Workshop issue 17

PROJECT: FORD MUSTANG ARRIVED FROM THE USA – IN BITS

ISSUE 17 | FEBRUARY 2017

£2.50 | WORKSHOPMAGAZINE.CO.UK

POWER PLAY: WE CHECK OUT THE FIRM SEARCHING FOR THE ‘OEM-PLUS’ FACTOR

VAN-TASTIC!

The team delivering the ultimate in customised conversions RATED & RANKED

Screwdrivers put to the test

PLUS: Trim removal tools and spring compressors

Essential advice on staff training and site security

INVESTIGATION

Could scrappage scheme return?

AND: Plans to delay first MOT

®

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02 | WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

ESTABLISHED IN 1985 | PART OF THE STENHØJ GROUP

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EDITORIAL

BLACKBALL MEDIA HASLAR MARINE TECHNOLOGY PARK, HASLAR ROAD, GOSPORT, PO12 2AG T: (023) 9252 2434

CONTENTS. 36

HEAD OF NEWS & FEATURES REBECCA CHAPLIN rebecca@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @BelieveBecca

PRODUCTION EDITOR DAVE BROWN

30

dave@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @CarDealerDave

NEWS EDITOR JACK EVANS

jack@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @jackrober

SENIOR STAFF WRITER ANDREW EVANS

Keeping crime at bay... and your premises safe and secure

32 50

andrew@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @snavEwerdnA

STAFF WRITER LAURA THOMSON

laura@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @lauramayrafiki

The Judge: Employee was abusive and threatening... can I sack him?

HEAD OF DESIGN GRAEME WINDELL

ADVERTISING

graeme@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @graemewindell

SALES MANAGER JON HICKEY

j.hickey@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @CarDealerjon

ACCOUNT MANAGER TOM ADAMS

New for you: A two-page round-up of the latest products

16

tom.adams@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @_WorkshopTom

Our Kev: The idiot amateurs who think they know it all after a bit of Googling

38

FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION

SUITS

finance@blackballmedia.co.uk

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER JAMES BAGGOTT james@thebaize.com Twitter: @CarDealerEd

MANAGING DIRECTOR ANDY ENTWISTLE andy@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @CarDealerAndy

CONTRIBUTORS Tom Barnard, John Bowman, Darren Cassey, James Fossdyke, Ian Gardner, Kev Grady, Jon Reay, Craig Rose, Harry Smith, Our Kev, Alex Wells SUBSCRIPTIONS If you know someone who would like a FREE copy of Workshop Magazine, email the details to subs@workshopmagazine.co.uk and we’ll do the rest.

DISTRIBUTION Workshop Magazine is distributed to a database of up to 10,000 service and repair sites, franchised car dealers, independents, car manufacturers and suppliers.

Company No. 6473855 VAT No. 933 8428 05 ISSN No. 1759-5444 Workshop Magazine is published by Blackball Media Ltd (Company No 6473855) and printed by Warners. All rights reserved. Conditions of sale and supply include the fact that Workshop shall not, without our consent, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of in a mutilated way or in any unauthorised cover by way of trade or affixed to or as any part of a publication or advertising, literary or pictorial matter whatsoever.

Workshop Magazine is fully protected by copyright. Nothing may be reproduced wholly or in part without permission.

CLEVER CONVERSIONS: Focus on the skills and expertise of the ingenious Vanworx team

Welcome

WHAT a start to the year we have had! Looking at events that have taken place around the globe, it feels as though everything has changed overnight. We can’t compete with the inauguration of a controversial new American president of course, but it’s certainly been a pretty busy time at the offices of Workshop Magazine.

This month we’ve been getting under the skin of various vehicles, chatting to businesses that cleverly modify them to meet the needs of their owners.

Andrew paid a visit to Vanworx in Portland, Dorset, to find out about the campervan conversion business – and how the team has had to grow to meet everincreasing demand for its services.

At the same time, Darren has been learning about how the guys at Superchips capitalise on a car’s capabilities, helping various models fulfil their true potential in terms of performance.

It’s been a busy month for you too, and we’ve been inundated with news to prove it! The industry is facing

48

The fleet: Introducing Jon’s Japanese import

Put through their paces: Resident tester Andrew looks at screwdriver sets and trim removal tools, while our panel of professionals checks out spring compressors. a lot of conflicting views and potential changes at the moment, which we’ve been investigating – including whether or not another scrappage scheme could be on the way. The previous one might have been good news for sellers of new cars, but that certainly wasn’t the case for many in the service and repair sector.

Then we’ve got all the usual suspects that you always tell us you love – including our popular product-test pages. Andrew has been pushing various items to their limits once again (this time we’ve let him loose with screwdrivers and trim removal tools) while our panel of trusted professionals has been trying out spring compressors, with some interesting results.

As usual, please get in touch with your feedback and stories, as we love hearing them. Enjoy the issue!

Rebecca Chaplin, Head of News and Features WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

| 03

NEWS.

COULD WE BE ON THE BRINK OF ANOTHER SCRAPPAGE SCHEME? INVESTIGATION Many people were pleased when the government intervened to give new car sales a kick-start eight years ago – but not everyone. REBECCA CHAPLIN reports.

M

ention the word ‘scrappage’ and you’ll get a variety of responses.

The scheme that took hundreds of thousands of 10-year-old cars off the roads eight years ago was undoubtedly a hit with new car dealers.

But not everyone was happy. Many in the service and repair sector found their bottom line badly affected, and traders involved in the buying and selling of cheaper, second-hand models were far from unanimous in their approval.

The reason? Many of the cars binned during the scheme, which was introduced in 2009 and business had ever endured. He ran for 11 months, still had plenty of life left in said: ‘In all the time I have had them and could have continued to be roadworthy this business, I’ve only had one for many more months, even years. year when we’ve lost money and True, they would have needed some TLC along that was the year of the scrappage the way – but that would, of course, have been scheme. What a horrendous, MOT and repair work, supplying valuable income stupid idea that was.’ for garages up and down the UK. Unfortunately perhaps for All of a sudden, these old cars were replaced Taller, and others who share his by shiny new models, covered by manufacturer views, Workshop can report that warranties administered at main dealer level. car manufacturers have been It’s therefore not hard to see why independent calling for a second scrappage garages lost out. scheme – this time targeting Based on the 392,000-plus 10-year-old cars so-called dirty diesels that were replaced, it’s estimated that – to boost sales of the service and repair sector missed electric cars and out on more than £11 million other environof revenue. mentallyIn 2010, when the scheme friendly came to an end, the government alternatives. boasted that a fifth of new car We spoke to Peugeot UK MD sales in 2009 had been thanks to David Peel, who seemed concerned scrappage and that 4,000 jobs with about the prospects for the new car manufacturers and suppliers had market in 2017 after a record level been created as a result. of registrations in 2016.

However, the response We’d like to see He told us: ‘I think the Workshop Magazine received market is going to be very owners swap older from garages was not so positive unpredictable this year. recently. Steve Taller, owner diesels for newer, ‘I think a scrappage of Crescent Motoring Services, cleaner, Euro 6 programme would be a way of Staffordshire, explained that the diesels. securing the position for 2017. period of the scrappage scheme MIKE HAWES ‘I can see the overall market was the worst financial spell his

”

04 | WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

Almost 400,000 cars were taken off the road declining this year, but I certainly feel that from experience of the last scrappage scheme the cost to the government is quite neutral, so I can’t see it’s a huge risk on their part to think about doing something similar this year.’

His view was echoed by Paul Philpott, Kia UK president and CEO, who suggested that a new scheme should target old, polluting,

BRITAIN FACES MOT CHANGES NEW cars could be allowed to stay on Britain’s roads 50 years ago and so it is only right we bring the MOT test without an MOT for four years, the government announced up to date to help save motorists money where we can.’ recently – but at what cost to workshops?

More than 2.2 million cars each year take their first The government’s proposed plan for extending the test, which costs a maximum of £54.85. It is also a legal required period before the safety check from three years requirement that vehicles are roadworthy, regardless of to four would save motorists more than £100 million, whether they have passed an MOT. according to the Department for Transport (DfT), but A number of vehicle parts are checked during MOTs to garages could lose out as a result. ensure they meet legal standards, such as lights, The policy, which would also apply to seatbelts, tyres and brakes. motorcycles, could come into effect next In November, the AA commissioned a year, subject to a public consultation. poll of more than 19,000 drivers to ask In 1967, the MOT-free period was if they would be in favour of extending slashed from 10 to three years but this the period for new cars to have their latest suggested move would bring first MOT from three years to four.

Britain into line with Northern Ireland Some 44 per cent were in favour and many other European countries, of such a move, while 26 per cent were including France, Ireland, Italy, Spain, opposed to it and a third didn’t have a Denmark and Norway. view either way.

The DfT believes the development AA president Edmund King said: of safer technology and improved ‘The benefits are that there will be The downside is that we manufacturing means new vehicles cost and time savings for drivers, are likely to see some stay roadworthy for longer. whilst the downside is that we are more cars with faulty Its figures show that the annual likely to see some more cars with tyres and lights slipping number of three- and four-year-old faulty tyres and lights slipping through the net. cars involved in accidents where through the net. a vehicle defect was a ‘Most three-year-old cars will EDMUND KING contributory factor has fallen by have undergone regular servicing, so the almost two-thirds, from 155 in 2006 to majority will be in good condition.

57 in 2015.

‘In the past, the government consulted on a switch Transport minister Andrew Jones said: ‘We from an annual MOT to biennial, which the AA and have some of the safest roads in the world and our members strongly opposed as we felt that would MOT tests play an important role in ensuring the compromise road safety. standard of vehicles on our roads.

‘This latest proposition appears to have support from ‘New vehicles are much safer than they were drivers, although that support is not overwhelming.’

”

under the scrappage scheme diesel-powered vehicles. ‘I think it’s far easier to rationalise the need for a scrappage scheme on diesel,’ he told us. ‘There have been some calls to get some of the older, more emitting diesel engines off the road, because if you look at a Euro 6 diesel engine, it emits a fraction of what a 10-year-old diesel car does.’

The chief executive of motor industry body

Dealers made the most of scrappage – but many workshops lost out at the time the SMMT, Mike Hawes, said: ‘We’d like to see owners swap older diesels for newer, cleaner Euro 6 diesels – and in the cities around the UK where emissions are a problem, that could happen.

‘Any programme that aims to incentivise buyers needs to be nationwide – there needs to be a consistent approach across the UK – but at the moment the government is not flush with cash

and I can’t see a scrappage scheme that targets older diesels happening any time soon.’

Perhaps it’s just as well – after all, the service and repair sector has enough on its plate with upcoming changes to MOT training, as the fiveyear tester refresher course has been replaced by annual training and an assessment.

No rest for the wicked...

WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

| 05

NEWS.

£8m investment secured for TyresOnTheDrive.com Significant sum from Halfords will see a mobile service being tried out on its behalf

C

heshire-based mobile tyre-fitting service TyresOnTheDrive.com has secured an £8m investment from Halfords in a round of funding.

The investment comes with an operating agreement under which TyresOnTheDrive will try out a mobile service on behalf of Halfords, the retailer of motoring, cycling and leisure products.

The company is also well known for its Halfords Autocentres outlets, which offer vehicle servicing, maintenance and repairs.

TyresOnTheDrive was founded in 2011 by Dominic Clark, a former brand manager at Michelin. It allows customers to find tyres and, via a website, arrange for fitting to take place the following day.

Chairman Robert Gorrie said: ‘This is a very exciting opportunity for both Halfords and TyresOnTheDrive.com and is a significant endorsement of the business we are building.

‘Our disruptive, nimble, online and mobile fitting-focused tyre business can benefit from, and also provide benefit to, Halfords in ways that will deliver considerable customer benefit for both businesses.’

Jill McDonald, Halfords’ chief executive, added: ‘We are delighted to announce this arrangement.

‘We know that convenience and “do it for me” are increasingly important trends for our customers, and this arrangement provides an excellent opportunity for us to explore an extension of our customer offer.

‘The management team at TyresOnTheDrive. com have developed a sophisticated, customercentric online platform, resulting in a best-in-class customer experience. We look forward to working closely with the team to enhance services to our respective customers.’

Existing investors True Capital and MMC Ventures were also involved in the funding round.

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06 | WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

Experts in vehicle depollution

Tuesday, May 23, 2017 The Wing, Silverstone CDX17 will be bigger than ever, with a larger expo, plus more workshops and breakout sessions STAND BOOKINGS BEING TAKEN NOW!

To register your interest please call 023 9252 2434 or email events@blackballmedia.co.uk

NEWS ROUND-UP What’s been making the headlines at workshops around the United Kingdom?

BIRMINGHAM:

A delivery of 12 Peugeot Partner vans to GSF Car Parts’ Birmingham head office marks the start of a £3.5m rolling programme to exchange the company’s older vans across its entire fleet in 2017. The new vans replace GSF’s local delivery vehicles over four years old and the programme will see 350 Peugeot Partner vans replaced across the entire 65-branch network during the year – 60 per cent of the current van fleet.

| ACQUISITION |

Autodata bought

by Solera Holdings EDINBURGH:

Hot on the heels of the highly successful Autoinform LIVE 2016 training event in November, the Original Equipment Suppliers Aftermarket Association (OESAA) has announced that a second event is soon to follow, this time catering for garage owners and technicians in Scotland.

Autoinform Scotland 2017 will take place on March 18-19 at the GTG Academy in Edinburgh.

AUTOMOTIVE technical information specialist Autodata has been bought by Solera Holdings, owner of cap hpi and Audatex, in a £340m deal.

Founded in 1975, Autodata has evolved from publishing do-ityourself manuals for car enthusiasts and garages, to delivering digital cloud-based diagnostics and repair intelligence for professional mechanics.

Autodata’s solutions are used by more than 90,000 repair shops in more than 40 countries.

Solera was founded as a garagebased start-up in 2005 and has grown to process over 240 million transactions annually for 200,000 partners in 80 countries worldwide.

| INVESTMENT |

IMI spends out on major IT upgrade WITH the March 31 deadline approaching for DVSA assessment and training, the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) has invested in a significant IT upgrade.

The IMI has seen its website traffic more than double in recent months as thousands of testers have flocked to complete their assessment and annual training ahead of the March 31 deadline for compliance with DVSA regulations. It anticipates that the current demand is set to surge as the deadline approaches.

REDDITCH:

Classic hire specialist Great Escape Cars has launched a new workshop, wefixclassiccars.co.uk. The new repair and restoration service, in Redditch, gives classic car owners access to the company’s established workshop and extensive experience maintaining a large fleet of high-mileage classics. Graham Eason, director of Great Escape Cars, says he has created ‘the sort of workshop that I want to deal with’.

| DEVELOPMENT |

Tech will support autonomous driving DERBYSHIRE:

DORSET:

The Westover Group has submitted plans to open a Jaguar aftersales facility in Christchurch, on a site previously earmarked for an Asda supermarket. The plans were unveiled at the end of January and the existing Land Rover garage at their Bailey Drive site will be refurbished. The new plot will include a 27-bay service centre, valet bay and vehicle compound.

Building work is under way at Markham Vale for Ferdinand Bilstein UK’s new state-of-the-art distribution centre. Part of the Derbyshire County Council’s regeneration project, the new purpose-built centre will cover 212,771 square feet and offer a wealth of new opportunities in jobs and revenue for the local area. It is the first to be built on the north section of the development and could create up to 400 jobs.

AN artificial intelligence (AI) technology which will support future autonomous driving features is in development following an agreement between DENSO and Toshiba corporations.

The technology, called Deep Neural Network (DNN), will be used in image recognition systems independently developed by the two companies to support the steady introduction of advanced driver assistance and autonomous driving technologies.

DNN is an algorithm modelled on the human brain, aiming to mimic the processing capabilities of a person. It’s hoped the technology will be able to perform image-recognition processing to an even higher level.

WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

| 07

SUPPLIERS GUIDE.

IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A WORKSHOP SUPPLIER, YOU CAN FIND THE DETAILS OF SELECTED COMPANIES HERE

Are you looking for a supplier? Here’s your essential guide

This invaluable directory provides you with information and contact details of some of the key suppliers of products and services to the automotive repair industry – from components and parts to garage equipment, web design, online solutions and even legal advice for when a transaction goes sour.

