in the previous two years we are all hoping this year that the result may go our way and we finally get to the winning post first.”

The twenty regional finalists will now have their votes and customer feedback analysed by a panel of motoring experts including The Sun’s Motors editor, Ken Gibson, Emma Butcher, consumer editor at What Car? magazine, John Jackson of Havoline and CAT’s Peter Lawton.

In addition, each regional winner will be independently assessed by the RAC, to monitor quality of service, value for money and overall customer satisfaction.

A winner in both the small and large business categories will then be announced.

Motor Codes Managing Director Chris Mason said: “It’s clear to see from the tremendous level of support for the competition – we received double the number of votes compared to last year – that motorists value simple, good old fashioned customer service.

The car service and repair business is a two-way relationship, with word of mouth important for garages and consumer confidence.  Garage of the Year gives people a formal way of showing their appreciation, at the same time as letting other motorists know where to find the garage good guys.”

Garage of the Year regional winners:

Small business category

Large business category

ABP Motorsport in Crewe is celebrating more of its technicians gaining the prestigious ATA qualification.

The CAT Garage of the Year Award winner previously had just one technician accredited with the ATA. Owner Chris Meredith says it was only a matter of time before he wanted all his technicians to be certified: “Training is expensive for a small business when you consider the cost involved per person. It comes to over £1,000 per technician but I believe the benefits far outweigh the costs.

“From a customer perspective what better way to show them that your technicians are not only fully qualified and able to carry out work on their cars but that they have also been independently assessed and accredited as able to work on the latest vehicles.

“It also shows as a business that we only employ technicians who are able to demonstrate that they are fully able to comply with modern vehicle technology and aren’t just people that passed exams 25 years ago!”

Meredith says more garage owners should consider sending their technicians on the qualification scheme: “Rather that give your men 3 percent at review time send them on an ATA course as it’s a WIN-WIN scenario – they get the accreditation and you get to market it!”

Euro Car Parts is celebrating the official opening of its 100th branch in the UK.

The Harrow branch has been operating for almost three weeks, however today marked the official opening of the site, and a visit from the borough’s Mayor, Cllr Mrinal Choudhury.

The new site has some 12,000 square foot of warehouse space, stocking around 25,000 products and staffed by 19 workers. ECP has set the new branch ambitious targets, the company aims for the site to be making £20,000 per day within the next few months.

The Mayor was given a tour of the facility by new Branch Manager Mahmood Piprawala.

Piprawala was previously helping to run ECP’s Wembley branch. He said: “Sukhpal gave me a real challenge. He rang up and said he wanted me to help run his 100th branch. I said yes boss!

“It’s been different to what I’ve done previously but there’s a lot of people here from Wembley so it’s the same faces.”

Speaking at the event the Mayor praised Euro Car Parts for bringing new employment opportunities into the Harrow community: “Euro Car Parts has bought a new light into Harrow. This community doesn’t have much industry, this has bought new jobs for this complex. I think it will give the local businesses a nice boost, if the price is competitive.”

ECP founder Sukhpal Singh Ahluwalia was also present, along with new ECP Chief Operating Officer Andy Hamilton.

Damage caused by the fire was extensive

Two years ago things looked bleak for Powerdrive DFIS Ltd.

Its future was far from certain following a fire that had almost destroyed the business. Today however, the garage is going from strength to strength.

Owners Ian Crowley and Stuart Mohamed say that even though the Portsmouth based business was established some 22 years ago, the fire couldn’t have come at a worse time. The duo were in the process of buying the garage from the founder of the business, Glynn Ralls: “The contract was agreed, and all that remained was for Glynn to shake the hands of the staff and say his goodbyes,” they explained.

“The phone call came late on a Thursday night. A car in for repair started the fire, and it didn’t take long for the whole building to go up.”

“At the time it looked as if half of Hampshire’s fire service were on site fighting the flames,” said Stuart. “They later told me that if they’d arrived ten minutes later it’s doubtful there would have been anything left worth saving.”

