Independent garage membership of Motor Codes’ Service and Repair Code has passed the 2000 mark for the first time.
Subscription rates from independents have increased by 45% so far in 2013 and bolstered numbers on the scheme with its garage finder and customer rating website.
Automotive industry charity BEN has started work on its new, state-of-the-art facilities and headquarters in Berkshire. The multi-million pound project will create a new retirement community and care facilities on the charity’s existing Lynwood site in Sunninghill near Ascot.
Saab Parts UK has announced a new initiative to improve the availability of parts to the independent sector. It hopes to be able to better cater for the trade by increasing inventory and improving delivery. A range of 160,000 parts are available from 80 locations across the UK.
Top Technician 2014 has officially launched with the promise of a record prize fund and number of entries for next year.
The first stage of the competition will see technicians undertake an initial online test, before a more advanced test await those who make it through. The entrants will be whittled down to a final six who will compete on 16 May at the Honda Institute to determine who is crowned the winner.
The 19 SkillAuto finalists are making their final preparations ahead of the battle to see who will be crowned the winner. The young competitors will face off in one of three fields in front of more than 100,000 visitors at the Skills Show
Carrying on the Inside Line series, we move on from looking at the BMW 3 Series and turn our attention to another BMW model which is one of the nation’s favourites – the Mini.
The Mini, made a memorable return in 2001 under BMW’s guise, but maintained a great deal of the charm that made the original so popular.
In this issue we are focusing mainly on the second generation Mini that not only saw changes to the outside and the interior but also under the bonnet.
Thatcham has attempted to ease the cash flow problems of the repair community by announcing it has reviewed its pricing structure for 2014, and are set to offer monthly price plans alongside yearly contracts. The move will see its Escribe system become more accessible to vehicle repairers than ever before.
Technicians should be on the lookout for vehicles approaching 70,000 miles, according to a new report. Over half of vehicles reaching the 60 or 70,000 mile point are destined to break down, says Warranty Direct in its new reliability survey. In particular, savvy garages should be watching out for Toyota models, which take the longest time to repair with an average labour time of 2.81 hours.
Franchised dealerships are presenting the independent aftermarket with a golden opportunity, according to research by BTC.
The findings from the automotive training and consultancy firm shows that dealerships miss out on 57 percent of servicing work, which is costing them an average of £35.45 revenue per job.
Halfords Autocentres has given tyre safety month a boost by becoming a member of the campaign.
Tyre charity TyreSafe announced that the chain of 290 centres will be offering a free tyre safety check throughout the month of October. This move will increase the visibility to consumers throughout the campaign.