Our guide to the industry’s must-have partners follows on from the success of a similar resource in our sister publication, Car Dealer Magazine, and the automotive repair, service and maintenance industry version will become just as indispensable.

This month we add to our list of key suppliers with Dragon2000 and Butts of Bawtry.

Keep an eye on this space each month as we include more and more of the industry’s leading suppliers.

Aftersales Software

Approved Schemes

eDynamix

RAC Approved Dealer Network

Garage Equipment

Garage Equipment

Garage Equipment

Butts of Bawtry

GEMCO

Pro-Align

Garage Equipment

Garage Management Software

Legal & Compliance

Straightset

Dragon2000

Lawgistics

Parts Suppliers

Parts Suppliers

Trade Bodies

Blue Print

Febi Bilstein

IGA

W: edynamix.com T: 0845 413 0000 E: enquiries@edynamix.com Info: eDynamix offers web-based applications providing a connected and simple-to-use platform in which dealers can manage a customer throughout the service lifecycle, including service plans, electronic vehicle health check, repair and finance plans, proactive follow-up, online bookings, MOT cleanse, VIDEO1st, aftersales surveys, and automated confirmations and reminders.

W: buttsequipment.com T: 01302 710868 E: info@buttsequipment.com Info: Butts of Bawtry is literally a ONE STOP SHOP for the garage or workshop. Offering a comprehensive range of Quality Garage Equipment from leading manufacturers, backed up by our team of trained and certified service and repair engineers. From a trolley jack to a complete workshop installation, Butts have the answer.

W: straightset.co.uk T: 01909 480055 E: paul.bates@straightset.co.uk Info: Straightset is the UK’s leading independent garage equipment company, providing best-in-class design, supply, installation and service of car and commercial workshops for nearly 30 years. We carry a vast range of quality equipment carefully sourced from top manufacturers within the EU and US and offer one of the most comprehensive aftersales services in the market.

W: blue-print.co.uk T: 01622 833007 E: adl-blueprint.bpic@bilsteingroup.com Info: As part of the Bilstein Group, Blue Print supplies OEmatching quality vehicle components, with strong Asian and American coverage. With more than 23,000 different parts in its range, from braking and clutch components to filtration, Blue Print covers a huge portion of the vehicle parc. Want to get it right first time? Think Blue Print.

Diagnostic Equipment Approved Dealer

W: rac.co.uk/getapproved T: 0330 159 1111 E: dealernetwork@rac.co.uk Info: Being authorised to use the RAC name as a badge of quality creates strong consumer confidence and increases profitability.

As an RAC Approved Dealer, you have access to one of the UK’s most respected motoring brands. There’s a range of RAC-backed products and services at your disposal, as well as a customer reach of more than 8 million RAC members to promote your dealership.

W: gemco.co.uk T: 01604 828500 E: sales@gemco.co.uk Info: GEMCO is the UK market leader and your one-stop shop for the supply, delivery, installation, training, calibration and maintenance of garage equipment. With the largest comprehensive range of equipment brands available for both car and commercial vehicle workshops, GEMCO provides top-quality garage equipment products and services to car and commercial vehicle workshops.

W: dragon2000.co.uk T: 01327 222 333 E: sales@dragon2000.co.uk Info: Dragon2000 supplies garages and car dealers with a multiaward winning Dealer Management System, time and efficiency monitoring and integrated websites for online service bookings.

Includes free APPraise mobile app for all users – for sending personalised VHC images & videos to customers’ phones to help increase upsold work and customer trust.

W: febi.com T: 01977 691100 E: enquiries@febiuk.co.uk Info: As part of the Bilstein Group, Febi Bilstein supplies a range of more than 25,000 different articles for all popular European vehicle models. From steering and suspension to rubber, metal and electrical, Febi Bilstein provides OE-matching quality components with first-time fitment and long service life. For quality, choose Febi Bilstein.

Nebula Systems

W: nebulasystems.com T: 01280 816333 E: sales@nebulasystems.com Info: Nebula Systems specialises in the development of advanced technologies for the automotive and future mobility industries.

We make vehicle data and systems more accessible so that a vehicle’s health, status and utilisation can be monitored, analysed, diagnosed and maintained, faster and more effectively, anytime and anywhere.

W: pro-align.co.uk T: 01327 323007 E: enquiries@pro-align.co.uk Info: Dedicated wheel alignment specialists, supplying, supporting and servicing the world-leading Hunter brand nationwide: Hunter aligners – Fast, accurate, reliable, unlocking business opportunities, delivering major income stream and rapid ROI Road Force balancer – A new service very few workshops deliver Tyre changers – Easy service perfection

W: lawgistics.co.uk T: 01480 445500 E: sales@lawgistics.co.uk Info: The motor trade’s leading legal firm, giving help and advice to our members and the industry in general. Passionate about fairness under the law. Our legal team are there to protect your interests.

Not anti consumer, just pro trader. Don't miss our advice, which is published every month in Workshop Magazine. See pages 32 and 33 of this issue for The Judge’s contribution to this month’s issue.

W: IndependentGarageAssociation.co.uk T: 0845 305 4230 E: enquiries@rmif.co.uk Info: The Independent Garage Association is the largest and most prominent representative body in the independent garage sector. We are the voice of the industry in matters arising in UK and EU Government, and we help independent garages to thrive in all aspects of their business by offering advice, information and services.

TO HAVE YOUR DETAILS INCLUDED HERE CALL 023 9252 2434 AND ASK FOR WORKSHOP SUPPLIERS GUIDE LISTINGS 08 | WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

NEWS.

Ford reveals design of GT’s digital dash Display is a far cry from the analogue approach of the original car

F

ord has released a detailed description of the latest piece of kit that will appear on its GT – an advanced digital instrument display.

The futuristic dashboard is somewhat akin to a glass cockpit that would be found in an aeroplane or racing car. It’s 10 inches wide and designed to show the driver all of the car’s instrument readings as clearly and effectively as possible.

The display is a far cry from the one in the original Ford GT, which conveyed information to the driver in a more analogue way.

Jamal Hameedi, Ford Performance’s chief engineer, said: ‘Driver focus and attention are key with such high performance.

‘We’ve designed the GT with a sleek digital instrument display that changes depending on driving mode in ways that are important and usable to the driver.’

The high-tech digital gauge cluster is

customisable, so the driver can tailor the way the data is presented in each drive mode to suit them. This allows information to be prioritised for each environment and context.

Each of the five drive modes is accessible via controls mounted on the steering wheel, so the driver can pay full attention to the road.

‘Normal’ mode presents the speedometer in the middle, gear selection on the right and fuel and temperature on the left. ‘Wet’ mode is largely the same as ‘Normal’, except there is a blue theme and a wet road-surface graphic.

‘Sport’ mode places gear selection in the centre, putting the speedometer in a less prominent position on the right. The display also adopts an orange theme.

‘Track’ mode has a high-visibility theme of contrasting red and black. Gear selection and engine speed are prominent, with other

information such as oil temperature and fuel level on the right.

‘V-Max’ is designed for when the car is travelling towards its top speed. The speedometer is central and everything else is pushed to less prominent positions to prevent distraction.

Ford’s designers and engineers collaborated with electronics manufacturer Pektron and mobile app software developer Conjure to create the high-contrast graphical data display.

Pektron worked on the electronic design, development, implementation and manufacture, while Conjure focused on creating the animated renderings.

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WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

| 09

NEWS. | CAREERS |

Talented trio of apprentices are painting a bright future for themselves JENNINGS Ford is steering a number of youngsters towards careers in the motor repair industry.

Apprentices Matthew Hunter, 19, Mahbub Ahmed, 24, and Joe Daniels, 20, all from Darlington, are training to become qualified vehicle body paint technicians at Jennings Ford’s dealership in Yarm Road, Stockton.

After gaining Vocationally Related Qualifications (VRQs) in accident repair paint at Darlington College, Ahmed and Daniels were taken on through the three-year apprenticeship programme at Jennings Ford. The duo will receive on-going in-house training to gain additional qualifications and learn new skills.

Ahmed said: ‘It’s great to have been given this excellent opportunity, especially after having completed a course relevant to this particular career path at college.’

Hunter is about to embark on his second year of the apprenticeship programme and will be taking part in a number of practical and theory training sessions at Ford College in Loughborough, as well as gaining handson experience and training at the dealership.

Tony Hallimond, bodyshop manager at

| PLUG-IN TECHNOLOGY |

Ford announces major EV vehicle programme FORD is to produce 13 new electrified vehicles in the next five years, including an SUV with a 300-mile range.

The company will also produce a plug-in hybrid Transit Custom and hybrid versions of the Mustang and F-150, although the Mustang and F-150 will only be for the US market.

A plug-in hybrid version of the Transit Custom will arrive in the UK in 2019, and the firm has promised that its hybrid utility vehicles will combine EcoBoost turbocharged engines with electric motors.

The as-yet-unnamed electric SUV, meanwhile, will arrive in 2020 and is described by the company as ‘small’, suggesting that it may be a replacement for the Nissan Jukerivalling EcoSport.

Mark Fields, Ford’s president and CEO, said: ‘Ford is committed to being a leader in providing consumers with a broad range of electrified vehicles, services and solutions. Our investments and expanding line-up reflect our view that global offerings of electrified vehicles will exceed gasoline-powered vehicles within the next 15 years.’

10 | WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

From left: Matthew Hunter, Mahbub Ahmed and Joe Daniels the Jennings Ford dealership in Stockton, is a prime example of what youngsters can achieve, after starting his career as an apprentice at the same dealership, before working his way up the ranks.

Hallimond said: ‘There are many opportunities available within the motor repair industry for youngsters wanting

to pursue a career in this particular field.

Matthew, Mahbub and Joe are dedicated, committed and ambitious individuals who are all expected to successfully complete the apprenticeship programme and achieve the qualifications they need to progress their careers further in the future.’

The multi-award-winning Jennings Motor

Group, which celebrates its centenary this year, is committed to the apprenticeship programme, with a number of opportunities available in a variety of departments, including service, bodyshop, parts, sales, administration and accounts.

Jennings Ford operates three dealerships in Stockton, Middlesbrough and Gateshead.

Garage owner jailed after sex assault on customer Victim praised for her bravery after offender harassed her into dropping charges against him

A

Dudley garage owner has been jailed after admitting sexually assaulting a customer then intimidating her into dropping the charges against him.

Robert Parke, right, was jailed for 52 months at Wolverhampton Crown Court for sexual assault and perverting the course of justice. The sentence also took into account three unconnected counts of sexual activity to which he pleaded guilty as well. In addition, he was placed on the sex offenders register for life.

The court was told how Parke, who owned the former RP Autos in Brierley Hill, admitted sexually

by JOHN BOWMAN john@blackballmedia.co.uk assaulting a woman in May 2016 after she bought a car from his garage, which also offered car and body repairs as well as being an MOT testing centre.

He then continued to harass the woman, even after she reported the assault to West Midlands Police. Parke intimidated her and forced her to sign a false statement dropping the charges against him.

The 52-year-old, from Valmour, Bromley in Pensnett, then tried to evade justice by moving addresses around the country. But his luck ran

out after he was placed on the force’s Most Wanted website, and Parke eventually handed himself in after information was given to police.

Following the hearing, Detective Constable Mike Clarke, from the force’s sexual offence team, said: ‘This man abused his position to prey on a woman who had bought a car from his garage.

‘He then intimidated her and harassed her into dropping the charges. Now he has been put behind bars and will be placed on the sex offenders register for life.

‘I would like to take the opportunity to commend this woman’s bravery in coming forward initially and then throughout the investigation. I hope today’s sentence will bring her some comfort as she continues to recover from her ordeal.’

Could Mazda be about to bring clever HCCI tech to car market?

| AWARD SUCCESS |

Japanese brand has a track record of unusual innovation

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azda looks set to become the first manufacturer to introduce a Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) petrol engine to market, according to a report in Japan’s Nikkei newspaper that suggests a debut as early as next year.

Where a traditional ‘Otto’ cycle petrol engine uses sparkplugs as a source of ignition to burn the fuel-air mixture, HCCI uses extreme levels of compression to raise the temperature to the point of combustion, doing away with the need for plugs.

HCCI is, in effect, a blending of the technologies used in petrol and diesel engines, combining the homogenised fuel-air mix of petrol with the compression ignition of diesel.

On paper, the net result is emission levels broadly similar to those of a conventional petrol engine with the efficiency of a diesel engine, bringing improved fuel economy and lower CO2 ratings. The HCCI engine also produces minimal nitrogen oxide compounds (NOx) so won’t require additives like AdBlue.

There are a number of challenges to overcome with HCCI. Combustion in an HCCI engine is sensitive to temperature and they could be difficult to start from cold. The high pressure involved in sparkless ignition would result in more rapid engine wear and may require sturdier and heavier materials to resist.

by ANDREW EVANS @snavEwerdnA Carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon levels are typically higher due to the extremely rapid combustion and lower temperatures involved, which may result in a requirement for better catalytic conversion or shorter cat life.

In addition, combustion is more difficult to control, but this could be managed with a number of approaches from exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) or other unusual engine technologies such as the supercharged Miller cycle, which Mazda also pioneered on its Xedos 9 luxury car in the late 1990s.

Mazda isn’t the first brand to develop HCCI engines. Honda, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen have all created HCCI prototype engines, but none advanced the tech beyond this stage and into production.

When introduced to the new Mazda 3 next year, Mazda is reportedly anticipating a 30 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency over its own existing SkyActiv petrol engines, which could see the brand’s cars achieving over 70mpg from ordinary unleaded fuel.

The Hiroshima-based brand has something of a track record of pursuing unconventional engine technologies in production vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz Apprenticeship Programme helps the stars of tomorrow shine brightly THE Mercedes-Benz Apprentice Programme has been recognised as one of the best in the country after winning a top award from the National Apprenticeship Service.

Mercedes-Benz was chosen as the winner of the large employer category for companies with between 250 and 4,999 staff at an awards ceremony at Grosvenor House, London.

Judges lauded the success of the scheme, which has welcomed almost 3,000 apprentices for technician and parts specialist training since its inception in 1995 – 65 per cent of whom are still working within the retailer network.

It began with just 31 apprentices 22 years ago and has recorded 98 per cent growth in the past four years, accepting a record intake of 253 students in 2016 at its training academy in Milton Keynes.

Andrew Mallery, above, training

operations director at Mercedes-Benz, was delighted with the award.

He said: ‘Highly skilled and motivated employees are key to succeeding in serving and retaining our customers.

‘With this in mind, the programme will continue to support the needs of our organisation as it is an integral element of our future brand expansion. We are incredibly proud of the programme and the opportunities that we are able to offer to ensure our apprentice graduates become our stars of tomorrow.

‘This latest award would not have been possible without the commitment and dedication of an exceptional team who make the programme the success that it is.’

Mercedes-Benz was also recently included in the Centrica Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers list, which recognises excellence in businesses that employ apprentices.

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NEWS. | JAGUAR |

An even more involving driving experience thanks to ‘ReRun’ technology JAGUAR has revealed its brand new F-Type, incorporating world-first GoPro technology.

The new F-Type now features an updated exterior and an all-new infotainment system.

It is the latter of the two that incorporates ReRun – an app that works with vehicle data and GoPro video footage to create an even more involving driving experience.

The technology uses vehicle performance data such as speed, throttle position and braking along with a GoPro video camera to relay information back to the driver.

The system can even create ‘highlight’ sections – areas where the motorist drove particularly well – and these can then be downloaded directly to the driver’s smartphone and shared on social media.

The exterior of the new F-Type has been comprehensively revised, with full LED headlights giving the car an enhanced appearance on the road.

Ian Callum, director of design at Jaguar, said: ‘Great sports car design is about proportion and purity. The most challenging element of the process for designers is to focus on and maintain an exciting silhouette that promises performance.

| NISSAN |

Autonomous tech on the way for Leaf THE next Nissan Leaf will have autonomous driving features, according to the company’s CEO, Carlos Ghosn.

Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Ghosn announced plans to fit the nextgeneration Leaf with Nissan’s ProPilot system, which allows the car to drive itself on single-lane highways.

The car will come to market ’in the near future’ and is likely to boast a new battery pack with a larger capacity than that of the 30kWh Leaf.

Nissan has not confirmed any further details about the newcomer, but it is thought that styling cues could be lifted from the IDS concept shown at the 2015 Tokyo motor show.