The pair say that with so much of the business gone, they weren’t sure whether anything could be salvaged. Fortunately an army of friends and family was on hand to help get Powerdrive back on track: “We couldn’t have done it without their help – we were able to partially reopen on the Monday following the fire, and within six weeks we were fully operational.”

The business joined the Bosch Car Service network five years ago. Concept Manager Howard Price says the fact that Powerdrive is doing so well is a testament to its staff and customers: “It’s not that easy for garages at the moment and this is great example of hard work overcoming a disastrous event.”

Valvoline has announced a new supply deal to distribute its products to the growing Russian market.

The Valvoline brand, which is part of Ashland Consumer Markets, has announced a five-year agreement to distribute Valvoline oil product to the Russian passenger car market.

Valvoline will now be distributed in Russia to the passenger car markets.

While the full worth of the agreement hasn’t been disclosed, it has been confirmed that Russia’s third-largest oil company TNK-BP will be distributing the oil.

Ashland Consumer Markets President Sam Mitchell said: “We are very excited about this distribution relationship with TNK-BP.

“With its passenger car lubricants market being the largest in Europe – and still growing year on year, Russia represents a significant growth opportunity for passenger car motor oils, particularly with the increasing popularity of Western cars.

“By combining Valvoline’s brand leadership and high-quality lubricants with TNK-BP’s extensive retail network and local market insights, we believe we can build a strong foundation for future growth and market share expansion.”

A statement from TNK-BP said the company was looking forward to using the Valvoline products to grow consumer offerings at its 15,000 store locations throughout Russia. Thanks to the breadth of TNK-BP’s presence in the Russian market the Valvoline brand can also expect significant growth in the near future.

The entrance to CAT Components

CAT Components (no relation) in Hastings is trading in a crowded market.

In the space of a few square miles there are numerous independent motor factors jostling for space with some of the biggest names in the business. Euro Car Parts, GSF and Unipart all have branches in the area, and they’re all competing for business with the independents. The whole town is like an aftermarket social experiment.

Managing Director of CAT Components Tony Humphrey explained how the business started: “We started here 18 years ago, that’s when it all began. When we initially set up we were in a unit across the road which was tiny, we were there for two years then we moved literally across the yard into this building. When the lease on this building ran out we took it over and then in 2008 we bought this whole estate, and now we lease the buildings back to the businesses who are here as well.”

Manager Tony Humphrey

Tony admits Hastings is a uniquely crowded market: “We’ve always competed for business with those big names. When I first started in Sittingbourne in 1985 it was always a struggle. When we did the tour of the banks in order to get some backing for CAT Components they all said to us that we couldn’t compete with the big boys. They said it just wouldn’t work. I’m happy to say we’ve proved them wrong, and we’ve never found competing to be a problem.

“At branch level we probably compete evenly with the big boys. Huge motor factor X might be buying certain parts cheaper, but by the time those parts reach the branch with the added costs of administration their prices are pretty much the same as ours.

“The big boys come with their own problems. They have to have their own head offices, their own warehouses and their own administration structures. As a small business we can do away with a lot of that.

“By getting bigger and bigger as a business you get more buying power, but you attract other encumbrances as well. So you can compete as a smaller business, and you can compete well.”

Tony admits the past few months have been hard, with traditionally well-selling items like batteries not seeing their seasonal booms: “Sales over Christmas dropped off, a bit more than we thought it would do actually. I think it just comes down to the fact that garage customers just don’t have the work at the moment.”

CAT Components also does retailing

CAT Components doesn’t just do parts. For it’s regular customer base of 150 workshops, business advice is just a phone call away. Tony admits that most of the garages around Hastings are “men in sheds.” There’s nothing wrong with that, he says, but he likes to offer struggling technicians the benefit of his business experience, especially when it comes to promoting their businesses.

Promotion can only go so far, and at the end of the day customers need to be willing to part with their cash. That’s not getting any easier, says Tony: “The main problem is that people are very mean with their money. Some garage customers won’t do a full service and MOT together. Now they want only the essential work doing.

