Tour blog 7

Tour blog 7

28 Oct 2008

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We're now 23 garages into our tour of Britain's workshops having whizzed through High Wycombe

Tuesday 28th October . . .

20:57 – It’s coming up to bedtime from our overnight stop in Milton Keynes (I know it’s early but we’re pretty tired).

Tomorrow we’ll be heading out through the Midlands with NGK’s promotional girl Mel in tow.

NGK very kindly donated £500 to the Aftermarket On Tour cause for BEN and they’ve kindly ‘loaned’ us Mel for the day to try and add some glamour to our pictures – and to spare you all from having to look at my gormless mug in all the pictures.

So before Simon and I hit the hay, here’s a quick recap of the afternoon’s events . . .

Mark Banks, Adam Heady, Luke Featherstone, Ross Summers and all the boys at Holmer Green Service Centre in High Wycombe

3:00pm – After  zipping down the M4 from Bristol, where we managed to get round seven garages, we pull up at Holmer Green Service Centre to see Mr Top Technician 2008 himself Mark Banks.

We had originally planned to keep going up the M5 towards Birmingham but seeing as things were going pretty well, we decided to take a detour and cover some more of the country instead.

It’s always a pleasure to meet someone as enthusiastic and professional about his job as Mark. He shows us round the workshop and gets us a brew, which is very much appreciated.

There’s a lovely looking 1971 Ford Capri inside that’s been in the garage for an unleaded conversion. Apparently, its owner has had it in storage for years and years and has finally decided to take it out on the road.

Mark shows us just about everything that’s going on in the garage – from the cracked head gasket on a Seat to the Autologic kit he uses to connect to a Volkswagen out front.

Also hanging about the front yard of the garage is Mark’s friend Alan Hart who’s an auto-electrician. He does a lot of work on car security systems and I groan inside when I hear the pun-tastic name of his company.

It is - wait for it - . . .  Sounds Alarming! Waaay! I can hear one of those comedy drum rolls in my head when he says it. Still, top marks for good marketing. It’s a name that people won’t forget in a hurry I suppose.

Alan decides to join the group photo of Holmer Green’s technician’s by lurking mysteriously in the background so it looks like I’ve got a strange second head growing out of my shoulder.

But him and Mark both generously pitch in some cash for BEN. Mark coughs up for second time even though he’s already donated £100! A really generous gesture.

From there it’s a short drive to . . .


Paul Henison from Hazlemere Autos Ltd

3:30pm – Hazlemere is a lovely looking garage in a rustic, unpretentious sort of way and Paul (pictured top right) not only makes us a delicious cuppa but offers us one of the excellent micro-cigars (I’m really not sure what the proper name is) he’s puffing away on – obviously well away from the workshop itself!

I can see why people love coming to garages like Hazlemere and Holmer Green. They don’t really feel like garages at all.

The friendly welcome I’m sure all the customers get means they’re important parts of the local community where people can have a chat with a skilled craftsmen they also trust to do a great job on their car.

There’s nothing like the human touch and these places have got it in bucket loads. Paul sings us the praises of some diesel tuning units he’s installing on a customer's car.

That customer just happens to be a fairly well-known sports commentator (I know that’s hardly Tom Cruise fame we’re talking about but it’s still better than Bubble of Big Brother) who bought a diesel with 30,000 miles on the clock only to notch up 110,000 miles within the blink of an eye.

Paul says he decided it was probably worth doing something to boost the economy and also give him some extra torque for those long motorway runs up and down the country.

Paul doesn’t want my fellow Aftermarket On Tour colleague (and now master van driver) Simon to take pictures of the piles of parts and kit that are due to be returned to the local supplier because he’s worried they’ll make the place look messy.

Personally, I think a bit of ‘organised clutter’ can be part of the charm. I employ the same tactic on my desk at work. It’s easy to find things if it’s all laid out in front of you – that’s my excuse anyway!

Paul very kindly donates £20 to the BEN cause. In fact he’s so keen to support BEN that I can’t remember the last time a man thrust cash into my hand quite so fast.

Another big thank you to another friendly, welcoming and fantastic independent garage. Give me the choice between a corporate palace of shiny efficiency and a  friendly garage with a real human face and I’ll go for the latter any day.

Not all drivers out there will agree with me but like all things in life, you pay your money and you take your choice!


Mark Harris at Full Circle in High Wycombe

4:10pm – Things are obviously going well at the Full Circle garage because they’re preparing to move to a bright and shiny new premises very shortly.

As director Mark explains, this expansion is despite problems being experienced by local dealers. He tells me that a nearby Ford and Toyota dealer have all shut down recently, being forced to make staff redundant in the process.

“The new place is three times as big as here,” says Mark. “It’s huge. But we thought this place was bigger than we’d ever need when we moved in six years ago and now it’s too small.

Mark’s garage is part of the Bosch Car Service Network, like the Holmer Green Service Centre. And the efficient, accountable approach to business you’d expect from a network with such a Germanic ethos comes shining through.

Mark is clearly proud of the value for money his customers get and explains how all jobs are billed at recommended times, even if they take longer in reality.

"With the economy the way it is, it seems some of the dealers out there are getting a reality check," reckons Mark.

Last but not least, we make the ‘flyingest’ of visits to the Forge Garage on the outskirts of High Wycombe where I have to admit we fail to get an overwhelming welcome.

Bizarrely, we have our BEN information pack grabbed out of our hands before the nameless recipient disappears back behind a closed door while giving us free reign to roam around his workshop.

Anyway, that’s all from Tom and Simon for today. Aftermarket On Tour is back tomorrow heading through Birmingham!

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