Ghosn also spoke about Nissan’s development of artificial intelligence systems designed to help autonomous cars integrate with humans to make tricky decisions.

The system, which uses NASA technology, is called Seamless Autonomous Mobility (SAM) and will allow drivers to help autonomous vehicles make decisions in unpredictable situations.

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‘For the 2018 model year F-Type, we looked at how we could fine-tune key details to deliver to deliver even more clarity of purpose in the overall design.’

Since launch in 2012, Jaguar’s allaluminium two-seater has firmly established itself as the best-selling sports car in its segment in its home market.

The new F-Type ‘delivers more clarity in the purpose of the overall design’

Plague of potholes means extra callouts for the RAC Damaged shock absorbers, distorted wheels and broken suspension springs all reported

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othole-related breakdowns rose in the last quarter of the year for the first time since 2013, according to breakdown company the RAC. According to the organisation, the period between October to December 2016 saw an increase in the number of pothole-related callouts of 24 per cent when compared to the same period the year before.

In the fourth quarter of 2015, 3,962 callouts were registered, compared to 4,903 a year later.

These call-outs are for issues such as damaged shock absorbers, distorted wheels and broken suspension springs.

David Bizley, RAC chief engineer, said: ‘This is a particularly worrying finding because of course much of the country has not experienced

by JOHN BOWMAN john@blackballmedia.co.uk harsh winter conditions for three years and rainfall in the fourth quarter of 2016 was the lowest in that period for more than a decade.

‘Rain can be the catalyst for the formation of potholes, particularly in the winter when frosts are also common – but despite the low rainfall the number of pothole faults attended by the RAC in Q4 2016 is still higher than the same period in the two previous years.

‘If the first three months of 2017 prove to be wet and cold, potholes are likely to appear at an

unprecedented rate which would inevitably stretch local authority repair resources to their limit.

‘While urgent remedial repairs will be needed to reduce the risk of further vehicle damage or injury to road users, including vulnerable motorcyclists and cyclists, it is insufficient investment in preventative maintenance, such as resurfacing, which is to blame.’

A recent RAC report found that of 1,755 motorists questioned, 14 per cent listed the state and maintenance of local roads as their number one concern. It also found that 51 per cent of drivers thought that the state of the roads in their area had worsened over the past 12 months.

| SURVEY |

Mechanic is sent to prison after ‘chop shop’ discovery Crook provided market for thieves as more than 20 cars worth £448k passed through his yard

by REBECCA CHAPLIN @BelieveBecca

A

mechanic has been jailed for running a stolen car ‘chop shop’ after West Midlands Police found he was harvesting parts from vehicles stolen across the UK – and with a total value of almost £500,000.

Officers were able to catch Eamonn O’Malley, 58 of Stanton Road, Wolverhampton, in the act on October 6, 2015, by using a tracking device inside a stolen BMW that was pinging at his industrial unit in Wolverhampton’s Oxford Street.

They found the BMW 1 Series hatchback surrounded by a mass of stripped-down vehicle parts that an expert vehicle examiner linked to cars stolen from across the West Midlands, plus Manchester, London, Stoke and Nottingham.

CCTV showed O’Malley, who has a string of past convictions for dishonesty and theft offences, running from the yard on the day police arrived having Q5, two Porsches, BMWs used a ladder to scale and a Mercedes. the 12ft perimeter wall.

‘There was evidence He was arrested that at least 22 stolen three days later on vehicles had passed suspicion of handling through O’Malley’s stolen goods. yard with a combined In interview, he value of £448,000. claimed to know ‘Most were stolen in nothing about the stolen Eamonn O’Malley the West Midlands – vehicles and suggested including Dudley, Sutton he sublet part of the yard to a man Coldfield, Walsall, Selly Oak and who regularly shipped car parts Wolverhampton – but others were to Poland – but he was unable to traced to car thefts in Bromsgrove, provide contact details for the man Hyde, Bury, Nottingham, Stoke-onhe indicated was responsible.

Trent and London.

Detectives unpicked his lies and ‘O’Malley was providing a market on January 20 at Wolverhampton for car thieves across the UK, people Crown Court, O’Malley pleaded guilty to handling. He was sentenced to a total of three years and seven months in prison.

Investigating officer DC Lee Plant, said: ‘We found parts, keys and owners’ manuals relating to an Audi

A RECENT survey of UK adults conducted by Tyre Shopper has revealed that, on average, more than half lack the essential skills to maintain a car.

The survey of 2,000 adults, 1,000 aged under 45 and 1,000 aged 45 and over, asked respondents to rate their ability in a selection of practical life skills, which included housekeeping challenges, basic IT skills and vehicle maintenance.

The findings revealed that an average of 53 per cent of people cannot change a car tyre, while 44 per cent can’t unblock a toilet.

Notably the survey revealed a degeneration of abilities from the older to the younger respondents.

| INSTAVOLT |

New director of operations named INSTAVOLT has bolstered its senior management team with the appointment of Matthew Tunstall as director of operations.

The company, which provides charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, says Tunstall will play an instrumental role in helping it to introduce rapid charging points in more than 3,000 locations across the UK by 2020.

Tunstall joins InstaVolt with a wealth of experience in the clean energy sector, having held senior roles at some of the UK’s top energy efficiency firms throughout his career.

| EDT AUTOMOTIVE | The incriminating scene at O’Malley’s midlands premises who were causing misery and huge inconvenience to motorists, and it’s only right given the scale of his illegal operation that he’s been handed a long jail term.’

A large quantity of stolen Virgin Media set-top boxes, internet routers, TV remote controllers, cabling and fitting equipment, was also found at O’Malley’s car yard and matched to stock stolen from a van on April 14.

‘It’s only right given the scale of his illegal operation that he’s been handed a long jail term.’

INVESTIGATING OFFICER DC LEE PLANT

Motorists lacking key maintenance skills

Carbon build-up is a growing problem TECHNICIANS are witnessing high volumes of vehicles experiencing carbon build-up, according to a recent Garage Wire survey on behalf of EDT Automotive.

Seventy-seven per cent of the technicians who participated witnessed the problem in ‘quite a lot’ of vehicles or more, with 13 per cent saying that ‘nearly all’ of the vehicles brought in to their workshops were blighted with the issue, which can cause long-term damage to vehicle health.

EDT Automotive’s engine decontamination treatment not only removes carbon build-up, it also offers significant mpg-improving benefits.

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FEATURES.

OUT OF THIS WORLD!

The Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle played a key role in the moon landings of the 20th century. ANDREW EVANS looks back at its design and technology.

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he recent death of Eugene Andrew ‘Gene’ Cernan – the last man to date to walk on the moon – got us thinking about the technology that propelled him and his fellow astronauts there as well as helping to get them mobile once they’d landed on the lunar landscape.

During his time as an astronaut, Cernan – who was the third person to take part in a spacewalk (or ‘EVA’ – extra-vehicular activity) – set a number of records, including reaching the highest speed ever achieved by a manned vehicle (24,791mph, in Apollo 10) and being one of only three people to have flown to the moon on two separate occasions. As mission commander for Apollo 17, humanity’s last in-person trip to the moon, which

took place in December 1972, Cernan also set an unusual record in being the last person to drive on the moon.

This was made possible by the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle, or LRV. Each of the last three manned missions to the moon carried an LRV, which was designed to extend the range from which the astronauts could travel beyond their safe haven of the lunar module (LM) and increase the scope for scientific discovery beyond the chosen landing site.

All three of the operational LRVs, from Apollos 15, 16 and 17, were left behind on the moon and remain there to this day. Here, we take a look at some of the facts, technology and data around this remarkable vehicle.

Speed record

Cernan and LRV-003 hold the lunar land speed record, at 11.2mph! They also hold the distance and time records, driving 22.3 miles on the surface over a period of 4 hours 26 minutes.

Unloading from the lunar module

The LRV folded out belly-first from the lunar module. As it was unloaded, the wheels would extend into place, locking automatically, and the whole vehicle would be ready to drive when it touched the ground.

Production

Only four LRVs were made, with one being dismantled to provide spares for the three operational vehicles for the Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions.

Wheels

Astronaut Eugene A Cernan

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The unique ‘resilient wheels’ comprised an aluminium hub and a tyre – which would be roughly 230/100R13 in size – made from zinc-coated steel wire, as the lunar surface would be too abrasive for rubber tyres. Titanium chevrons provided the tyre tread.

PICTURES: NASA

Cost

Boeing won the contract to build the LRV, at a final cost of $38 million – equivalent to roughly $250 million or £199 million today.

Apollo 17 astronaut Eugene Cernan drives the LRV in front of the lunar module

Power

Power came from two 36V non-rechargeable batteries. These silver-oxide batteries are very similar to the button-type cells you find in watches and provided 242 amp-hours of charge – good for a 57-mile range on the lunar surface.

Weight

On Earth, the LRV would weigh 210kg and carry a maximum payload of 490kg. On the moon, this was the equivalent of 35kg when empty and 116kg fully loaded.

Size

The whole LRV was just three metres long and less than two metres wide – a little larger than a smart fortwo – and with both axles steering, it could turn around within its own length.

Motors

Each wheel was driven by its own motor. The direct current motors made by Delco provided approximately 0.1hp each (75W), giving the whole vehicle the equivalent of 0.4bhp and a lunar powerto-weight ratio of 11hp/tonne.

Handling

LRVs were controlled by a T-shaped handle in the middle of the vehicle. Pushing it forward would make it accelerate, pulling it backward would make it brake and twisting the handle turned the LRV left or right. It also had a reversing function and a handbrake.

Range

Although the LRVs were designed to allow a much greater operational range for missions, astronauts weren’t permitted to drive them any further than they could walk back in the allotted time remaining, in case of a breakdown – although no LRV ever broke down.

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FEATURES. HOW I MADE IT

THE FULL WORX: CREATING THE TRANSPORTERS OF DELIGHT The massive demand for VW transformations has seen Vanworx grow to a company employing 15 people, who all bring a wide variety of skills and talents to bear on each vehicle they work on. ANDREW EVANS reports.

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here are some things in life that are inextricably linked with one another, like fish and chips, salt and pepper, or cheese and pickle. So it is with Volkswagen and camper vans – say ‘camper van’ and most people will immediately think of the classic, split-window Volkswagen Microbus.

It’s a history that goes back more than 60 years.

When Volkswagen started production of its Type 2 Transporter, born from the stripped-down, Beetle-based ‘Plattenwagen’ cargo trucks used at the factory in Wolfsburg, it almost immediately released the Microbus camper model alongside dozens of other body variants.

Thanks to the prevailing politics and culture of the 1960s, the ‘Splittie’ became an icon of independence and liberation, and it’s an association that continues to this day.

Of course, that was decades ago, and Volkswagen’s Transporter has been through many changes and updates since then. A sixthgeneration model was launched in 2015, and

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while the recipe is noticeably different from work at VW in the day and come down here in the original, there’s still a huge demand for the evening to do vans. After about six months, Transporters that can be used as campers.

Vanworx was established enough to have staff!’

This demand is what set Vanworx on the road After the entrepreneurial foundations back in to where it is today. Owner Dave Garnsworthy 2007, the company came on leaps and bounds. said: ‘It all started when I bought a T4 for myself.

Within the first year the staffing grew from I put a set of wheels on it, painted the Garnsworthy and Gillam to a body of bumpers, carpet-lined the back and five, and it hasn’t stopped growing. put it up for sale. Someone snapped Vanworx has opened a second site it up straight away, so I thought in Shoreham, West Sussex, to it was a good idea and bought supplement the main workshop For a lot of the stuff we another one.

– now in Portland, Dorset – with do there isn’t really a ‘After doing the same again I’d 15 people employed across qualification, so it’s a made a bit of money and set up the two sites. case of coming in and at a unit in Weymouth.’

Vanworx doesn’t just employ learning as we go Fellow director Dan Gillam mechanics either. Converting a added: ‘I was working for Volkswagen vehicle such as a regular commercial at the time – I did my qualifications with van for a new purpose such as a familyVW on cars and commercials. I met Dave through friendly camper requires an unusual breadth a friend and we started working together. He of talents – the most fundamental of which is was getting parts through me from VW and I carpentry, but also includes other crafts such as was going down there to help him out. I used to upholstery and electrical, plumbing and even gas

”

for the cooking appliances. Gillam said: ‘There are a lot of job roles here that aren’t really automotive, like with the things that Lee our electrician does.

It kind of is an auto electrician’s job but then it isn’t, as a lot of the things in the campers are more like household electrics.

‘We’ve got people like Dean our carpenter, who’s a qualified carpenter, and Si, who works with him on the CNC machine, who’s qualified in that. Leon does our upholstery with his wife and he’s not got any qualifications, but his dad owns an upholstery shop and he’s just been brought up with it – his attention to detail is amazing.

‘For a lot of the stuff we do there isn’t really a qualification, so it’s a case of coming in and learning as we go. That’s very much the way Dave and I started the company – try it out and see what happens. Each time we tried something new we’d work out the best way, perfect it and pass it on. We’re constantly evolving, so with everything we do we can find a way to do it a little better or change it for the next time.

‘One thing we don’t do in-house is paint.

We’ve got a bodyshop up the road that we use – we’ve tried quite a few and the guys we use now have great attention to detail and have had years working in the industry, including in dealerships, so they know what they’re doing!’

That’s not to say there’s no role for traditional vehicle mechanics. Vanworx also does suspension and engine work, including remapping, and will carry out service and maintenance work too. We suggest that customers would go for engine and suspension tweaks to offset the weight penalties of camper conversion but Gillam assures us it’s not as bad as you may think. ‘It’s not a massive increase in weight. We’re adding a bit, but all the wood we use is lightweight and we’re cutting out big bits of metal. We fit a lot of lowering suspension and the remapping is something I’m really into – we’re a Revo dealer and my own car has been remapped.’

The success of the Portland branch – a twounit, twin-level workshop with space for five vans to be worked on at once – has meant having to open a second office to provide a bit of relief. Gillam said: ‘It’s a smaller team with only a couple of people down there, and it’s for smaller jobs that we just can’t fit in – fitting seats or carpet lining – as we’re booking about five months in advance at the moment.

‘If someone’s bought a van and they want it a bit quieter, or extra speakers or lights, we’ll send it over there.’

Garnsworthy added: ‘It’s hard setting up somewhere else when everyone here is already trained. We had one of the guys here moved down there with his partner, and I moved down there to set it all up. But the key is to keep the Vanworx quality no matter which branch you go to.’

Despite the small team and the rather WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

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FEATURES. HOW I MADE IT

“

We get a mixed bag of people who are on a budget and some who want everything, and it’s part of our job to point them in the right direction.

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Vanworx is constantly evolving so that owner Dave Garnsworthy, above left, and fellow director Dan Gillam can take it to ever higher levels intensive nature of the conversions, Vanworx creates around 50 to 60 new camper vans each year, with the process taking about five weeks from a customer order to a finished product.

The company’s most popular conversion is the ‘Slipper’, which includes insulation, carpet-lining on all the exposed surfaces, a double-burner gas hob and fully certified gas installation, sink, fridge, lighting, curtains, sliding table system, a folding bed trimmed to match the seats and the traditional elevating roof on the four-berth models. In fact, we’ve already seen a Slipperconverted T5 van in the pages of Workshop Magazine, as our former advertising executive, Cliff Culver, ran one as his own vehicle.

Gillam added: ‘For some customers it’s straightforward and basic – what’s in the package online is what they want. For others, they want certain styling items: a bodykit, certain paint options, this, that and the other. It has to be the

way they want it – and they’re spending a lot of money, so it has to be what they want.

‘We get people who are on a budget and some who want everything, and it’s part of our job to point them in the right direction – there’s only so much you can fit in a Transporter! We’ve done bigger conversions on Crafters and such, but it takes up so much workshop time because each conversion is bespoke – but it’s something we’d want to start doing more often in the future with the new Crafter.’

With much of Vanworx’s output being effectively custom, there must have been some strange requests over the years, so what’s been the strangest? ‘We did have someone who wanted to be able to hook some straps into the ceiling for... certain purposes,’ said Gillam. ‘But usually it’s someone who’s come in because their friend has bought a van from us and they want one that’s better. We do get people asking for unique

things, and we’ll have a chat with them about whether it’s something we can offer. It has to be something that’s safe to do – we can’t do things like seats that are sideways – and there’s a limit to how long we can take on things and what we can charge. Prototyping is a difficult job, but there are things we’ve taken on and carried on doing afterwards – and some we’ve decided we’re not doing again.