“We’ve found during the recession that our customers in Tunbridge Wells are now ordering fewer parts because they know customers won’t pay for the extra work. Customers are frightened now, they don’t like paying.”

In these hard times Tony admits that CAT Components has in the past become a victim of the “order the same part from several different places” workshop brigade: “If it happened to us we would tell the customer not to use us again. We don’t play that game, we’re not here to be abused and that’s what it is. It’s an abuse of the factor and of our resources. We work well with our customers and the vast majority of them we don’t have any problems with whatsoever.”

“In terms of expansion at our age it would be a lie to say we’re going to open more branches. We’ve always taken the view of running a small company is better than running a big one. We think that’s better, because we deal with local people and we do it properly.”

CAT Components – vital stats

ESTABLISHED            1993

HQ                                  Hastings

BRANCHES                  2

STAFF                            8

FLEET                            5

STOCK HOLDING       -

BUYING GROUP         UAN

WEB                               www.catcomponents.co.uk

SUPPLIERS                  Motaquip, ADL, Fuel Parts UK

Want to see your business featured here and in CAT Magazine? Email darren.moss@haymarket.com or call 020 8267 5927

Dayco's new inspection tool

Dayco has released its latest set of technical updates for independent garages.

This time Dayco is focusing on how to detect a worn multi-rib belt. The supplier says that generally the obvious signs of wear include cracking, chunking, glazing or splitting on neoprene compound belts.

However the company says that in more modern cars extended-life rubber compound (EPDM) belts can have a service life of around 100,000 miles, and thus any signs of wear are harder to detect.

Dayco says that EPDM belts tend to wear in much the same way as tyres, with material loss being the main cause for a replacement.

Dayco said: “The ‘V’ profiles of the ribs on the belt begin to wear down and start to resemble a ‘U’ and not a ‘V’. As the profile changes, the contact area of the belt on the pulley is reduced and the efficiency of the belt drops, which can lead to slippage and affect the performance of the belt, as well making it very noisy.”

Naturally, Dayco has a tool to sort the problem – its ‘a-WEAR-ness’ gauge is able to perform visual checks that helps the technician assess the condition of the belt.

First Line has moved to a new home in Banbury.

The parts supplier says that after more than 30 years spent operating in its hometown of Bicester, the move will help it grow business and expand its operations.

The new 130,000 square foot warehouse, located just off the M40, will house the entire First Line and Borg & Beck ranges, spread across 12 product lines and encompassing some 25,000 part numbers.

“Our new distribution centre is a major investment for the long-term and will give the us the room we need for the next 30 years of our development, which continues to follow our foundation principle, which is to put our customers first,” says First Line MD Dan Joyner.

Statistics can only say so much about a building, but considering First Line’s new home has 15,000 picking locations, seven docking bays, more than 5500 pallet locations and space for a fully functioning workshop, it’s safe to say that First Line’s investment is sizeable.

ABP's impressive surroundings

A visit to ABP Motorsport in Crewe has a lot to live up to. After all, the business has been named CAT Magazine’s Garage of the Year for the past three years running, as well as being frequently named as either a winner or a runner up in numerous other competitions.

Owner Chris Meredith explained how it all began: “The business started in 1964, it was then called just ABP which were the initials of the father of the owner of the time. The previous owner was very much a petrol head, he did a lot of rallying and such for many years and that’s where the motorsport element came into the business.

“I joined the business when I was 17, back in 1990. One way or another I’ve been working here for the past 20 years, and I was made Director in 2003. When I first started I was packing mail order parcels and packaging goods, at some time I’ve done every job here.”

Meredith was presented with the opportunity to take over ABP Motorsport in 2009, it was one he found too good to pass up: “That was a crazy year. Not only did I take over the business from the previous owner, but I also got married and moved house. If you have a crazy year you might as well have one like that!

