Tour blog 17

Tour blog 17

03 Nov 2008

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Aftermarket On Tour spreads the BEN message through Scotland and talks to more diagnostic specialists

Monday 3rd November . . .

11:21am – We’re now heading off towards Glasgow after a quick dash through some of Edinburgh’s workshops.

After watching the new Bond film last night, we’re in the mood to look good and accomplish our mission in style. Goodness, we even got some laundry done yesterday on our day off (there are virtually zero garages open on a Sunday anyway).

I’m writing this from the comfort of our, errr, Aston Martin with my chauffeur (I mean colleague) Simon at the wheel on the M9 towards Glasgow.

Carnies Auto Centre
A big banner outside this garage (which, for all those rugby fans out there is about 50m from Murrayfield) is advertising a ‘drop off service’ for just £65. It also says there’s a pick-up and delivery service available.

The tactic appears to working because Carnies is busier than an England vs Scotland scrum on the next door rugby pitch.

Banners showcasing various special offer prices and a large Good Garage Scheme logo are the advertising mediums of choice and would appear to be working.


Gordon Fairnie at GFM Diagnostic Services
We have to phone Gordon to ask where his garage is actually based because all we can see is a normal residential street and an old van with his logo painted on the side.

“I got that about 15 years ago,” he later reveals. “Now, it’s basically a mobile sign that I use to tow my speed boat.”

Gordon’s diagnostic workshop is tucked away down a small alley in a group of terraced garages. He specialises in diagnostics and gets a lot of work from other members of the trade. Which he says can be a mixed blessing.

“Not all people in the trade know how I work,” he says. “They drop cars off and then call and say, we’re coming round in 10 minutes to pick it up, can you do a quick plug-in.

“Some of them are still at the stage when they think it’s just a case of plugging a tool in and it being fixed.”

He points to a car in his workshop as an example. “I’m probably not even going to plug a tool in,” he says. “The tool will tell me there’s a misfire problem. But I know that already. That’s why it’s here! The question is, why is it misfiring?”

Gordon says it was also frustrating to find that large fast fit chains nearby started offering air con services for £40 on what he describes as a ‘we’ll give you your money back if there’s a problem’ basis.

Gordon on the other hand invested heavily in training and equipment to offer similar work for around £70. “They did refer a lot of air con work to me but it was always the rubbish jobs that they didn’t want to do,” adds Gordon.

Despite the frustrations, he is also aware that the weather over the last few years has not really helped the situation. “I don’t think the air con trade is what it was,” he says. “I think supply has out done demand.”

Gordon has got several certificates over the walls of his clean and tidy garage showcasing his ATA Master Tech accreditation, IMI Advanced Automotive Engineer status and completion of various training courses from Bosch, Autologic and Frank Massey’s ADS. He’s also got what he reckons is one of the only Asnu injector testers in the whole city.

Gordon started out with his own business 15 years ago. He says the big advantage and/or disadvantage of his, and other similar independent, businesses is the level of investment required on diagnostic kit.

Do the low overheads of working from a small garage mean you’ve got lots of money to spend on new kit? Or does the huge up-front investment in kit mean you’ve got nothing left for anything more than a small, easy-to-miss garage workshop?

All depends how you look at it I guess. And what your priorities were in setting up the business in the first place.
We get back in the van (yes, Si's still dreaming of driving that Aston Martin, apparently Trafic vans haven't been featured in a Bond film.... yet!)and head round the corner to see . . .


The Village Garage in Edinburgh
Personally, I don’t see what qualifies this workshop as being in a village. It looks the part and is tucked behind an old stone archway.

I know Edinburgh is surrounded by hills and lush green glens but it’s hardly a rustic hamlet.
The garage is a specialist in BMW work and often uses Gordon’s diagnostic skills on tricky repair jobs.


Farmer Autocare fast-fit and wheel alignment centre
The camera-shy guys at this bright, shiny and polished fast fit say their four wheel alignment service is a big hit with local dealers.
Apparently they do a lot of work for nearby franchised outlets, even if it’s not so popular with regular customers coming in for services and MOTs.

The friendly duo of Gerrit and Gladys de Visser at the Wheel Alignment and Ball Joint Centre in Liverpool said a large part of their work also came from franchised dealers.

Despite having now visited 64 garages and seen several hundred in passing, this is only the second place we’ve seen advertising the fact that it offers a full wheel alignment service.

Right, that’s all for now until we’ve got round Glasgow.

Bye for now from Aftermarket On Tour.

Tom and Simon

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