‘We have had a guy who dropped in to see us without a phone call or anything and picked out a grey van in the car park, said he wanted a conversion that looked like one of the pictures in reception and told us to go with whatever colours and materials we thought would look good.

‘That ended up being a big build, but it was good fun to do and he loved it when he picked it up. Then he said that if we ever wanted to use it for shows it’d be fine, and we ended up putting more miles on it in WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

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FEATURES. HOW I MADE IT

A Vanworx conversion can cost just a couple of thousands of pounds more than the actual van itself and it’s all up to European standards

Vanworx now has two sites

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the first six months he owned it than he did!’ It’s not the only promotional vehicle in Vanworx’s catalogue, either. Garnsworthy himself has raced the Vanworx Caddy, a small van modified to accommodate a Golf GTI engine and running gear, becoming a fan favourite in the VW Cup racing series.

In addition, the team has undertaken some conversion projects for some big names, such as Castrol, Rapha Team Sky cycling and the Team GB Olympic sailing crew. The Castrol conversion involved fitting out a Transporter with TV screens, but the cyclists needed a refit of an old horsebox and the sailing team required an entire shipping container to be converted into living space.

The past couple of years haven’t been the best for Volkswagen when it comes to publicity, with a scandal that rumbles on right to this day, but Vanworx saw few of the waves. Gillam said: ‘Dieselgate didn’t affect any of the vans apart from a couple of the Caddy models. We did have a couple of people at the time asking questions about the vans they’d ordered and maybe having a bit of a wobble, but it didn’t really affect us.’

Perhaps the biggest buzzword at Vanworx is safety. There are many van conversion companies who will simply screw an interior into a van, which is good enough to pass an MOT but may not necessarily be safe – even though it’s legal.

Vanworx has put its products through European Type Approval, and is regularly audited by the UK’s Vehicle Certification Agency, along with Volkswagen’s own conversion specialists in

Hanover. ‘It’s not cheap,’ said Gillam. ‘We had to destroy a couple of vehicles to do it. There’s a lot of paperwork and a lot of testing, but it’s about doing it right. We’ve seen vans where the seats are just bolted through the floorpan with M8 bolts, but that’s not where we want to be.

We want to do it right first time and not have customers having warranty issues.’

It’s because of this diligence that Vanworx is one of extremely few conversion companies to be fully recognised by its parent manufacturer.

Garnsworthy said: ‘We’ve had all of our vans pool-tested to make sure they’re safe, with all the electrics and gas checked. We did all of that testing with the T5 and it carries over to the T6, which has the same chassis. Our aim is to make sure it’s not on our shoulders if anything goes wrong – not that it will – and we’ve gone through all that testing to make sure everything we do is up to European standards.’

It also means that you can buy your new van directly from Vanworx, which will register it from new as a motorhome. Gillam said: ‘Because we are approved by Volkswagen, we get an RFO [Registered Fleet Operator] discount, which we pass on to the customer, so you can pick up a new Vanworx conversion for only a couple of thousand pounds more than you’d pay for the van itself. We’re finding a lot of our new customers are going that way!’

Why not tell us your story in How I Made It? Call the Workshop team on 023 9252 2434

What’s the BUZZ?

VW HEADS DOWN ELECTRIC AVENUE

W

hile Vanworx is converting the Transporters of today, Volkswagen is busy creating the near future of the Microbus, presenting the I.D. BUZZ concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Slated to be part of the all-electric, connected I.D. range of vehicles set to reach the market by 2020, the I.D. BUZZ is what Volkswagen envisages to be its next generation of MPVs. Based on the new Modular Electric Drive Kit (MEB – Modularer Elektrifizierungsbaukasten), the I.D. BUZZ is 4,942mm long, 1,976mm wide and 1,963mm high, with a 3,300mm wheelbase.

The 110kWh battery sits between the wheels in the vehicle floor, keeping the centre of gravity low for better weight distribution. Electric motors front and rear deliver the equivalent of 369bhp, so the I.D. BUZZ is both four-wheel drive and quick, with 60mph coming up in just under five seconds. The top speed is limited to 99mph, to help the I.D. BUZZ meet its projected range of around 370 miles.

Inside the I.D. BUZZ there’s no conventional

cockpit. Instead, the vehicle projects the key information by means of an AR (augmented reality) head-up display into the driver’s field of vision, in a 3D virtual format.

A smartphone-integrated digital key will store your user profile so that the vehicle’s seating position, lighting and audio settings are always set up how you like them.

The main controls of the vehicle are located on the steering wheel, with the inner section laid out with touchpad-like surfaces with capacitive fields, increasing the scope for the number of functions that can be controlled from the wheel without overloading it with buttons.

Meanwhile, a removable tablet allows the occupants to operate features such as navigation, entertainment and air conditioning.

More notable is the fully automated ‘I.D. Pilot’ driving mode, planned to come to the I.D. range from 2025. A gentle push on the steering wheel sees it retract into the cockpit and give driving duties over to the vehicle software.

Laser scanners, ultrasound sensors, radar sensors, area-view cameras and a front camera

scan the road ahead and surrounding area, with other traffic data being transmitted and received via the Cloud to keep the car aware of congestion hotspots.

The living space of the Kombi-style I.D. BUZZ features the Multivan rail system, so that the seats and fixtures are easy to slide about and configure. The van’s seats can also be turned into tables and beds with little fuss, or turned to face each other so that you can conduct meetings on the move.

Speaking at the vehicle unveiling in Detroit, Herbert Diess, chairman of the Volkswagen brand board of management, said: ‘The I.D. BUZZ stands for the new Volkswagen: modern, positive, emotional, future-orientated.

‘By 2025, we want to sell one million electric cars per year, making e-mobility the new trademark of Volkswagen. The new e-Golf already offers 50 per cent more electric range.

‘From 2020 onwards we will then launch our I.D. family – a new generation of fully electric, fully connected cars. It will be affordable for millions, not just to millionaires.’

The Volkswagen I.D. BUZZ concept was unveiled at the Detroit motor show

“

The I.D. BUZZ stands for the new Volkswagen: modern, positive, emotional, future-orientated.

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2017 We’re ready for another 350,000 successful fixes over the year ahead.

DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM

EXTRA MILE AWARD

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FEATURES.

CRACKING THE CODE TO HELP CARS REACH THEIR POTENTIAL DARREN CASSEY discovers a high-tech way of boosting engine performance.

An old-school silicon chip was the inspiration for the company’s name

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sk the average person how to make a car go faster and they’ll probably tell you to fit a turbocharger or a big, freeflowing exhaust system.

If they’re particularly fond of the Fast and the Furious franchise, they’ll probably tell you to fit Nos – aka nitrous oxide.

But there’s actually an altogether subtler approach – chipping.

It’s something of a dark art, often discussed in vague terms by petrolheads who have a good idea of the outcome but with little knowledge of how it actually works.

So to get to the bottom of it all, we headed to Superchips’ headquarters buried deep in an industrial estate in Buckinghamshire. The understated unit sits opposite a truckers’ café and a taxi company, blending into the backdrop – the

old-school Porsche 911 parked outside is the only hint that something intriguing happens within.

We’re met at reception by managing director Ian Sandford, who will be our guide for the day.

He’s the son of a motorcycle world champion and has been with the company since 1988, moving to his current role in 1993. He certainly knows his stuff.

With the kettle on, it’s the perfect opportunity to talk history and where exactly the term ‘chipping’ comes from.

Sandford walks me through to a back room where there are stacks upon stacks of old-school computer chips. I randomly pull at a container to find it contains remaps for the Mitsubishi Starion.

An apt place to start, I later find out, as the company was born – under a different name – after its founder, Peter Wales, WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

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FEATURES.

Senior calibration engineer Graeme Kendall removes the ECU from the BMW’s engine discovered he could eke more power from a Group A Starion by modifying the electronic control unit (ECU).

Since the early 1990s, most road cars have been sold with ECUs, which control functions such as the ignition timing, fuelling and boost pressure.

Companies such as Superchips can tap into these units and rewrite the code to give more performance. In the old days, these new ‘maps’ would be loaded on to a chip, which would be placed on to the ECU circuit board. Nowadays, it’s all done through computer programming, often Darren has the ins and outs explained to him – then it’s time to delve into the ECU via a simple diagnostic port plug-in.

We’ve timed our trip well, because getting the does enter the market, we already have the knowprocess to allow them to reprogram the ECU. He Superchips treatment today is a new BMW 4 how.’ Kendall is talking to me as he delicately then hands the unit to fellow senior calibration Series GT. It’s the first time the engineers have removes the 4 Series’ ECU, a box that sits on top engineer Michael Howard. had this particular engine in, but because it’s of the engine. The circuit board is protected by His computer screen looks like something out been available in Turkey, Superchips has a metal casing, which needs to be prised of The Matrix, with spreadsheets full of numbers already worked on it remotely through open with care so as not to damage scrolling the screen. I try to spot the woman in its man in Istanbul. what’s inside. the red dress, with no luck.

Graeme Kendall, senior Typically, the engineers won’t Howard is looking at the numbers that control calibration engineer at even touch the ECU. Once the engine’s performance and figuring out where It’s a case of looking Superchips, tells me that they Superchips has a map for a they’re unnecessarily holding things back. through the figures and send files back and forth particular model, that can He says: ‘It’s a case of looking through the finding where things between their worldwide dealer then be applied to subsequent figures and finding where things are being are being limited and network to the benefit of all owners’ cars through the limited and removing that limit, but that can removing that limit. involved. ‘The Turkish market diagnostic port. then affect something elsewhere that needs had a BMW 2 Series with the Although they already have a map changing, so it’s a case of chasing the best engine from an i8 in it, and we created available, the team want to do this one optimised performance. We like to call it “OEMa map that would run it with a load of remote manually as it’s the first time they’ve had it at Plus”.’ It’s here that we’re given a fascinating development,’ he explains.

HQ. Once the ECU is out of the car, Kendall takes insight into just how much control these units ‘That global knowledge means that if and it to a workbench and plugs it into a computer. have. Thanks to special software that converts the when an engine that wasn’t available over here In-built software then clears a four-stage security numbers into 3D graphs that are easier to view,

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The ECU’s metal casing is carefully removed so that the calibration procedure can begin – this is only done for the first car of its type

The ECU’s four-stage security process is bypassed before Michael Howard gets to work on recalibrating the device Howard is able to give a visual demonstration of how different drive modes work using throttle position data.

In the case of this BMW, when it’s in eco mode the ECU doesn’t ask for a huge increase in power as the driver puts their foot down because it’s trying to save fuel.

Then, when at between 60 and 80 per cent of pedal travel, there’s a big spike in power delivery.

Ever switched to eco mode in a car and felt throttle response suddenly die? That’s the realworld result of that graph. The spike in power delivery after 60 per cent allows the driver to accelerate quickly when they really need it.

Then another graph is called up, which is starkly different. This line is a lot more linear, which means it’s probably a ‘normal’ mode.

It’s immediately clear that when comparing the same throttle position across the two graphs the engine is doing significantly different things.

As well as saving fuel, these maps can be used by manufacturers to give a more immediate throttle response in sporty applications.

Howard says: ‘The way some manufacturers have set them up – especially on some of the hot models – is to give you really savage throttle response under certain conditions to feel proper fast, because you only have to touch the throttle and it’s off.’

This can feel odd to the driver, because sometimes the map effectively gives full throttle even from about half of the pedal’s travel. So I ask if they ever alter how these drive modes work.

‘There’s only one control for max torque, for boost, for fuelling. It just looks for how much you want for input on the pedal table,’ Howard says.

‘What we tend to do as a default is aim for the same pedal characteristics, because we’d rather it drove as it did from the factory, just with more power everywhere.’

It’s not a case of cranking everything up to 11, though. That ‘OEM-Plus’ attitude means that Superchips looks to unlock your engine’s potential rather than push it to its extremes.

What that results in is an engine that gives a smoother power delivery with more performance available across the rev range. The engineers pay close attention to matching increases in turbo boost with the remapped ignition timing so that reliability isn’t affected.

So why aren’t engines optimised from the factory? Manufacturers have to leave a lot of wiggle room for owners who don’t adhere to servicing schedules or who use inferior fuel grades. Often it’s just a case of offering different power outputs to bulk up a model range, and Superchips’ engineers simply have to unlock that potential.

Thanks to the company’s Bluefin technology – see page 27 – owners can WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

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FEATURES.

Darren tested an Audi A4 before and after its remapping to see the difference in performance for himself – and it blew him away

Once the recalibrated ECU has been put back in the car, the vehicle is tested on the dynamometer then taken for a final real-world test switch between having a remap or the original though still impressive. The company targets up manufacturer’s map at the press of a button. to 10 per cent more power for non-turbo petrols, We get the chance to drive a 2.0-litre TDI20 per cent more power and 25 per cent better engined 2016 Audi A4 with both the original map mid-range torque for turbo petrols, and up to 30 and Superchips’ upgrade. It’s the 148bhp version, per cent more torque and power for turbo-diesels. but this car is available with the same Superchips even claims that turboengine with 187bhp, which gives the diesels should see improvements in remappers more to work with. fuel economy. Sandford points out, The difference is impressive. though, that most customers are In standard form, the A4 is a so excited by their new-found I’ll admit, I was little sluggish with a narrow power that they get carried away sceptical that the power band. However, it’s with the performance, resulting difference would be immediately apparent that once in worse fuel economy to begin noticeable, but I’m the Superchips map is enabled with! With our test drive over fully converted. there’s more performance available we return to HQ, and the ECU is for more of the rev range. I’ll admit, I now back in the 4 Series. Howard was sceptical that the difference would be has taken over once more and is driving noticeable, but I’m fully converted. the BMW on to the company’s dynamometer to According to Superchips’ own literature, check that the car is performing properly and that the difference will be less stark in petrol cars – the end result is as expected.

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I ask if the maps behave differently across different cars of the same make, model and engine, but I’m assured that’s not the case. Once a map has been finalised, Sandford says, the horsepower gains will be the same each time it’s applied to a car.

‘If the end result is slightly different between two of the same cars, it’s because their starting points were different. For example, through wear and tear,’ he adds.

Where it gets interesting is when engines are shared across different makes and models. A great example is the Volkswagen Group, which shares engines and platforms between the likes of VW, Audi and Skoda.

Howard explains that it’s more complicated than it seems. For example, he tells me that the engine in the Audi RS6 and S8 is seemingly the same, but the S8 doesn’t respond as well to tuning. It gets too hot, so can’t be turned up as

BLUEFIN PROVES HANDY Superchips’ unique product is Bluefin, which allows customers to remap their own cars without ever having to visit a dealer.

The device, which is slightly larger than your hand, is sent to the customer in a box with nothing pre-loaded on to it. Once it arrives, it needs to be plugged into the car’s diagnostic port, where it reads and stores the car’s ECU data.

Next, the device must be connected via a USB port to a personal computer running Superchips’ software – a small file that’s easy to download – which sends the data back to HQ. The company’s engineers then run it through their own system to prepare a remap, which is sent back to the customer. The device then has both the original map and the remap stored within it, allowing the customer to switch between the two when needed.

I got the chance to try Bluefin out during our test drive of the Audi A4 and was impressed by how easy it was to use. No mechanical knowledge is needed, you just have to know the location of the diagnostic port.

Switching between maps takes about 20 minutes, so it isn’t the job of an instant, but it’s so easy to do that it’s hard to find fault.

The device can only be tied to one vehicle at a time, so if a customer sells their car they can just restore the factory map then ask Superchips for a new remap for their new car – if one is available, of course.

Bluefin is explained then tested out high, meaning there’s something deep within that’s different so remaps have to be bespoke to each model.

Once the engineers are happy that the dyno data is reading correctly, they take the car out for a final shakedown on the road, reading a laptop as they go.

With real-world performance matching the figures on the dyno, they leave the car out front for the owner to collect later that day.

Before I leave, I ask Howard if manufacturers are trying to keep the likes of Superchips out of their cars’ brains.

He explains that some of the things they do can be similar to those that a ‘nefarious’ person might try, but for the most part carmakers turn a blind eye to what they get up to.