“The decision to buy the business was tough – if it all went pear-shaped I’d be out of work. When you’re in control of a business and the bank has got your name on the dotted line it makes things tough – but if you’re passionate about something you can always make it work. The business isn’t going to grow all by itself, you have to view failure as not being an option.”

ABP Owner Chris Meredith

Since taking over ABP Motorsport has gone from strength to strength, Meredith reports that 2010/11 was the best ever year for the business, with 2012 already raising the bar even higher.

While ABP has enjoyed a seemingly unending spree of success, Meredith knows all too well that it isn’t the case for everyone: “Doom and gloom is something that people tend to turn to too easily. I do think a lot of garages are run very well – but are the technicians businessmen? I couldn’t do all of what our technicians do in the workshop, but that’s why I work more on the marketing side of the business.

“There are so many guys locally who’ve set up by themselves and they don’t have that business acumen – unfortunately they get so involved on the technical side that often they go under.”

For ABP, a lot of success comes from clever marketing – Meredith says at least a third of his business growth has come from marketing power: “Just this week I’ve had four customers book their cars into the workshop just off the back of the press attention we’ve had from winning the CAT Award.”

Meredith also sees a new problem emerging – a lack of properly trained technicians: “I think a lot of youngsters now don’t want to learn the skills. A few years ago Bentley Motors went on a massive recruitment drive in our area to recruit new technicians, we lost two guys to that business. The pool was empty at that point and we needed to replace those staff members – we ended up recruiting in Poland.”

ABP’s roots lie in performance tuning, and a look around the workshop reveals this is still at the core of the business. Upgraded springs, suspension units, exhausts and performance paraphernalia litter the upstairs stock room, with orders ready to be fitted to waiting customer’s cars.

ABP has a large workshop

That isn’t to say that ABP turns away the regular garage work though – MOTs and servicing is still important to the business. Local customers come to ABP for the service they should be getting at the main dealer: “We get a massive number of letters and emails from female customers saying thanks for the service, we treat them professionally and we don’t speak down to them.

“I think there’s a huge problem with garages not treating female customers right. Some technicians just have a difficulty relating to females; it has to come down to the training. I’d like to think that by now that sort of problem would have gone but it’s something that customers keep complaining about.”

For Meredith the biggest problem facing the market is discounted MOT rates. While he says the move to keep the 3-1-1 schedule is undoubtedly a good thing, VOSA needs to do more to stop discounted MOTs: “Unfortunately I don’t think that VOSA will ever take the move to enforce the price of the MOT.

“If I asked customers whether they just wanted an MOT certificate or if they wanted their cars to be safe, I’d send the ones who just wanted the certificate down the road, because anyone can do that. If they want their car to be safe we’ll do it properly and we’ll charge £45.”

ABP Motorsport – vital stats

ESTABLISHED                        1964

HQ                                              Crewe

BAYS                                          5

STAFF                                       9

FLEET                                       0

WEB                                          Abpmotorsport.co.uk

Want to see your business featured here and in CAT Magazine? Email darren.moss@haymarket.com or call 020 8267 5927

'Mondeo Man' is still king of the road

The average Ford Mondeo owner covers more miles on UK roads than any other vehicle, a survey by warranty specialists Warranty Direct has revealed.

The research shows that on average ‘Mondeo Men’ cover 15,000 miles per year, compared to the national average of some 12,000 miles.

With a warranty claim rate of just 15 percent the Mondeo is also shaping up to be one of the most reliable cars money can buy.

Other cars topping the table include VW’s Passat and the Audi A6 – both covering in excess of 14,000 miles per year on average.

At the bottom of the table comes the Mazda 2, covering an average yearly mileage of just 6,500 miles.

While it will come as no surprise to garage owners that they’re likely to see more Mondeos on their forecourts than Mazdas, it’s helpful to see that many of the highest-mileage cars are also the ones to require the least maintenance work.

The only exception to that rule seems to be VW’s Passat, which according to Warranty Direct has a 44 percent chance of developing a fault. Ouch…