DEAR READER,

The truth is out there… autotechnician’s Rob Marshall tackles ‘Fighting the Fakes’ in the realms of braking, oils, filters and exhausts from page 25 and we look out for telltale signs with spark plugs from page 34 and offer advice on ignition and engine management troubleshooting.

The term “fake news” became mainstream in recent years, thanks to the former US President’s media allegations and counter claims, in this issue we turn our attention to an equally hot potato and focus on misleading product claims and also counterfeit goods that have been entering the automotive supply chain.

According to the European Union Intellectual Property Office, the production of counterfeit parts is a rising phenomenon with high profit margins, with criminals targeting premium brand, high volume service parts and using e-commerce platforms to entice workshops looking to grab a deal, that turns out to be too good to be true.

You can put your troubleshooting skills to the test with our brand new autotech online assessment, which provides real data from a recent workshop case study to test your fault-finding process. Turn to page 8 to find out more about the free, confidential test database on www.autotechnician.co.uk and a workshop takeover in June where technicians can tackle real-world vehicle faults together.

We welcome Human Resource consultant Julia Crawford into the AT fold from page 16 who provides HR checklists for workshop owners and there’s plenty of new products, installation tips throughout and a case study from Gareth Davies from page 20 to help hone your diagnostic techniques.

Nicola St Clair Editor

Nicola@autotechnician.co.uk facebook.com/Autotechmagazine twitter.com/autotech_mag

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