However, Howard admits that manufacturers are starting to look more closely at people ‘tampering with what they perceive to be their intellectual property’. He’s keen to stress, though, that Superchips doesn’t get close to touching anything that it’s not supposed to. Although the work invalidates the manufacturer’s warranty, Superchips provides its own guarantee, which replaces the manufacturer’s for up to a maximum of three years.

As car technology gets more complicated and powertrains shift towards hybrid and electric, it’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for ECU tuning. For now, though, it remains an intriguing dark art that few have mastered but many have enjoyed.

Customers can use Bluefin themselves WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

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FEATURES.

ALWAYS LEARNING Garages must invest in the ongoing development of staff to keep on top of technology. Here, ALEX WELLS gets schooled in all things training-related.

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ife today is all about ongoing training.

Got a new phone? You need to learn how to use the new features and apps. Want to get on in life? Then you take on some new skills – you guessed it, via training.

Garages obviously need to train to deal with new equipment or methods – but they also need to train to keep existing skills up to date. If you let training slide, you risk losing business through poor work or lack of capability. On top of that, if a business doesn't invest in staff, it could face retention issues.

It also makes financial sense.

Online platforms

Technological trends

The Three Ts

‘As an industry, we need to keep up with changing technological trends or face getting left behind,’ says Craig McCracken, Autoparts UK group factor manager.

‘In light of the constantly developing vehicle technology entering the aftermarket, such as in-vehicle data and more energy-efficient engines, this topic is extremely relevant right now.

‘Motor factors should waste no time looking at ways in which they can help garages gear up for these changes, such as communicating with suppliers to gain a greater understanding of any progressive products that we are likely to see in the near future and to ensure in-depth technical support is available to garages.

‘We’re experiencing a mass shift in the way that motor factors and garages communicate.

Procedures are becoming more automated and it is important that technicians are able to use computer-based systems to order stock and send invoices more efficiently, avoiding human error and accelerating current workloads.’

Customer expectations This applies right across the business. ‘Businesses need to be able to adapt to meet growing customer expectations,’ says McCracken.

‘Smartphones and advanced technology have created a public that demands efficiency.

‘Autoparts UK works closely with GTG, the specialist automotive training group with facilities in Edinburgh, Glasgow and the West Midlands.

GTG provides the automotive aftermarket with a central hub where technicians can access a wide variety of training programmes in a purpose-built, on-site training area. The DVSA-approved testing centre enables garages to ensure their technicians are fully equipped with the most up-to-date, necessary skills and expertise.’

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Equally, technology has changed the way training can be delivered. ‘Over the years, developing IT and technical equipment has improved the way technicians receive training. For example, GTG has on-site IT rooms as well as the latest diagnostic and testing equipment, allowing training to be delivered via online platforms on tablets and other smart devices.

‘This particularly improves practical training, as real-life simulations can be created and answers can be submitted and graded immediately,’ McCracken adds.

Once a garage decides to invest in training for staff, the next step is finding the right support.

The Independent Garage Association (IGA) has provided technical training courses for its members on their own premises since 2012. More than 5,000 technicians received training from the IGA up to the end of 2016, with the numbers continuing to climb.

Terry Gibson, head of member services at the IGA, says: ‘The IGA knows the value of training, and we want to challenge the perception that independent garages do not train their staff.

‘We have proved that training is as important to modern garages as up-to-date technical information and the right diagnostic tools.

This trio of Ts – Training, Tools and Technical Information – is the foundation for success when dealing with increasingly complex modern cars.’

Simple model Gibson explains the process, saying: ‘The model is simple – the trainer arrives at the garage complete with the appropriate vehicle. All that the garage needs to do is allocate some space and half a day for the training to be completed.

‘The training is provided as a benefit of IGA membership and all courses are certificated by the IMI. Three courses are available: the ever popular Hybrid Safety and Awareness session as well as Diagnostic Strategy and Fundamentals of Multi-Meter – with more in development.’

There is an ulterior motive – but don’t worry, it’s to your benefit. ‘Delivering training directly to garages on their own premises is part of a wider strategy to further increase the levels of training that independent garages provide for staff,’ observes Gibson.

‘By watching the training delivered, garage owners can see the value to their business and

The IGA knows the value of training, and is this creates a training mindset which encourages businesses to undertake further training.

‘This may mean sending technicians away on courses where the costs to the business in time and money may be higher. However, as well as the increased technical competence, the benefits are readily identifiable in staff retention and loyalty as well as the clear customer benefits in being up to speed with the latest technologies.’

Professional business There’s a marketing angle that can be exploited too. ‘Displaying certificates of training in reception areas is an obvious way of demonstrating to customers that your technicians are fully competent to work on the latest vehicles.’

A highly professional business needs properly trained support staff. ‘This also creates a need to ensure that reception staff are trained in customer service. They may also need to be trained in

Staff at AutoCentre Rushden have access to regular training

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE IMI

THE SHOCK OF THE NEW

Staff will need EV training

keen to challenge the perception that independent garages do not train their staff computer systems, marketing and the other facets of every modern business, not just a garage.’

Online learning ‘In order for businesses to keep up in the automotive industry, it is vital for garage technicians to undergo regular training that can guarantee they have the knowledge and competence to service and maintain the new technology entering the sector,’ says a spokesman for the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI).

Technology has impacted on the way training is delivered across the sector. ‘The IMI understands many businesses can’t afford to send a large proportion of staff out of the business to undertake regular training.

‘IMI eLearning is a multimedia online learning platform that has been built to provide learners with vital curriculum information. This form of training uses multimedia to bring learning to life through a variety of interactive activities.’

Follow the money Training is required in all areas of a business.

Let’s follow the money. The IMI spokesman says: ‘With 75 per cent of all new vehicle sales now including some form of finance and insurance add-on, and many businesses in the UK being fined thousands of pounds due to poor practice, the IMI has recently launched a dedicated finance and insurance accreditation.

‘The IMI built a unique F&I accreditation to help protect drivers from being treated unlawfully and increase standards in customer-focused roles.’

Constantly evolving Switched-on garages know how important ongoing training is. Vic Clarke, owner of AutoCentre Rushden in Northamptonshire, says: ‘The automotive aftermarket is constantly evolving and it's important that garage technicians have access to regular training.

‘Technology such as the latest diagnostic equipment has massively improved the service offered by garages. Garages want to find a solution first time round to build a solid reputation and relationship with a customer, and investing in this technology helps garages achieve this. We frequently invest in new tools to help us improve the quality of our customer service and this requires ensuring our staff are equipped with the know-how to use them.’

Business developments Technology has changed the way the business operates overall. Clarke says: ‘As technology has developed, so too has the equipment in workshops. We now communicate with motor factors more efficiently than ever using systems, and the expertise of garage personnel has steadily progressed in line with business developments.

‘With modern vehicles requiring a different form of maintenance than garages are usually used to, there is an uncertain period ahead for the aftermarket. However, as long as the industry keeps ahead of the game and invests in the most up-to-date technology and training, there is no reason that we cannot continue to offer reliable vehicle servicing.’

ELECTRIC vehicles are here and your staff will need training if you want your business to plug into this particular income stream.

‘There are serious health and safety issues for unskilled mechanics attempting to work on machines with 600 volts coursing through them,’ says an IMI spokesman. ‘There is an IMI campaign for a licence to practise for technicians working on new technology like electric vehicles.

‘Sales growth will stall unless small repair businesses are helped to make the investment in skills needed to provide consumers with choice and value for money. Research commissioned by the IMI shows UK sales of electrified vehicles doubling since 2015, but despite this growth the number of qualified repairers in the UK remains at around 0.4 per cent of the 250,000 mechanics working on cars and vans commercially.

‘Over 90 per cent of independent garages say they would need to retrain existing technicians to undertake work on these electrified vehicles.

‘Unless there is a proactive strategy from the government to encourage this training, the UK will not be able to support the growth of future car technology. Electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid vehicles are no longer the future, they are here now.’

MOT TRAINING NO mention of training can be complete without covering the significant changes to MOT training.

‘Anyone who wants to achieve the new qualifications of MOT Tester or MOT Manager will need to use a training company to deliver the qualification,’ explains Terry Gibson of the IGA. The IGA’s parent organisation, the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI), is one of the organisations delivering new tester training at its state-of-the-art training academy in the Midlands, with two further centres set to open in 2017.

Gibson adds: ‘MOT testers and garage owners also need to be aware of the new rules in respect of annual training for MOT testers. This training year ends on March 31, 2017 and there are still many thousands of testers who need to complete their three hours of training and take and pass the online assessment. Once again, the RMI can help.’

WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

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FEATURES.

SAFE AND SECURE Protecting your facility and everything within it is vital for every garage business.

Here, ALEX WELLS tries to crack the secrets of the secure workshop.

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f you've invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in equipment and tooling, along with all the other kit that goes along with running a business, then you’ll want to protect it.

Workshop equipment isn’t cheap – neither are all those vehicles your customers leave with you. So, how high a priority is workshop security for garages these days? What kind of measures are being put in place? And what lessons does experience teach you?

Martin Pilley Services Workshop security is taken very seriously at New Milton-based garage Martin Pilley Services.

Workshop manager Richard Perriman says: ‘We’ve got double-glazed casement windows and doors. All the windows are barred and all the roller shutters have got half-inch hardened steel padlocks made specifically for the purpose.’

Extensive security The extensive security at Martin Pilley means any attempt to break in would be a challenge.

Perriman adds: ‘The whole building has got movement sensors, and all internal and external doors are fitted with contact switches. The alarm monitoring company is notified when our alarm system is triggered by the first sensor. When the second sensor is triggered, it is a definite break-in.

‘You get a one-minute head start before the sirens and everything else go off here. So although the alarm is triggered, it doesn't actually set off all the bells and sirens until one minute after it has been triggered.’

Methodical Apart from the kit, the company is methodical about security. ‘We never leave any large amounts of money on the premises, and all cars that are left are put inside the buildings – we never leave anything outside. All keys are removed and put in a key safe, which is bolted right through a brick wall. It’s in a position that makes it very difficult to lever it off the wall.

‘And we have the alarm system connected to Redcare, who then notify the police and you as soon as there is an alarm trigger. It just gives you a slight head start to catch them in the act.

‘Workshop equipment is kept in a locked office.

And of course you’ve got one minute from when you enter the building or open a door before all hell breaks loose.

‘I’ve heard the alarm going off up here when it’s dark and quiet – it’s deafening.’

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Co-operation Co-operation with your neighbours helps too, says Perriman.

‘Many of the businesses in our area have CCTV, and this means many of us have an extra view of the entrances to our neighbours’ premises.

‘We’re on a quiet industrial estate that’s a bit out of the way. I’ve been up here after dark and it’s quite a spooky sort of place. You do get spates of attempted break-ins, though – it’s something that seems to happen around the end of November and beginning of December.

‘When unscrupulous people want money for Christmas, you hear of shops being broken into, houses broken into – they try garages, too.

‘Over the 34 years we’ve been in these premises we’ve only ever had two attempted burglaries.

‘In the first instance they were disturbed and all we found were crowbar marks on the window frame. The second time, as soon as those alarms and sirens started going off, they were scared away.’

For Perriman, securing your facility is a nobrainer. ‘Anyone who doesn’t take reasonable security measures is very stupid. If someone

wants what you’ve got, they will have a go at getting it. But if another place is easier than yours to get into, they are not going to have a go at you.’

D&D Autos For Matthew Pestridge, workshop manager at Ashford-based D&D Autos, security is a top priority. ‘It’s 10 out of 10 – maximum for us.

Vehicles are left overnight so it’s important as we are looking after other people’s belongings.

‘We have palisade fencing and a security gate, and the whole site is locked overnight so people can’t wander on and off. We’ve got CCTV with 16 cameras on site, both internal and external.

‘Our cameras have infrared so are capable of capturing video in low light. However, in the event someone was to break in, we also have external floodlights that would help identify any intruders. We’ve only just had our CCTV system changed in the last month. The new technology means that I can access the camera feed online, which allows me to see what is going on 24/7.

‘Inside, we have lockable key cupboards, and employees keep their tool boxes locked.’

Continually updated

Security lights at Scotlands Ash Garage

CCTV technology is constantly evolving. ‘It’s important to keep your system updated,’ says Pestridge. ‘We found our old cameras couldn’t pick up number plates properly, for instance.

‘We’ve had a few problems over the years.

The main ones involve the theft of scrap metals.

We had 20-inch alloy wheels stolen overnight – intruders came over the fence at 2am-3am – and we’ve had catalysts taken too. The doors to the workshops are all roller-shuttered and locked, and we close the gate at night so no one can wander

Robust fencing at D&D Autos helps deter trouble-makers and intruders

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Years ago, we had a key stolen and found out from using CCTV that it was a customer.

on to the site – it’s locked and secured.’ The CCTV has come in handy. ‘Years ago, we had a key stolen and found out from using CCTV that it was a customer. I had to go round to his house to get the key. We no longer have this issue, though, as we lock keys away in a cabinet.

‘The cameras are also beneficial for prangs and dents and the safety of all customer vehicles.

‘We’ve had many a customer that had a mark on their vehicle or something go missing and automatically think it is something we have done.

The cameras are high-definition so it is easy to identify where the issue lies.

‘This helps with customer satisfaction. I’ve had several scenarios where a customer has backed into another customer’s car. CCTV has helped us identify who was responsible.’

Insurance Insurance plays its part too. ‘Our insurance company has an input into what level of security we have and stipulates certain requirements.

‘Our technicians’ tool boxes are only insured up to a certain value, so they are encouraged to take out their own insurance, given they spend a lot of money on tools. We have open and frank discussions about tools, and if an issue does arise we make sure people are aware of the level of cover their tools are insured for.

‘We review the level of insurance cover for on-site vehicles every year. The level of cover is currently set at several hundred thousand pounds. It’s not unusual to have a couple of newish Range Rovers, which can equate to many thousands of pounds.’

Things were a bit different at D&D’s previous site. ‘We had our new Moat Way site built

eight years ago, so were able to factor in new technology/security. However, our old site was very different, with four older, separate buildings.

‘All the locks at our new site meet insurance standards, although there are fewer locks so fewer keys to the building. We have a camera system and an alarm system which is monitored 24/7.

‘If the alarm goes off in the middle of the night, key personnel instantly get a phone call and can be on site within 10 minutes.’

Customer concern Customers are blissfully unaware, according to Pestridge. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard a customer ask about security. Only a person with an old classic car, or something along those lines, will ever ask: ‘‘Is it secure on site overnight?’’

‘We do not let customers post their keys. In fact, the option is not available to our customers, as once the gates are shut there is no way to do it. Instead, we advise the customer that they can leave their vehicle but need to hand the keys to us the next day. We did have the facility to post keys at our old site, which was particularly useful with our car and van rental business. However, there was an incident where a customer posted the keys through the door and someone broke the door down and took the keys.’

Scotlands Ash Security issues have changed over time at Didcot-based Scotlands Ash Garage. Proprietor Peter Welch explains: ‘We’ve been targeted a few times over the 25 years we’ve been here. MOT certificates caused some problems – we were burgled a couple of times where they were the target.

‘Once, they even drove a car straight through the office aiming for the safe on the wall where the certificates were kept.’

Readers with longer memories will recall the days when ram-raids on garages were not uncommon. ‘They did them because MOT certificates were wanted on the black market.

‘Since MOT computerisation, though, there’s no reason for people to steal MOT certificates

because they are just A4 paper now. That’s good for garages.’

It’s not just now-historic documentation thieves will have been after, either. Welch says: ‘The other that’s been stolen is catalytic converters, because of the value of the palladium.

We had a couple of them disappear one night.’

Risk reduction Welch has worked to reduce the risk to his business. ‘We have two steel posts we put up every night in front of our two five-bar wooden gates so they stop anyone trying to drive through.

In the back car park, we’ve got another steel gate we bolt up and lock up, so we’ve got two car parks – you drive into one car park, and then you can drive round the back into another one.

‘We’ve got cameras everywhere, and on our doors, on the workshop doors, everything’s bolted with padlocks on the inside. We haven’t had any problems recently.’

Scotlands Ash has upgraded as it has gone along. ‘We’ve had cameras for 20 years. Previously, they were fairly old-fashioned, years ago, and now they are more modern.

