Garage news

Independent garage membership of Motor Codes’ Service and Repair Code has passed the 2000 mark for the first time. Subscription rates from independents have increased by 45% so far in 2013 and bolstered numbers on the scheme with its garage finder and customer rating website.

Automotive industry charity BEN has started work on its new, state-of-the-art facilities and headquarters in Berkshire. The multi-million pound project will create a new retirement community and care facilities on the charity’s existing Lynwood site in Sunninghill near Ascot.

Saab Parts UK has announced a new initiative to improve the availability of parts to the independent sector. It hopes to be able to better cater for the trade by increasing inventory and improving delivery. A range of 160,000 parts are available from 80 locations across the UK.

The 19 SkillAuto finalists are making their final preparations ahead of the battle to see who will be crowned the winner. The young competitors will face off in one of three fields in front of more than 100,000 visitors at the Skills Show

Thatcham has attempted to ease the cash flow problems of the repair community by announcing it has reviewed its pricing structure for 2014, and are set to offer monthly price plans alongside yearly contracts. The move will see its Escribe system become more accessible to vehicle repairers than ever before.

Technicians should be on the lookout for vehicles approaching 70,000 miles, according to a new report. Over half of vehicles reaching the 60 or 70,000 mile point are destined to break down, says Warranty Direct in its new reliability survey. In particular, savvy garages should be watching out for Toyota models, which take the longest time to repair with an average labour time of 2.81 hours.

Franchised dealerships are presenting the independent aftermarket with a golden opportunity, according to research by BTC. The findings from the automotive training and consultancy firm shows that dealerships miss out on 57 percent of servicing work, which is costing them an average of £35.45 revenue per job.