Tour blog 25

Tour blog 25

9 Nov 2008

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Aftermarket makes it to John O'Groats with 100 garages under its belt and thousands raised for BEN

Thursday 6th November . . .

4:00pm - It seems like months since we were down at Land's End but about 15 minutes ago, we finally made it to John O'Groats. Hooray! We're a lot more tired and a little bit wiser than when we set off and, most importantly, BEN is at least £3,200 better off.

A big thank you to all the people and companies that have supported us! On that note, if it's not too cheeky, it's not too late to support the trip (especially now we've got the pictures to prove we got round all 100 workshops) - just go to www.justgiving.com/aftermarketontour to find out more.

It is somewhat cold and miserable up here so my fingers are freezing and writing this quick look back at the day may take a bit longer than usual.

Being a soft southerner from down in Kent, I didn't appreciate quite how seriously far north John O'Groats is and, more importantly, how long it takes to navigate the winding country roads to get here.

I should say a big and public thank you to my Aftermarket colleague Simon Gardner who has driven virtually every mile of the way up here while I sit daydreaming alongside him (obviously about the issues affecting the garage trade!). It's very much appreciated.

We started this morning having got round 91 workshops. So here's a look back at the final day of Aftermarket On Tour's fundraising trip for BEN.


Charlie Fraser at Frasers Garage
Another countryside with another petrol retailing division and a coach hire service. Two of the lads are busy washing buses when we arrive and Charlie is helping customers fill up.

In fact, at first glance, the forecourt seems busier than the workshop itself. After nearly getting soaked by a man with a spray washer and a wicked glint in his eye, we jump back in the van and head onwards.


Mike Hind at Burnside Garage in Avoch on the Black Isle
The owner of this garage is away on holiday in New Zealand and, while he's away, Mike is having an ATL test lane installed (with the boss's permission of course).

A two-man team from Tecalemit are busy working away and make says that with at least six MOTs a day, it makes sense to save paying an assistant to waggle wheels in the test lane when they could be getting on with something more useful.

Because of their relatively remote location, Mike's workshop does advertise; in Yellow Pages and various local newspapers. Although, like many garages, they rely on customers recommending their services to friends and family, advertising has allowed Burnside Garage to pull in extra business.

"We get quite a bit of business from Inverness," says Mike. "Some of the garages there charge about £80 an hour labour but we're about half that."


It should be noted that Inverness is not only a good 20 miles away but it's quite a trek down some pretty awkward roads. Offering a more 'cost-effective' service has clearly proved a winner, especially as the garage is investing heavily in an ATL at a time when other garages are being extremely cautious with their cash.


John Grant at Central Garage in Dornoch
John very kindly moves the car parked outside his workshop (which is, like the name suggests, right in the middle of the village) so we can get a more scenic photo.

Dornoch is a real picture-postcard place and possibly the most beautiful workshop we've seen so far. Every one of the Lego buildings in Dornoch is a cute and compact size and built from sandy-coloured blocks of golden stone.

"We've got an older population up here so the crunch is hitting their pensions and more of them are coming to us rather than main dealers," says John.


George Durrand at Oldwick Garage in Wick
George smiles for the camera and says that his recovery van is a real winner when it comes to brining in extra work. There aren't many workshops here that don't seem to have a van for hauling stranded cars about.

George doesn't know about BEN so we leave him with an information pack about how the charity can help people in the trade should they fall on hard times.


Campbell Gordon at Gordon Motors in Wick
It's so cold up here that virtually every garage we've been to all day has its doors shut. Reception doors, workshop doors, you name it these places look closed.

We see a glimmer of light through the window of this secluded, stone garage so decide to knock. Campbell (yes, those names are the right way round before you ask!) seems surprised and, hopefully, pleased that Aftermarket has made it up to the outer reaches of Caithness.

So we get a quick tour of his workshop, an enlightening dissection of the trade's employment structure and some wicked anecdotes about life in a garage. He also shows a novel use for a laser wheel aligner!

He'd like to expand to larger premises on the outskirts of town but is worried about making such a big decision at a time of economic uncertainty.

Campbell does a lot of work installing diesel tuning modules to help motorists boost the performance or economy of their cars. But he finds the pace of change in the industry frustrating.

It's not that he can't keep up with it. He's a skilled diagnostic technician. It's just that he feels the public don't appreciate real technicians' skills while VMs build cars that are infuriatingly complex to repair.

He says he's seen more than one example of dealers themselves having to cook up bizarre solutions to electronic repair problems. One example revolves around a car that needed an ignition module re-coded in order to start it up.

However, apparently it had to be running for the re-coding to take place and this couldn't happen because - you've guessed it - the faulty ignition module meant it couldn't be started.

Apparently, they had to hot wire it in order to get it running and re-code the ignition system. It's vicious circle situations like this that drive Campbell mad.

Campbell says there are genuine problems recruiting top level young technicians into the trade without them leaving for better paid careers in other industries too.

Still, despite the frustrations, he clearly loves what he does. His workshop is packed with kit and he loves telling us about it. He's also got a fantastic series of jokes up his sleeve!


Caithness Tyre Co in Wick
This is a quick stop at a fast fit that hasn't heard of BEN before. We fill them in and hit the road. The weather is increasingly grim up here and we don't want to be negotiating the roads to John O'Groats in the dark.


Dunnet's Ford dealership in Wick
This turns out to be the only dealership we've been to where the BEN name appears to be unknown. We have, admittedly, been to many, many more independents but it every dealer we've been to so far has instantly recognised the BEN logo.


Richards Garage in Wick
Until recently, this garage was a Nissan dealership. No longer! The showroom is now full of all-makes cars and the technicians in the workshop are busy working on them too.

Across the road is Richards Service Station, yet another workshop/petrol station.


Alexander Bruce at AB Motors in Keiss
With the weather looking increasingly gloomy, it's a race to get to John O'Groats before darkness falls. So we don't hang around.

Like so many independents we've seen, Alexander seems to have what is either simply a self-deprecating sense of humour or is alternatively, a failure to see quite what an important job he does.

"I bet you've not seen many garages as small as this on your travels," he says. In fact, Alexander's workshop is very clean, extremely professional-looking and with at least three work bays it's perfectly formed too.

Like so many garages we've seen on our trip, his garage is the sort that looks well set to change public opinions of the independent industry and guild the foundations of a more profitable and more respected trade.


Anyway, that's all for now folks. We've got to get back to Kent and back to the office for Monday morning. A final big thank you to all the workshops, garage managers and technicians we've met and to everyone who has supported the BEN cause. You're great!

Over and out

Tom and Simon

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