‘When we first had our alarm system, it went off if a spider walked across the magnet, which was a big problem. It went straight to the police too so you had them out, but now if something sets the sensor off they phone us and tell us and out we go to investigate. If the first silent alarm is set off they’ve got to walk somewhere else to set the second alarm off. Internally, all our doors are locked and give a second activation if they are opened.

That second one calls the police.’

Key drop-off ‘The biggest problem is if someone has paid for their car and wants to pick it up after hours, where do we leave the keys? A load of garages still leave the keys on top of the tyre. It’s just the way it is,’ observes Welch.

With this in mind he has set up a secure key drop-off and pick-up point. ‘We give the customer a fourdigit code to get into the box so that they can get their ignition key out. It’s not rocket science, but we’ve never had any problems.’

Keep precious data safe with Dragon2000, p45

A secure way to drop off and pick up keys at Scotlands Ash Garage WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

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CLUB.

ACCIDENT SHOWS WHY CUSTOMERS MUST STAY OUT OF THE WORKSHOP

R

ASK THE JUDGE: Ian Gardner, sales manager at automotive legal experts Lawgistics, warns that you need to take care to avoid mishaps at work.

ecently, I was made aware of a case regarding health and safety within a workshop, writes The Judge. A self-employed mechanic was fined after a customer was severely injured in an accident when picking up his vehicle from the premises.

The magistrates hearing the case were told that the customer’s car was parked in front of an inspection pit. The garage owner was attempting to show the customer a part that had been fitted under the bonnet. The customer tried to walk around the mechanic and fell into the pit.

The court was told the garage owner had called out a warning to the customer about the pit but apparently he hadn’t heard it. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted, saying the garage owner had allowed a member of the public into the workshop with an open pit and without suitable and sufficient precautions to prevent such a fall.

The customer suffered a double spinal fracture, slipped disc, a sprained ankle and severe cuts, bruises and swelling.

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The garage owner pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. He was fined £1,800 and ordered to pay £881 costs. A victim surcharge of £170 was also levied against the company.

The garage owner is now open to pay what could be substantial compensation in a personal injury claim.

He should, however, be able to reclaim the compensation through his insurer, or let the insurer deal with the matter.

But he will not be able to reclaim the criminal fine.

It is worth noting that had a member of staff been responsible for this incident, it would likely have constituted gross misconduct and merited dismissal.

After the hearing, the HSE inspector handling the case said: ‘When working in such an environment, with an open inspection pit, there is a significant risk of death or serious injury.’ They went on to comment: ‘The garage owner in this case relied on verbal warnings and floor markings instead of reasonably practical measures such as covering over the

inspection pit or putting a barrier around it, which would have prevented this serious incident from occurring.’

Make sure that you and your staff do not bring the public into the workshop. All hazards need to be identified and highlighted by means of clear warning signs and barriers.

The accident I have been discussing here would clearly have been avoided if the inspection pit had been covered up.

If an accident does occur on your premises, all the details of it, including what happened, plus where and when, should be documented fully within the garage’s accident book.

There is a legal requirement to report accidents such as this under RIDDOR – the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013.

Accidents can be reported to the HSE via its prescribed form or, alternatively, online.

Make sure you have a robust health and safety policy in place and that all your staff are aware of it. If you require help with implementing this, then contact your legal adviser.

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TO JOIN GO TO WORKSHOPCLUB.CO.UK OR CALL 023 9252 2434 AND 32 | WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

I was threatened by one of my staff. Can I sack him?

Q

I recently had an argument with a member of my workshop staff in which he used threatening and abusive language towards me.

Am I within my rights to dismiss them on the spot if they react in such a manner again?

Sacking someone on the spot, aka ‘instant dismissal’, could land you in hot water. Instant dismissal suggests that it is justified by the employer to sack the employee on the spot because of their actions. In cases where you feel the actions are gross misconduct, such as fighting, theft or fraud in the workplace, the advice would be to suspend the employee on full pay while you carry out an investigation and gather evidence.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no situation that gives you the automatic right to sack an employee on the spot.

If you did so, the employee may be able

A

TUB OF 90 MULTI-PURPOSE DOUBLE SIDED HEAVY DUTY WIPES STOCK No. 84712 to claim unfair dismissal. Our advice is ALWAYS follow a fair and reasonable procedure when imposing a dismissal.

Where you have employees who have fewer than two years’ service, you may think that the extra effort to carry out the procedure isn’t worthwhile.

However, even a short-serving employee could still accuse you of automatic unfair dismissal and discrimination. By carrying out a disciplinary procedure that documents the reason for dismissal, you will be able to defend such allegations.

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The software can help manage supplier and customer details, help you keep on top of your costs and ensure that your business is running as smoothly and as profitably as possible.

Workshop Club members are eligible for a 10 per cent discount on their first year of a Dragon2000 software subscription – and they get the free Vehicle Health Check app too.

As part of your membership, you will have a free telephone consultation with Lawgistics worth £100. You will also be signed up to Lawgistics’ basic membership package worth £95, have 25 per cent discount off Lawgistics products, get access to guidance notes and document templates and enjoy a discount off membership upgrades – £100 off the Small Business pack and £250 off the Professional membership pack – to better suit your needs.

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| 33

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34 | WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

MY PROJECT CAR.

REBECCA CHAPLIN REVELS IN A RATHER SPECIAL RESTORATION BY A TEAM OF SPECIALISTS

Extra muscle for Mustang after 3D puzzle arrives from the USA

C

omet Classics is a specialist when it comes to classic motorbikes, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t prepared to take on something with four wheels if it’s the right project…

This is the start of the Hampshire-based business moving away from just collectable bikes and petrol pumps, which currently stand proudly in the showroom along with an array of classic petrol cans, and choosing special British and American classics to restore and sell.

The hard-working team have a taste for Americana, and have enlisted the help of Arun Percy at Iconic Creations to get this one on the road. Comet Classic owners Martin Webb and Ray Waller are never short of ideas for a new project.

They started the business because of a shared passion for classic motorcycles and petrol pumps.

It began as a private collection but turned into a business, stocking more than 100 items.

The company says that it has always tried to keep overheads down so that it can pass on a fair and sensible price to customers, who recognise that these classics are for enjoyment but will likely increase in value.

This year, the team have been working on a very special import for none other than Wheeler Dealers’ Mike Brewer.

This is a 1965 Ford Mustang – with shocking purple paint. Our images give the impression of a simple fettle to get it to pristine standard, but there’s far more to it than that. In fact, when it arrived in the UK, the car was in a pretty sorry state.

That said, it wasn’t really a car at all when it made its way over the Atlantic – it was packaged up in several boxes. So, really, the only thing you could call it was spare parts…

Brewer knew that the unfinished project could be a gem. He’d viewed the car in the US, seen its potential and

The Ford Mustang 3D puzzle is completed

had it shipped to the UK. The team were then presented with what was not much more than a 3D Mustang puzzle and faced the arduous task of working out how it all went back together again.

However, they’ve been cracking on to get it back on the road and ready for sale.

The pony car has now been in the country for three months and the team had the job of reassembling every piece – from mechanicals to the final bits of chrome trim – and it was a surprisingly quick turnaround from a collection of bits to a fully formed car, which now has a dazzling interior.

The car needed to be completely rewired – as you’d expect from a build such as this – meaning the team have got everything in full working order and finished to a better standard than most cared-for classics.

Tweaks have been made to this car for a customer who’s expecting a little bit more muscle from their Mustang.

The engine has been cleaned up to near-show standard and the car has been given a custombuilt exhaust for the dream gravelly roar that a potential buyer is sure to fall in love with.

There’s a hint of this extra muscle as you can see from the aftermarket addition

Every piece has been reassembled of billet American Racing Outlaw wheels, and as the magazine goes to print, the Comet Classics team are awaiting the first turnover of the engine since it’s been on this side of the pond.

Watch this space and take a look at Comet Classics’ website to see the finished article.

”

Really, the only thing you could call it was spare parts...

WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

| 35

PRODUCTS. Sykes-Pickavant Torque Wrench

Sykes-Pickavant has improved its popular ‘push-thru’ professional torque wrench. A 60 per cent larger scale means better visibility and improved accuracy, while the scale itself adjusts 40 per cent more quickly than before and with less effort needed. The wrench is accurate to within three per cent of the reading, exceeding ISO6789:2003, and it’s available in a variety of torque ratings from 10-400Nm (7.5-300 lb ft).

The wrench introduces the new Timestrip feature, which provides a visual reminder of when the tool is due for recalibration, counting down in three-month intervals.

New for you

Gunson Digital Multimeter

The Gunson 77038 is a fully featured but compact autorange digital multimeter for measuring DC and AC voltage, resistance, capacitance, frequency, duty cycle, diode and continuity. Measurements are displayed on the bright LCD screen and a useful LED spotlight is included for working in dark areas. It’s powered by two 1.5V AAA batteries.

The multimeter will read DC voltages over a range of 400mV to 600V and AC voltages from 4V to 600V. It will also measure resistance from 400Ω to 40MΩ, capacitance from 4nF to 100μF and frequency from 9.999Hz to 10MHz. Over-range protection is provided and the device will power off after 15 minutes of inactivity.

Power-TEC Hot Stapler

Power-TEC has now introduced a powerful, cordless hot stapler that offers maximum versatility and ease of use. Ideal for mobile repairers, the stapler is powered by a rechargeable lithium battery, which charges fully in just three to four hours. A red, low-battery LED lights up when charging is necessary.

The set, which comes in a sturdy storage case, is supplied with charger and plug socket adaptors for the UK, continental Europe, Australia and the USA. A total of 150 staples (50 each of V-shaped, W-shaped and U-shaped staples) are also included. More staples are available from Power-TEC.

PRODUCT TESTS SCREWDRIVERS: P38 36 | WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

TRIM REMOVAL TOOLS: P40 OUR EXPERTS TEST SPRING COMPRESSORS: P42

Laser Tools Sound Level Meter

The Laser 6605 is a class 2 sound level meter designed to meet the requirements of IEC 61672-1, which makes it suitable for occupational noise measurements needed to comply with the UK Controls of Noise at Work Regulations or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s occupational noise standards.

The meter can measure sound in four different ranges, from just 30 decibels right up to 130dB. It includes a hold function as well as maximum and minimum functions (where the maximum or minimum sound level is registered), and it can record and save up to 80 readings.

The included wind shield is used to gain accurate sound captures in windy conditions and to avoid background noise, and the meter is supplied with a 9V battery and handy carry case.

Clarke Generator

The new PG6500DVES petrol-powered generator from Clarke features a full protective steel frame with strong wheels and handles for easy mobility. Incorporating an easy-start fourstroke engine with an electric start for added convenience, the generator has a range of sockets, including 1x230v, 1x115v (16amp) and 1x115v (32amp) to make it an extremely versatile machine.

With an output of up to 5.5kVA and large capacity fuel tanks of up to 25 litres, the generator will reliably run for more than eight hours at three-quarters load. It also features an alternator with an automatic voltage regulator (AVR), ensuring voltage and frequency are stable for use with sensitive equipment.

Laser Tools Battery Tester

Laser Tools has just released its new car battery tester, which quickly and accurately measures the cold cranking amps (CCA) capability of a vehicle’s starting battery.

The convenient hand-held device tests all automotive starting batteries, including lead acid, AGM (absorbent glass mat) flat plate, AGM spiral wound, gel batteries, and EFB (enhanced flooded battery).

It also detects bad cells and measures battery health. In addition, test data can be printed out via your PC or laptop using the USB lead supplied.

WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

| 37

PRODUCTS. TEST 26

Screwdrivers ANDREW EVANS gets to grips with assorted sets of the most versatile tool that a mechanic can have to hand – and one of the most vital, too

Clarke PRO122 How much: £27.59 (inc VAT) Where from: machinemart.co.uk Absolutely our favourite set of screwdrivers here, the Clarke PRO set has everything you’d need or want in a driver. Along with the handles being a perfect size to provide exactly the torque you want and with a great grip to make them comfortable to use in the long term, each driver has a hex nut on the top of them to provide extra drive if necessary and a decent face for hammering to perform a drive-through function.

The tips are also one of the most strongly magnetised of the selection here.

HHHHH

T

here are few tools more crucial to a mechanic than a good screwdriver. With the right ones and the right sockets, most cars can be dismantled to the bare chassis (or assembled from one).

Screwdrivers are a mainstay of any toolbox, and you’ll find them useful not only on mechanical parts but interior bits.

They also work as impromptu pry bars, chisels and bradawls – a great set of screwdrivers can see you through so many jobs.

There’s no tool more versatile, so picking the right screwdriver is one of the most important things you can do. We’re looking at seven of the best kits to find out what we’d keep in the top drawer of our tool chest.

Halfords Advanced

Laser 5986

How much: £15.00 (inc VAT) Where from: halfords.co.uk

How much: £34.13 (inc VAT) Where from: lasertools.co.uk

At first glance the Halfords set looks to have rather plasticky and unpleasant handles, but they’re really rather nice to use in practice, with just enough give to make them comfortable. The handles are an ideal size too, although perhaps the smallest versions are a little too small – you might find yourself not being able to deliver quite enough torque on occasion. It’s a pity that there’s no really large option, which might advance them into the top two, but as it stands they’re a great, if unremarkable, set of basic screwdrivers.

In some respects, the Laser drivers echo the Halfords Advanced kit. They’re a basic design that does no wrong, but other than the rather striking yellow and red colourings, they don’t seem all that remarkable.

They’re certainly comfortable to use, though, and do have an added bonus of being insulated up the full length of the shaft so they’re great for electrical work.

We wouldn’t mind seeing a couple of stubby driver options in the kit, though.

HHHHH

HOW WE TESTED THEM We put the tools to the test by driving home screws with the appropriate-sized heads into materials requiring high torque, to see what they could comfortably deliver.

We also tried unfastening screws torqued in with a drill to see which screwdrivers deal best with them.

38 | WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

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Draper 27030 How much: £25.42 (inc VAT) Where from: drapertools.com This is a decent set of eight drivers with a good variety of sizes that comes close to the top of our favourites here. The palm section of the handles is not the most comfortable, but there’s a neat three-way thumb moulding lower down that makes them easy to control with precision. The magnetised tips are among the strongest here, and the drivers come presented in a small, flexible rack that you could mount on a wall or other surface.

HHHHH

Sealey ProMAX AK4317

Draper Expert 07511

Clarke PRO120

How much: £30.54 (inc VAT) Where from: sealey.co.uk

How much: £50.40 (inc VAT) Where from: drapertools.com

How much: £20.39 (inc VAT) Where from: machinemart.co.uk

The Sealey set of drivers is certainly good enough to find a home in any workshop, but it’s very much a middle-of-the-road performance. They didn’t have any trouble torqueing up or removing our test screws and the three-way handle moulding is surprisingly comfortable and easy to use. The magnetised tips are the strongest here, but otherwise there’s nothing particularly memorable about them to see the set mingling with our favourites.

In many respects, this set represents the definitive basic mechanic’s screwdriver set. The plastic handles are a little hard and uncomfortable to use, but they’re fairly sturdy should you need the occasional tap with a hammer. Some include a small hex section so can be driven with a spanner if more torque is needed.

We did find that the Pozidriv and Phillips head drivers were a little too prone to slipping so might cause some damage to softer screw heads.

The cheaper of the two Clarke sets is incredibly beefy, but the handles do seem to step over the line where they’re almost too big to get a proper grip on. That said, they weren’t difficult to torque up or unfasten some firmly located screws. One pretty neat feature here is that the entire shaft of every screwdriver has a hex shape, making it great for holding in place and getting a spanner on. Oddly, there’s no Pozidriv head driver in the set.

HHHHH

HHHHH

HHHHH

WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

| 39

PRODUCTS. TEST 27

Trim removal tools ANDREW EVANS finds out who his flexible friends are when it comes to prising off the cosmetic adornments that conceal fasteners and screws.

E

ven the least well-built of modern cars is screwed together better than ever.

Consumers expect clean lines and no evidence that the vehicle was ever made from smaller parts, just as they do with the white goods in their lives.

From a manufacturer’s point of view, it’s an easy thing to achieve. Covering up fasteners and exposed screws is simply a matter of snapping some decorative trim into place, but that makes the life of anyone who has to access those fasteners later a lot trickier.

This is where trim removal tools come in.

