Tuesday 28 November 2017

Motorist Wins £200 Good Garage Scheme Prize

Presentation photo with Good Garage Scheme regional manager and winner at Saunders Abbott
Good Garage Scheme winners find it hard to believe that they have won money back on a car service or repair for simply filling in a feedback card, but that's exactly what happened to Mr Fitzsimons recently at Saunders Abbott garage at Sidcup, Kent.

Mr Fitzsimons' feedback was chosen from over 9000 entries in the Good Garage Scheme's national prize draw.

He awarded the garage with five stars for the service received and commented:
"Your garage fixed a reoccurring fault on our previous Fabia. Other local Skoda agents where not even able to diagnose a problem and twice charge me £27.00 to report "no fault found". I will not use them again as they could not fix a problem I had described in detail. You fixed it easily first time!"

The Good Garage Scheme has awarded three lucky motorists with this prize so far this year with one more prize draw before Christmas.

The next time you need a service, repair or MOT,  visit www.GoodGarageScheme.com and read the feedback from previous customers.

It's like having a friend in the know!








Monday 20 November 2017

Speed Down to Save Lives


Speed Down Save Lives, Brake, Road Safety Week 2017
Road Safety Week is the UK's biggest road safety event, coordinated annually by Brake, the road safety charity.

Dept of Transport infographi on road casualties, 2016, fatalities, Great BritainAccording to Brake, speeding is still a major problem in the UK causing needless crashes, untold suffering and life-changing accidents.

Breaking the speed limit or travelling too fast for conditions is recorded by police at crash scenes as a contributory factor in one in four (23%) fatal crashes in Great Britain and a recent survey by
Brake found that four in 10 (40%) UK drivers admitted they sometimes drive at 30mph in 20mph zones.

We all lead busy lives and are often in a rush, but taking extra care while driving and slowing down will lead to safer roads and fewer accidents.

The Good Garage Scheme joins with Brake once again to encourage all motorists to Speed Down Save Lives. Hopefully the good habits we put in practice this week will remind us to drive with care throughout the year.
red Brake charity logo
For more information about Brake, please visit their website.












Thursday 9 November 2017

21st Century Winter Car Advice from IAM

car, road, autumn, tree, leaves, dazzling sun
Photo courtesy of IAM Roadsmart
Modern cars need a different kind of attention to make sure they are ready for safe winter motoring. The Good Garage Scheme shares some sound advice from Tim Shallcross, IAM RoadSmart head of technical policy.
Washers
Yes, fill the washer reservoir with washer fluid and check the spray nozzles are clear, but don’t forget the headlamp washers. 
If your car has Xenon lights (also called HID), there will be high pressure washers, usually under a flap in the front bumper. These must be working, otherwise you risk dazzling other motorists when the lens gets dirty. 
To check them turn on the headlamps, operate the windscreen washers and get a friend to watch the lights or look for the spray which you’ll see over the front of the bonnet.

Light level switch
Talking of dazzling other drivers, if you don’t have Xenon lamps, you will probably have a headlamp level switch, usually numbered 0 to 4. 
You’re supposed to turn the switch according to how the car is loaded. Many of the complaints about dazzling headlights are because people forget to adjust the level. 0 is usually just the driver and no luggage, 4 is for a full load, but check the handbook for your car.
Leaves 
Leaves never used to hurt a car but they can now! Lift the bonnet, look in the engine bay around the area of the bonnet hinges. You’ll see a chamber on each side that collects water as it drains from the windscreen. These chambers have drain holes in the bottom to keep them dry, but leaves can block the drains. 
If water stays in the chambers, it can leak into the car, often soaking sensitive electronic bits, leading to very expensive repairs. Get any leaves or other debris out of the chambers and if water is present, root around until you find the drain holes and unblock them.
Steamy windows Get some soapy water and kitchen roll or a clean microfibre cloth and clean the insides  of all the windows. Getting them squeaky clean will dramatically reduce the glare from the low autumn sun on morning and evening drives and it will make the windows much less likely to mist up in damp weather. It also means you’ll waste less fuel because you won’t need to turn on heated windows and air conditioning in a bid to clear them.
Cabin air filter Today’s cars have a filter for the air entering the car through the heater. Often called the pollen filter, it can often get overlooked at a service and if it’s full of dirt, your heater will be much less efficient. 
Worse still, if it’s wet – which can happen if you don’t clear those leaves out of the chambers– your windows will constantly mist up as the heater pumps damp air into them. 
Changing the filter is usually a simple DIY job - look in the owner’s handbook – and the filters are quite cheap and widely available online.
If you are unsure about maintaining any of the above, don't risk it and hope for the best. Visit your nearest Good Garage Scheme member for a some help and advice.
  To find out more about IAM RoadSmart products and services visit the new website www.iamroadsmart.com
IAM Roadsmart logo