Tour blog 13

Tour blog 13

31 Oct 2008

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On Tour Van recieves free wheel alignment courtesy of some South African expertise

Friday 31st October . . .

17:42 – Here’s a quick recap of the day’s events to all you blog readers out there.


John D Rushworth from Rushworths Auto Repairs in Widnes
It turns out that John is nearly 70 but thanks to his sprightly nature and enthusiasm, he’s still working away running his garage business with his son Paul, and looking much younger.

Rushworths joined the Good Garage Scheme fairly recently and John says it’s bought some welcome benefits, including help with getting and analyzing feedback from customers.

“We get feedback forms from them to put in people’s cars after a service so they can fill them in,” says John. “The feedback has been really good.”

The only advertising the company does now is an ad in the motoring section of a local newspaper that John says helps bring in work.

We’re about to leave when a chance question from my Aftermarket colleague Simon reveals that as well as a garage, John has also founded his own charity helping deprived communities in Romania.

John says he goes out to Romania several times a year with the Mission to Eastern Europe charity and, thanks to donations from local companies, is able to help install power and other basic creature comforts in villages that live in genuine poverty.

If anyone out there is interested in supporting John’s charity, they should call 0151 420 1838.

Kevin Jacques at Cherry Lane Motors
Like just about every technician we’ve met over the last couple of days, Kevin has a giant woolly hat on and is colder than the deep freeze section of Tesco.

Kevin says he’s never heard of BEN, which means it’s time to do my sales pitch and tell him about the help it can offer anyone in the trade, including technicians.

We jump back in the van and swing round the corner to our next stop, no thanks to our increasingly irritating sat nav, which insists on repeating directions at least four times (I know men aren’t renowned for listening but we really aren’t that bad, are we? Don’t bother answering that one actually).

John Trainor at Tallisgrove Motors in Liverpool
John’s huge open-plan garage is another one that probably offers technicians zero protection against the cold. But things are in full swing and John is explaining to a customer why their brake pads are probably making a horrid grinding sound.

Despite the odd gripe, John is a big fan of Unipart and says that being a member of its Car Care Centre scheme has helped him win a lot of fleet business.

Sitting at his desk in the reception area, he says it’s also helped win business away from franchised dealers. It’s good to see another independent not just with the ability but also the confidence to take on local dealers.

We jump back in the van and head towards the Liverpool docks for an appointment with Gerrit and Gladys de Visser.

I interviewed Gladys after she and her husband entered a competition in Aftermarket magazine and I’m looking forward to seeing them and their business for myself.

It’s great chatting on the phone but as this trip of ours has proved, there’s nothing like meeting people in person.

Gerrit and Gladys De Visser, Peter Harrison and Barry Durkin at the Wheel Alignment & Balljoint Centre in Bootle, Liverpool
Gerrit and Gladys both have those classic, super-hard South African accents that, to English ears at least, sound like the voices of people that are seriously tough and take absolutely zero nonsense.

The reality is that they could hardly be more friendly, welcoming or infectiously enthusiastic about the benefits of four-wheel alignment. That’s full four wheel alignment and not, repeat NOT, tracking.

Tracking is something Gerrit considers to be virtually less than useless in comparison and he preaches the benefits of proper wheel alignment like an evangelical priest.

“A tracking machine costs £500 but this costs a whole lot more than that,” he says, proudly looking at his all-singing all-dancing alignment kit. “Tracking is like just putting a piece of string between the wheels and hoping it drives in a straight line.”

I ask Gerrit and Gladys what two people who I imagine had a great business in South Africa are doing in the heart of dockers’ country in Merseyside.

Gerrit looks at me and lifts up his fleece jumper. “Can you see a gun,” he asks? I can’t and tell him as much. “Exactly,” says Gerrit. “That’s why we left South Africa, because of the crime. I used to carry a gun 24/7 and so did my wife.”

Say what you like about the reputation of the mean streets of England’s inner-cities but they’re haven of peace in comparison, according to Gerrit and Gladys.

The husband and wife pair offer one of the few non-franchised dealer alignment services around and do virtually all the work on behalf of the local dealer community.

The process itself is quicker than I imagined and there are cars virtually lining up outside for Peter to swing into the workshop and onto the MOT ramp.

Gerrit makes sense of the angles and graphics on the computer screen in seconds and is kind enough to let us get our Renault Trafic (another big thank you to Renault for loaning us their van) up on the ramp.

According to Gerrit, the results show that Simon has been a good boy at the wheel and not smashed into any kerbs. I never doubted him for a second (honest)!

It turns out that Gerrit was – like my father – born in Holland. We exchange pleasantries in Dutch and he rushes off to get some speciality Dutch salted liquorice. Mmmm. It’s like Marmite really. You either love it or hate it. Fortunately, I’ve always been in the first of the two camps.

We leave with more pleasant memories of more great hospitality from independent operators who are rightly proud and passionate about their businesses.

Realising that time is creeping on, we get our van off the ramp and head down the road. We grab some sandwiches from a petrol station – that somehow leave us both more hungry than before we ate.

From there we head towards Preston for a rendezvous with Automotive Diagnostic Solutions – aka the home of Aftermarket technical writer and renowned diagnostic master Frank Massey.

That all folks!

P.S. (Story uploaded by Si - "Master Van Driver" and unofficial photographer - I've given Tom a turn at the wheel - relegated to passenger seat for a well earned break!)

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