Specifically designed to get in between the gaps in trim pieces or pop out those irritating panel trim clips, they’re an invaluable aid to removing decorative pieces without causing any damage or scuffs, allowing you to get at the fasteners required to repair, maintain or modify the car.

Power-TEC Trim Remover Set How much: £17.02 (inc VAT) Where from: power-tec.co.uk Although the Power-TEC tools look identical on the surface to the Sealey set, there are some very slight differences that thrust the Power-TEC up to head the pack. The material feels slightly softer and of a higher quality, but more importantly there’s marginally more flexibility in the tools. That makes them easier to work into tighter crevices and gives you more leverage without risk of harming the trim. The hooks also have slightly larger angles compared with the Sealey kit, again giving more leverage. Although the variety isn’t quite as broad as the Sykes roll, the five-piece kit contains just about every tool you’d ever need.

HHHHH

HOW WE TESTED THEM

Clarke 3-in-1 Auto Remover Tool

The best way to test a trim removal tool is to try to remove vehicle trim with it! We’ve been poking and prodding the crevices of one of our cars to see how effective the various tools provided are at levering out some of the recessed finishing pieces and vehicle decor, particularly panel trim clips.

How much: £5.51 (inc VAT) Where from: machinemart.co.uk

40 | WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

The Clarke tool is very much the odd man out here, being both a multi-tool that provides several different operations in one and being metal. For 95 per cent of the jobs you’ll

need to do – eg, removing clips from lower cabin plastics to installing audio cabling – the Clarke will do what you want and there’s almost no risk of it snapping, but we wouldn’t want to use it on any external components and there’s more of a danger of causing damage.

HHHHH

Sykes-Pickavant Non-Marking Trim Tool Set How much: £17.70 (inc VAT) Where from: primetools.co.uk Breadth of talent is where this set majors. There are so many individual tools in this kit that we’d need to find a YouTube how-to video just to work out what some of them

do. They’re broadly similar to the Sealey set in terms of materials used, so we have a similar concern about having to apply more force and the risk of damage to either the tool or the trim. The huge variety means you won’t be stuck on any task, though.

HHHHH

Sealey Trim & Upholstery Tool Kit How much: £27.54 (inc VAT) Where from: sealey.co.uk It’s the seemingly small details that put the Sealey set outside the top two here, despite the extremely close resemblance to the winning kit. It’s nice that all of the tools are clearly labelled, but the materials used seem to be of a lower quality and they’re not quite as flexible to use. This is particularly noticeable when it’s cold and the tools always feel like they’re on the verge of snapping. The slightly shallower angles of the hooks also mean a little more force is required when popping something like a recessed air vent out.

HHHHH

WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

| 41

PRODUCTS. TEST DRIVE

Garage test: Spring compressors Our expert professional testers – Craig, Harry and Kev – give their opinion about these specially selected devices that are used for the maintenance of suspension systems.

Sykes-Pickavant

Sealey AK3843

Price: £365.82 (inc VAT) From: Sykes-Pickavant agent

Price: £203.94 (inc VAT) From: sealey.co.uk

Craig These are similar to the Clarke really, but they don’t have the same range of

Craig These would be great as a back-up bit of kit – it’s the most basic and

different yokes, so while they’d do a good enough job most of the time, there might be something we get in that they don’t fit on to. It’s not a bad bit of kit.

Harry I liked this because it’s double-ended – you can operate it from either end –

but you can’t use impact tools with it even though it’s supposed to be heavy-duty. It’s good that it’s got a couple of different size ends on it, too.

Kev This is more or less the same as the big Sealey unit, and I reckon if you were doing roadside work they’d be a decent option that’s heavy-duty enough that it might be okay in the workshop too. The different-sized ends like the Clarke are nice but with no case they might wander off.

HHHHH

traditional here, but they’ll suit a lot of jobs, so if you get something in with a bit of a different suspension set-up they’d be good. They fit in a lot of places where the others wouldn’t, as well.

Harry These took a bit of setting up, so we weren’t as keen. They’re the most versatile and they come with a nice U-shaped bar that stops the pair slipping off the spring, but it’s just the set-up time for these. If you were a mobile mechanic with a small van they’d be ideal.

Kev These are the most portable ones and I’d have them in the back of my own car.

They’re the most versatile, too – they’ll do just about anything. They’d be great if you do a lot of roadside work and you don’t know what you’re going to come up against.

For convenience these are great.

HHHHH

42 | WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

Craig Rose Bob Rose Motor Vehicle Repairs, Redcar

Harry Smith Auto Tyre Centre, Gosport

Kev Grady North Eastern Tyre & Exhaust, Teesside

An independent garage running for nearly 40 years, Bob Rose is a family firm of two generations and deals with anything and everything.

A family-run one-stop garage that prides itself on being female-friendly, Auto Tyre Centre offers a full range of repair and replace services.

Part of the Tyre Plus group of local rapid-fit garages across the UK, NETE has served the Teesside and North Yorkshire area for 80 years.

How Craig rated them: 1 Clarke; 2 Sykes; 3 Sealey (AK3843); 4 Sealey (RE225)

How Harry rated them: 1 Clarke; 2 Sealey (RE225); 3 Sykes; 4 Sealey (AK3843)

How Kev rated them: 1 Sealey (RE225); 2 Sealey (AK3843); 3 Sykes; 4 Clarke

Clarke CHT747

Sealey RE225

Price: £178.80 (inc. VAT) From: machinemart.co.uk

Price: £610.74 inc VAT From: sealey.co.uk

Craig We’ve got one very similar to this and it works very well. While different types

Craig This is a nice bit of kit and it’s good that you can do it up by hand and take the

Harry This one’s probably the best one and I think it’s the only one you can actually

Harry This is similar to the Sykes but I like the fact that you can wind it on by hand.

of these can suit different cars, this one fits most applications, though, and it’s a good bit of kit, so perfect for a workshop environment.

use a gun with, which makes it really convenient. We didn’t have to, though – it compressed the springs brilliantly and it’s about as close to a hydraulic one as you can get with a manual. It comes in a nice big case as well.

Kev Even though this only has a maximum rating of 1,000kg, for what we do this is

going to cover most things. It’s probably the one I’d pick if it was going in here and we were using it all the time, and the fact it comes in a case means you’re less likely to lose the different bits for it.

slack up before you get to work on the compression with the nut. It’s pretty heavy-duty too, but small enough that it’s portable and compresses pretty quickly.

But again, you can’t put a gun on it, even though it’s got a 2.25 tonne rating on it! It’s a sturdy bit of equipment and pretty powerful.

Kev This one’s my favourite, to be honest. It’s a good size for both in here and taking out with you and it’s nice that you can do fine movements by hand with it, so it’s probably the best all-rounder here. It’s better than the fixed unit we have in here.

HHHHH

HHHHH WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

| 43

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SuperUnleaded is your new motoring service station where you choose what’s important. Like a post? #AccelerateIt up The Grid for others following in your slipstream and help set the starting line-up of timewasting content for everyone else.

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Daily motoring news where you help choose what’s important. From the makers of @_WorkshopMag straight out of @BlackballMedia

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Mercedes Teases The Hybrid Hypercar It’s Going To Make

Grand Tour Trailer Sees Clarkson Poke Fun At Trump

Mercedes is planning a hybrid hypercar to compete with Red Bull and Aston Martin’s attempt from last year. It is designed to celebrate Mercedes-AMG’s 50th anniversary.

Go online to: bit.ly/SU-hypercar

As well as mucking around on a beach in Barbados with heavy lifting machinery, a recent trailer for The Grand Tour saw Jeremy Clarkson get a bit of a dig in at Donald Trump.

Go online to: bit.ly/SU-trump

Ice Work If You Can Get It! But This Modern Classic Is Our TV Ad Bear Keeps Falling Over New Favourite Motorbike The filming of a car dealership commercial in America took an amusing turn when a chap in a white bear costume fell over on an ice rink.

Then he did it again. And again...

Go online to: bit.ly/SU-bear

Are you drawn to motorcycles of yesteryear but repelled by their high maintenance and low power? Fear not. Italian entrepreneur and bike enthusiast Fabio Cardoni has the solution.

Go online to: bit.ly/SU-fabio

Numpty Driver Runs Out Of Talent In Rented Supercar

Innovative Bike Tech Will Help Riders Keep Their Balance

Think how dangerous a rented supercar would be in the hands of a grade-A numpty. In fact, you don’t have to imagine, because we’ve found a video that demonstrates it perfectly.

Go online to: bit.ly/SU-rented

The thing with two-wheeled vehicles is that they can sometimes be difficult to balance on.

But Honda is hoping to banish those problems by introducing ‘Riding Assist’ technology.

Go online to: bit.ly/SU-tech

Dashcam Footage Shows Terrifying High-Speed Crash

Footballer’s £5 Reward After Helping With Stuck Bonnet

The horrifying moment a car was almost completely destroyed has been captured by a dashcam. It’s quite a scary impact, and the driver reacts with a slightly colourful response.

Go online to: bit.ly/SU-highspeed

Hull City defender Alex Bruce was sent a £5 note by a soldier after coming to his aid at a service station. The warrant officer had broken down and was unable to open his car’s bonnet.

Go online to: bit.ly/SU-fiver

FOCUS ON

DRAGON2000

THE COMMON-SENSE WAY TO KEEP THAT PRECIOUS DATA SAFE DRAGON2000

T: 01327 222333 W: DRAGON2000.CO.UK

IT’S LIKELY that you take your business’s security pretty seriously. From customer vehicles to parts plus expensive equipment and tools, there are a lot of valuable assets on your premises that you’d really miss if they were taken by thieves. You’ve probably taken steps to prevent such an eventuality, with keysafes, padlocks, strong doors, alarms and perimeter fencing all acting as deterrents.

With all of these countermeasures in place to prevent physical theft, it’s remarkable how few businesses take the same approach to the possibility of electronic theft.

Data is an incredibly valuable commodity and should be guarded as closely as any other asset.

Moreover, there is a legal requirement for businesses to keep customer data safe, as Mark Kelland, commercial manager of Dragon2000, explains.

‘Protecting their own data, which includes the personal data of their customers, should be something that every garage business takes extremely seriously,’ he said.

‘Each garage has a legal responsibility to protect the personal data of its customers. The Data Protection Act is there for all to be registered under and ruled by.’

Businesses found to be in breach of the Data Protection Act can find themselves subject to fines of up to £500,000.

In 2015, fines by the Information Commissioner’s Office reached more than £2m, with 18 companies subject to sanctions for breaches.

It’s the nature of doing business in the 21st century that some degree of familiarity with information technology is required, but it doesn’t take a computer genius or a significant investment in IT infrastructure to keep on top of these responsibilities.

Kelland continues: ‘The irony is that some of the most effective steps a garage can take to protect their data don’t cost thousands of pounds.

‘We’re not talking fancy alarms or security cameras, we’re talking simple common sense regarding who has access to the data and what passwords are used throughout the business.

‘It’s a sad fact but most companies simply do not have any policy on password security whatsoever. Most passwords are either commonly shared or just a repeat of the user’s name – nice and quick and easy to log in, but also quick and easy for others to guess and log in using somebody else’s credentials. The risk from external sources is immense.’

Weak passwords of this type were at the core of infamous ‘hacks’ of celebrity phones and cloud storage accounts, with either default logins used or passwords like ‘password’ or ‘1234’.

Kelland says: ‘We recommend to each and every business it’s a service that does not go through your main networks. that they consider their exposure to weak passwords Otherwise, you’re just exposing your network to outside internally and, of course, for threats externally. infiltration and eating up bandwidth.

‘This is stuff that businesses can take care of themselves ‘If somebody has a trojan on their PC and is using your with some planning.’ network, they wouldn’t necessarily know about it. The But even where there is a password policy, moment they’re signing in to your wifi, they’re businesses can be undone by other procedural exposing your network to the same viruses and failures. Kelland explains: ‘Over the years, things they may have on their own devices. we’ve had all sorts of contact from ‘The number of people using phones companies where staff have been with no security software on them dismissed and they’ve been up to all sorts whatosever is immense – most people of bad things – they’ve been using other just don’t see the need and that’s a members of staff’s passwords to disguise potential open door.’ what they’ve been doing.

It might sound like a message of doom ‘We’ve also heard of issues where people have and gloom for garages, but cyber-security need continued to log in or perhaps steal a company’s not be all that complicated.

Mark Kelland data when they’ve left – lists of names or It’s essentially a matter of taking care of who contacts – because of the company’s failure to can use what, and having a sensible approach respond to the need to change passwords regularly. to passwords, along with using proper, purchased antivirus ‘If you’re a Dragon2000 customer and someone leaves, we software. Kelland concludes: ‘Being able to prove that you’ve can block not just an IP [internet protocol network address] got plans in place protects the business – at least you can but individual machines and users.’ demonstrate that you have done everything humanly possible Many garages and workshops are now offering wifi to their to stop this kind of attack. customers as a courtesy while they wait, and this too can be a ‘Let’s be honest, if someone can infiltrate the White source of worry for anyone concerned about data security.

House then I don’t think there’s such a thing as totally Kelland comments: ‘If you are making wifi available for secure data in this world!’ customers, we’d recommend it’s a totally different router and

by Andrew Evans (@snavEwerdnA)

WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

| 45

FOCUS ON

SIGMAVISION

CLEVER DEVICE WORKS ON BOTH TECHNICAL AND SALES FRONTS SIGMAVISION

T: 01865 233030 W: SIGMAVISION.COM

Sigmavision is the market leader in 3D tyre-measurement technology. Here, managing director ANDREW PRYCE tells how it has revolutionised things.

“

I founded the company some 13 years We started with TreadReader about 10 years ago with ago when we were looking at deploying a little bit of government grant funding from the local more machine vision systems into the rubber and Regional Development Agency and Innovate UK. We were tyre industry. able to commercialise the technology a couple of years It never ceased to amaze me that when I went into tyre ago with a drive-over ramp that we distributed through plants, the company I was visiting may have spent a small Hunter Engineering. Our complete measurement system fortune equipping a machine with a piece of statewas inserted into Hunter’s drive-over ramp and of-the-art measurement equipment but then integrated into its software front end, and we you’d turn around and there’d be a sea of launched that at the beginning of 2015. operators standing there with snap gauges, It’s proved to be an extremely successful tape measures and rulers trying to control system for rapid diagnosis of tyre and component dimensions. So it became alignment issues in the service lanes. a bit of a mission to deploy laser-based The ramp has been great where you measurement systems in the tyre industry. have workshops configured with a service We did that for about 10 years, designing lane that you drive through continuously. our own laser systems which went into the Those kinds of layouts lend themselves to plants of all the household names – Goodyear, Andrew Pryce completely automatic tyre measurements.

Pirelli, Continental, etc – and we built up quite a There’s no manual intervention at all – the car successful business. drives continuously over the ramps at 4-8mph and within 10 All the sensor technology, computing, software, seconds you’ve got all four 3D scans on a report that you can algorithms, everything was Sigmavision bespoke, and we show the client before they’ve left the service area. developed an expertise in developing laser measurement But we’ve long recognised that in other dealer locations systems. That was a very successful business, but the sales and workshops, there isn’t quite so much space and the cycles are very long and we always had an ambition to be a service area isn’t configured as a lane but a service bay where more product-centred business rather than an engineering you drive in and reverse out. There, a different device is project-type business. needed. That’s the hand-held scanner, which is in production Along the journey with the company we got to understand start-up now – we’re just releasing it. more and more about the difficulties our customers’ It can generate the same data as the ramp, taking around customers were having in terms of measuring tyre wear when four seconds per tyre. the tyre was on the vehicle, so we took a strategic decision at So we have two versions of the 3D scan technology the end of 2014 to exit the tyre manufacturing space. available depending on whether it’s a manual or automatic process and the layout of the workshop. In this way we hope to cover the spectrum of dealer clients that we’re servicing.

In the past two years we’ve found that the 3D A TreadReader technology is a very effective tool for two main hand-held reasons. The first is technical in the ability to get a scanner reliable and accurate measure of tread depth in real-world conditions – when tyres are wet and dirty, and you’ve got stones and grit stuck in the grooves. These are the kind of conditions where some other techniques like line scanners fall down. Our 3D technology takes a strip of data over a 50mm band of the tyre and in that patch we have something like 400,000 data points, compared with maybe a couple of hundred data points on some of the line-scan devices, so we have a lot more data.

