Tour blog 9

Tour blog 9

29 Oct 2008

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It's been a long day in Birmingham for Aftermarket On Tour, find out where our BEN fundraising trip has been

Wednesday 29th October . . .

5:42pm - A big hello to everyone reading this blog from inside a cold van on a dark and gloomy industrial estate somewhere in Walsall near Birmingham.

It's been another hectic day and fatigue is starting to take hold of my brain - either that or it's self-induced dehydration from stupidly forgetting to drink anything all day.

Simon on the other hand, seems strangely fresh and alert considering how many miles he's got under his belt behind the wheel.

Here's a look back at another day of interesting garage discoveries for Aftermarket On Tour.


Tony Inns from TJ Auto Electrics
I don't think Tony (pictured top right with Mel and me) would argue with me if I said his workshop is not really a stunner in the looks department. In fact, you'd be forgiven for thinking the place was abandoned from the outside.

But they say looks can be deceiving for a reason. Tony is a real diamond in the rough. He has the biggest tool cabinet I've ever seen and enough diagnostic tools to fill a sales catalogue.

And his enthusiasm is a revelation. By his own admission, he prefers the hands on aspect of working on cars rather than the pen pushing of running a business.

Customers can clearly see how good he is so he's had enough work to expand his business for years. When me, Simon and NGK promo girl Mel arrive, he tells us that he's finally looking to expand with the help of a local independent car dealer who needs four or five techs and someone with Tony's expertise to worry about the tricky repair jobs.

From there we pop round the corner to see Tony's friend Lee Dunstan at . . .


Lee Dunstan and Rocky at Platinum In Car
Lee's company specialises in top-end aftermarket fit hi-fi systems but also does burglar alarms, parking sensors and other electrical jobs. He's currently specking up a Jaguar that a customer bought only to find that the company put so much effort into making the car drive well that they apparently forgot to give it a sound system of appropriately ear-splitting power.

Lee very kindly helps fix Mel's iPhone which is on the blink before introducing us to Rocky, the giant dog he got from an RSPCA rescue home a few years back. Rocky was left more or less abandoned outside in his owner's garden for three years but is clearly now much happier - even if he is a big old grumpy boots at heart.


Steve Bolan and all the guys at Kinghurst Automotive
Thanks to Steve Bolan for a warm welcome. Steve says that to get round the problem of people wanting to delay services for various financial reasons (either real or imagined) he's been pushing reduced price interim services. The idea being that they give people the reassurance of their car looked at but at a price that won't put so many people off.

Mel does a half-way strip to reveal the top half of her NGK catsuit (she decides it's too cold for the full works) and we get some pics with technicians Paul Mansell, Martin Wheat, Cliff Lehman, Matt Douglass and Steve too. Anna Donovan in reception is too camera shy to join in!


Tom Wetton, Martin Mone and, errr, another Tom Wetton from SAS Autos
Tom Wetton used to work at the Longbridge Rover plant before he started out on his own as an independent Rover and MG specialist. He's helped out in the workshop by his son (who is, curiously, also called Tom Wetton) and Martin Mone, who entered Top Tech for the first time this year.


Redhill Recovery Services
From SAS it's a rather painful trawl round the ring-roads of Birmingham to see Redhill boss Alan Read. The snowy weather has meant a bumper day of recovery work for Redhill and although no-one wants people to have car trouble - especially with dangerous snow on the road - it only makes good business sense to take advantage of it if and when it does happen.

Two techs in the workshop clearly take a shine to Mel. I decline the offer to give them her phone number but some NGK freebies seem to keep them happy instead.


Khush Ahmed of Princes End Garage
Khush Ahmed has taken over responsibility of this garage from his dad who set it up more than 20 years ago. Khush is one of the progressive independents out there that have already signed up to the Motor Industry Service and Repair Code.

"We've been going for years and don't really get any complaints but it's nice to know that if they do happen, there's a way of dealing with them," says Khush.

The garage also has a single recovery truck that Khush says helps bring in work with a local recovery service for customers who can't start their cars or are stranded for some reason.


H and Dave from Sam's Auto Services in Walsall
We meet 'H' at this garage in Walsall. And no, that's not the perma-blonde metrosexual singer from former boy/girl group Steps but technician and garage boss Harvinder Singh.

H says someone from an insurance company recently told him business in the trade was 30% down. Thanks to H's management and the skills of fellow tech Dave Farmer, the guys at Sam's say business has been ticking along nicely and they've certainly not noticed a downturn.


Anne Purchase, Dennis Stevens and James Lewis from Eurocar of Bridge End Motor Centre
If ever a kind reception and a cup of tea was needed it was when we pulled up at this wonderfully neat, tidy and professional looking garage.

Absolutely whacked after a day struggling through the Birmingham traffic, manager Anne Purchase says the words I've been longing to hear and offers me and Simon a cuppa.
 
Co-manager and tech Dennis Stevens explains that they do a lot of work on kit and sports cars which explains the immaculate AC Cobra in the corner as well as plenty of CV work on vans up to 3.5 ton.

We grab a pic with Anne, Dennis and technician James Lewis and thank our lucky stars that we called on such a friendly bunch! Thanks guys.


Warren Cluttton from Brownshore Motors
Our mission to get 10 garages done within the day almost goes off the rails when we rock up at about 5:29pm. I think we've missed the boat until we notice a light on and the ring garage phone. Thankfully, manager Warren Clutton answers and we pile inside his workshop for the final pic of the day.

A big thank you to everyone we've visited today. A big boo to the Birmingham traffic. But a big hooray for the automatic gearbox on our Renault Trafic van!

P.S. To any Spurs fans out there, please be assured that I've learnt my lesson - thanks to a certain esteemed gentleman of the press! I now know that it's 'Juande Ramos' and not 'Juan De Ramos'. I stand by my original point though, Martin Jol should never have been sacked. 

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