The other aspect is just how powerful these 3D scan reports are to the motorist in terms of changing consumer

46 | WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

buying behaviour. As consumers, we all want more information to make better, more informed decisions. Buying a tyre is very much a distress purchase – we rarely choose to buy a tyre, we have to – so when a tyre technician with a dip gauge says you’ve got 3mm and you need another tyre, the natural reaction is, ‘I’ll go home and think about it’.

With our scans you’ve got the data, and it’s not just the data but the way it’s presented – the scans have colour-coded tread depths with red, amber and green depending on your warning limits. When you look at them, you instantly have the trust of the client and that’s very effective in overcoming the barriers to selling the replacement tyre.

And not just the tyre of course – these 3D scans can assist with tyre-related services too.

So it’s not only technically a very good tool, it’s a sales tool as well. Some of the returns that we’ve seen on the equipment can be measured in weeks, with dealerships doubling their tyre sales. It can become the cornerstone in assisting the sales process as part of a strategy to drive tyre and alignment sales.

The other element of that is customer retention – if you have

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• Operates with smartphone app, or software API for integration into workshop and EVHC systems.

the trust of the client and they know they’re not being sold to, they are very likely to come back to you in the future.

We don’t have any hidden monthly fees either. We have a straightforward business model that says we sell the device to the client, the client owns the device and they own any data they generate from it. It’s fairly conventional, and with the ease of integration into existing software we hope to be giving the best of both worlds.

”

TreadReader manufacturing at Sigmavision

Visit sigmavision.com today and find out how you can join the tyre measurement revolution.

WorkShopMagazine.co.uk sigmavision_89x271mm_Aftermarket ad r6.indd 1

| 47

19/09/2016 12:45

OUR FLEET.

Nissan Leaf A gripping tale of some new tyres and a dashboard display ‘like a dying disco’

A

s my colleagues struggle with jump leads and fuel cans while chewing their nails to the nub at MOT time, I have been feeling rather smug. After all, what can go wrong with an electric car that isn’t even two years old yet?

Quite a lot, it seems. First, the good bits. The recent miserable weather had seen the standard tyres scrabble for grip so new rubber was called for. A lot of online research showed that Michelin CrossClimates are the way to go as they offer winter-tyre grip in cold weather but can be kept on all year without disintegrating on hot summer tarmac. Crucially for an electric car, they also have a reasonable fuel economy rating of ‘C’ versus other winter tyres, which are all ‘E’.

They were fitted by a local company without fuss, but the car didn’t feel quite right so I checked the pressures. Three were at the recommended 36PSI; the other was at 47.

I called the workshop and was told the fitter could’ve removed the wheel from the automated machine too early. Even foolproof technology can be beaten, it seems.

Once all the tyres were at 36PSI though, the difference was huge. The car is quieter, grippier and inspires more confidence in all conditions.

Money well spent.

Model: Nissan Leaf Acenta 24kW Owned by: Tom Barnard Engine: 80kW electric Bought for: £8,800 Mileage: 11,429 Money spent this month: £265 Highlight of the month: The improved performance thanks to new CrossClimates at the correct pressure That wasn’t the end of our visits to the tyre shop, though. Only three days later, a screw found its way into the new tread; an hour and a hefty £25 later the puncture was fixed, but the car was broken. Instead of leaping to life, the dashboard flickered like a dying disco and presented an error message: ‘T/M System malfunction – Visit Dealer’.

The KwikFitters shrugged their shoulders and

pushed the car out of the way before an RAC man – who arrived after two and a half hours – announced he had ‘no idea’ about electric cars.

A bit of online research suggested that the 12V battery could’ve been drained and a check of the voltage showed 11V, so it was trickle-charged overnight and has been fine since.

But it’s not this fault that caused the Leaf to be replaced by a courtesy car.

While washing the Leaf, I trained the Kärcher on a speck of grey on the driver’s door and was horrified as the speck grew larger rather than disappeared, as shown in the smaller image above. Knowing this car had been ‘smart’ repaired shortly before I bought it, I threw it back at the dealer and told him to kindly fix it with some stickier paint this time…

BMW F800GS Laura Thomson and her partner Leo crossed mountains, deserts and all sorts of other tricky terrain... but then there was a snag AS motorbikes go, this BMW is a trooper. It's been to Morocco and back, through deserts, mountains and everything in between, without an issue.

That was until we arrived back in Portsmouth and went to disembark le bateau.

As my partner-in-crime and the proud owner of GD 08 FJE, Leo, went to undo the ratchet straps that were holding his bike secure, he noticed a puddle of oil around the front wheel.

On further inspection, we discovered more oil pooled in the bottom of the wheel rim, and following the greasy streaks up the dirty fork, arrived at the source of the leak – the right-hand fork seal. Over-zealous rachet tightening by a vehicle handler appeared to have taken its toll on the 24-hour ferry journey, and the constant pressure on the suspension had ruptured the seal.

After completing a constat d’avarie (aka a

OUR WHEELS... WE LOVE CARS (AND BIKES!) HERE AT WORKSHOP AND HERE’S THE PROOF.WE’VE WRITTEN ABOUT THEM

FORD FIESTA XR2

VW TYPE 3 FASTBACK

NISSAN LEAF

HONDA CBR600RR

SUBARU LEGACY GT-B

by James Baggott Chief executive, @CarDealerEd

by Rebecca Chaplin Head of content, @BelieveBecca

by Tom Barnard OnCue MD, @TomBarnardPR

by Laura Thomson Staff writer, @lauramayrafiki

by Jon Reay Multimedia manager, @JonReay

I’ve heard from Matt The Mechanic.

He said he wants to come and fix the banging exhaust. We tried to arrange a date for this. Failed.

Parts are ordered and things are moving forward with Rebecca’s Type 3 this month. Look out for it firing into life very shortly.

Tom’s car has been keeping him busy lately – with tyre issues, a battery problem... and a speck of dirt that mysteriously couldn’t be shifted.

R600 TJH is feeling more loved this month, but the gritted and dirty winter roads have taken their toll.

It’s time for a lather, rinse, repeat!

Jon has bought a new £400 project car from 6,000 miles away. Has the gamble paid off? Find out on these pages over the next few months...

48 | WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

Subaru Legacy GT-B

Jaguar X-Type Estate

Will Jon’s purchase prove to have been sensible or silly? Only time will tell...

A few winter woes this month, but to be honest, not totally unexpected...

DEPENDING on how the next 12 months pan out, I’m either a genius or a moron. All the way back in October – and on a bit of a whim – I bought something totally unseen from Japan.

After much worrying that it had (a) sunk in the Pacific (b) been stolen by Somali pirates or (c) got off at Zeebrugge by accident, I’m extremely pleased to report that it’s finally sodding arrived.

It’s a 2002 Subaru Legacy GT-B Blitzen, and given that I paid the princely sum of $460 (£365 – plus shipping) for it, the first question should probably be ‘what’s wrong with it?’

Uh, nothing actually. It’s done 81,000 documented miles, has a full service history and there’s not so much as a resprayed panel in sight. The semi-automatic gearbox changes quickly and cleanly, the 2.0-litre boxer engine thrums away sweetly, and the twin turbos spool up sequentially just as they should.

I don’t even need to worry about a cam belt change, as there’s evidence of a new one less than 12,000 miles ago.

So it’s perfect then, is it? No. This is a 15-year-old Subaru for less than it costs to service a new one, so it won’t be winning a

concours prize any time soon. There are a few superficial scrapes here and there, the passenger wing mirror is flopping about like a raw chicken breast and it’s definitely lost some of its factory 260bhp. Naturally, after three months motionless on a boat, it needed a new battery too.

The most worrying fault was a loud grindywhine from the front end at low speeds.

I spent the drive back from Southampton expecting the gearbox to lunch itself, but I’ve narrowed it down to an old hose letting air into the power steering system.

Anyway, there’s plenty to be getting on with, so you’ll be seeing much of the Legacy on these pages over the next few months.

(Well, I needed something to keep me busy – telly is rubbish at this time of year…)

damage report) with the francophone second captain, we limped home. It was far from the jubilant return we had planned for our 3,500-mile trip. Chandlers Brighton BMW arrived a couple of days later and whisked the injured GS off in the back of a van, returning a quote in the region of £500. To its credit, the ferry company sent out an assessor and agreed to cover the damage within days and BMW got to work on the repair.

Model: BMW F800GS Owned by: Leo Westland Engine: 798cc parallel twin Bought for: £3,250 Mileage: 27,490 Spent this month: £500 (by the ferry company) Highlight of the month: Riding 3,500 miles to Morocco and back More on Laura’s Morocco trip in next month’s issue

Model: Subaru Legacy Blitzen Owned by: Jon Reay Engine: 2.0-litre twin-turbo Bought for: $460 + shipping Mileage: 81,000 Spent this month: £73.49 Highlight of the month: Collecting my new Scooby fresh from the docks

DRIVING the Jag in winter was going so well.

The deliciously simple four-wheel-drive system has kept its ridiculously wide Pirellis on the black stuff, and the heated seats have made sure I’m nice and warm on frosty mornings.

It seems, though, that the car’s battery has been less than fond of the long, cold nights.

A flood of press demonstrator vehicles and the occasional trip away has meant the X-Type hasn’t been driven much more than once or twice a week, and the 2.5-litre V6 has been a little slow to start on occasion – not seriously sluggish, just a tad hesitant here and there.

Then, the other day, the inevitable came. I got in, turned the key and everything looked

promising – the lights and the radio all worked fine, but there just wasn’t enough ’leccy to turn those six cold cylinders.

To be honest, it was hardly a surprise – the battery is the 11-year-old original and the clear nights have left the car very cold. Hopefully, swapping in a shiny new one should sort things out without any delay.

A brief stint with a modern four-wheel-drive Jaguar (the two are seen together above) reminded me just how much I love the old-school design, the swathe of burr walnut across the dash and the sheer joy of a proper naturally aspirated V6.

Jaguar’s modern turbocharged engines are very clever, mixing the economy of a little 1.6 with the power of a three-litre, but to my mind a four-pot has absolutely no place under the bonnet of a Jag.

Model: Jaguar X-Type Estate 2.5 AWD SE Owned by: James Fossdyke Engine: 2.5-litre V6 Bought for: £2,000 Mileage: 104,300 Spent this month: £0 (yet) Highlight of the month: Luxuriating in the big V6’s magnificence – when it starts.

AND EVERYTHING...

JAGUAR X-TYPE ESTATE

BMW 330D TOURING

MG METRO TURBO

MAZDA MX-5

PEUGEOT 205 GTI 1.9

by James Fossdyke Staff writer, @JFossdyke

by Jack Evans News editor, @jackrober

by Christian Tilbury Staff writer, @Christilbury1

by Andrew Evans Senior staff writer, @snavEwerdnA

by James Baggott Chief executive, @CarDealerEd

James’s stint with an up-to-date, four-wheel-drive Jag reminded him he’s a traditionalist and prefers the old-school design of his own car.

Checking the car’s levels recently, I found Belfort to be unexpectedly empty of fuel. I’m thinking the fuel level sensor needs replacing...

Christian has successfully coaxed the Metro back to life. On the downside, however, the MOT’s out and the washer pumps are kaput.

January’s cold snap has meant no topless action for Andrew as Pato has rarely been warm enough to thaw the frost on the mohair roof.

Have you seen the prices these are going for lately? One was up on a classified site for £32k! Is it time to cash in? I’m thinking about it...

WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

| 49

OUR KEV.

OUR MAN ON THE INSIDE SPILLS THE BEANS ON THE GARAGE BUSINESS...

Why a little ‘knowledge’ can be a very dangerous thing...

W here would we be without the internet, eh?

If anything has revolutionised our lives in the past 20 years, it’s the world wide web above all else.

Which, of course, is great. But for one thing. There is, quite possibly, too much information there. For example, if you come down with a virus of some description, a quick consultation with Dr Google will confirm your worst fears – yes, it’s fatal, and no, you don’t have a lot of time left.

I had a boil on my chin last week that wouldn’t go away, and by the time my missus had finished her research I’d been struck down by some weird tropical illness.

Of course, I lived to tell the tale, and within 48 hours the boil had reduced to a pimple and I was back at work.

So, for illnesses, Dr Google is a bad thing. But not as bad as his sidekick, the Google mechanic. There was a day, before the internet took over, where customers would trust their local garage to look after their cars. If they brought the car to us with a fault, we would get it in the workshop, have a look, and then go back to the customer with a description of the fault and a quote to mend it.

But what happens today is this. The customer comes to the garage armed with ‘knowledge’. Among that ‘knowledge’ is a clear understanding of what’s wrong with it, because ‘somebody on an internet forum about Peugeot 307s confirmed it’. They also tend to have an idea of how long it will take us to fix (normally ‘a couple of hours’).

Very occasionally, they’ve also looked up the prices of cheap knock-off parts imported from the Far East via internet auction sites, and before you know it, they reckon we can change both front suspension arms, along with balljoints, for about sixty quid.

When we point out that this isn’t strictly the case, their reaction ranges from distrustful and disappointed

to apoplectic with rage, conveniently forgetting that not only does the fee include a (very modest) salary for the technician carrying out the repairs, but also a guarantee against any defects in parts or workmanship, meaning we only buy in quality bits and we don’t rush any jobs because it’s not in our interests, or our customers’, to cut corners.

Just recently, the problem has become even more rife.

The rise of specialist groups on social media has led to an increased sharing of ‘knowledge’ among people who really should know better – along with a ready-made support network that has given the wrong type of people the confidence to go about doing jobs themselves.

Now, I’m not one to put anybody off picking up a socket set (well, apart from the inherently gormless) as every mechanic has to start somewhere, but there’s an element of natural selection here, and we saw it the other week with a Vauxhall Astra that turned up on our forecourt.

The owner, a young man who fancied himself as a bit of an ‘expert’ in various online forums, had decided to renew the front brake pads himself after the Astra failed its MOT at our garage. Having decided our quote was too much at £70 fitted, he bought some cheap pads online and ‘fitted’ them himself.

He’d booked the Astra in for a retest, and on arrival asked us if we could ‘quickly check’ the pads as they were making a funny noise. He was confident, though, that the car would pass its MOT as it now stopped on a sixpence.

Which, as it transpired, was about as much as he appeared to have paid towards its repairs. Not only was the ABS light illuminated for the retest (an instant MOT fail), but on further investigation we discovered that, although the pads were brand new, our customer had managed to fit them loosely in the calipers without spring clips or carriers.

Indeed, it was only the shape of the calipers that was holding the new pads in place – the ‘funny noise’ he could hear was them moving around against the discs.

We failed the car with a ‘DANGEROUS’ notification on the fail sheet, advising him not to drive it. Which, finally, was enough to persuade him to get the job done properly – humbly realising the error of his ways.

He paid £70 for some new pads, fitted properly (his previous new ones were already ruined) and £54.80 for a second retest. At the end of it all, he’d learnt his lesson the hard way. So, no damage done, but the worrying thing is that the cretin could quite easily have killed someone – through a Google diagnosis, no less.

”

I’m not one to put anybody off picking up a socket set (well, apart from the inherently gormless) as every mechanic has to start somewhere, but there’s an element of natural selection...

WHO IS OUR KEV? If we told you, we’d have to kill you... What we can say is he’s been around for longer than he cares to remember and has a fund of stories to tell...

50 | WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

Still not done your annual training?

It’s not too late to avoid the crowd MOT Annual Training is mandatory, and must be completed by March 31st 2017

Complete Your Annual Training with the RMI As a replacement for DVSA’s MOT 5-year Refresher Course, all MOT testers must now complete three hours of annual training and pass an online assessment by March 31st 2017.

Time is running out - if you haven’t completed yours yet, you’ll have to queue with the rest of the UK’s MOT testers who need to take theirs urgently too.

The Retail Motor Industry Federation offers a number of annual training options, which all include three hours of training or self-learning, plus access to the online assessment. They all meet the annual training requirements set by DVSA.

Not sure where to start?

Call our friendly team to book your training or get advice on 0845 305 4230 www.RMItrainingAcademy.co.uk The Retail Motor Industry Federation has been serving the motor trade for 103 years as the UK’s leading automotive trade body.

WorkShopMagazine.co.uk

| 51

FREE VHC APP FOR ALL DRAGON2000 CUSTOMERS

 sales@dragon2000.co.uk  dragon2000.co.uk  01327 222 333