Motorist Wins £200 Good Garage Scheme Prize

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!

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Free Quote for Service Plan

Why not take the worry out of car servicing and MOT payments with a Good Garage Scheme Service Plan?

All you need is your vehicle registration and in just four easy steps, you can find out how much you would pay for a service and include the MOT if you need one. 

According to the government website,
you must get an MOT for your vehicle by either:

• the third anniversary of its registration
• the anniversary of its last MOT, if it’s over 3 years old

The Good Garage Scheme Service Plan is a simple, flexible way to budget for your future service and MOT requirements by spreading the cost throughout the year in interest-free monthly instalments - just like you would for any other household bill.

Good Garage Scheme Service Plans are inflation-proof and ensure the price of parts, labour and oil are fixed for up to three years.

Plans are available for interim and standard servicing with or without an MOT. All plans cover the cost of parts, labour and VAT according to the Terms and Conditions.

A rigorous Industry Standard Service will be carried out on your vehicle with a copy for your records adding to the resale value of your vehicle and your peace of mind.

To find your nearest Good Garage Scheme member offering a Service Plan, please visit the website.

Love your Car!

Miles Better says, "Love your Car"

Roses are Red, 

Violets are Blue, 

Look After Your Car 

And it will look After You!

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, the Good Garage Scheme asks you to spare some affection for something you may often overlook...your car.

It's always there to take you and your family to work, school and for the all-important weekly shop, but do you give your car the due care and attention it deserves?

Whether it’s booking that overdue service, checking the oil or making sure you make a note of the due date for your MOT or insurance renewal, there are plenty of ways to show you love your car.

The Good Garage Scheme can help. Simply visit www.GoodGarageScheme.com for motoring advice or to make an appointment with your local member garage for a Winter Check.

 

Ford Tops Good Garage Scheme Searches in 2016

With just under half a million searches on the the Good Garage Scheme website in 2016 from motorists looking for a garage they can trust, our research can reveal that most visitors were looking for someone to service or repair their Ford.

Visitors looking for a local garage to service, repair or carry out an MOT on their car can visit www.GoodGarageScheme.com to find a list of local garages and then read previous customer reviews to make an informed choice before booking in the car for work.

Motorists are able to book an appointment with ease through the website's online booking system and the garage will confirm the requested date and time.

The Top 10 cars searched on GoodGarageScheme.com in 2016 were:

1. Ford
2. Volkswagen
3. Vauxhall
4. BMW
5. Audi
6. Renault
7. Mercedes
8. Peugeot
9. Honda
10. Toyota

If you haven't found your local Good Garage Scheme member, visit www.GoodGarageScheme.com or download the free app for your next car service, repair or MOT and budget for your next service with a Good Garage Scheme Service Plan.

It's like having a friend in the know!

Good Garage Scheme Supports Tyre Safety Month

"Don't chance it, check it" is this month's message from road safety charity, TyreSafe.

The campaign has been supported by research by the charity that reveals more than one in four motorists are replacing their tyres when they were already illegal, the equivalent of over ten million illegal and dangerous tyres on Britain’s roads!

The tyre tread depth survey involved 800 tyre retailers from across the UK surveying 340,000 tyres and comes alongside findings from the DVSA that annually, 2.2 million fail their MOT due to tyre-related defects.  The Good Garage Scheme is lending its support to the campaign, encouraging motorists to get their tyres and cars professionally checked in this year's Tyre Safety Month.

Good Garage Scheme workshops across the UK can offer motorists peace of mind by providing an expert assessment of their vehicle’s tyres and overall condition. The legal minimum tread depth for cars in the UK is 1.6mm throughout a continuous band comprising the central three-quarters of breadth of the tread and around its entire outer circumference. In wet weather tyre tread grooves help to remove water from the contact patch between the tyres and the road surface, allowing the car to brake, steer and accelerate properly. Without adequate tread depth, the tyres may not be able to perform properly in wet conditions, reducing safety on the road.

Anndi Sheppard, the Good Garage Scheme’s Marketing Manager, comments: “Tyre safety and the need to raise awareness of the importance of carrying out regular tyre checks are important issues that every motorist needs to be aware of. The Good Garage Scheme is pleased to lend its support to this year’s Tyre Safety Month. Arranging a tyre and vehicle check with a Good Garage Scheme member is a simple way to put your mind at rest and ensure your car is safe and reliable as the weather begins to change this autumn.”


Visit www.GoodGarageScheme.com and enter your postcode to find your local Good Garage Scheme workshop offering a vehicle check. Many Good Garage Scheme members offer online service booking, making it even easier to arrange a check or service for your car. In addition, smartphone users can download a free iPhone or Android app to help them locate a nearby Good Garage Scheme workshop anywhere in the UK.


Watch Tyresafe's video here with a simple guide on how to check your tyres and why it's important.

More Motorists Are Booking Online

Research from the Good Garage Scheme has shown that more motorists are booking appointments online for car services, car repairs and MOTs. In fact, there has been a 14% increase in jobs booked online via the Good Garage Scheme website.

Customers can search for a Good Garage Scheme member garage offering online booking and go online at any time of the day to select a time and date for an MOT, car service or car repair.

The Good Garage Scheme member will then contact you to confirm the appointment and ask any other questions relevant to your request.

Why not visit the Good Garage Scheme website and book your next MOT, car service or Winter Check?

Simply click here to find your nearest Good Garage Scheme member garage.

Edgware driver wins Good Garage Scheme Feedback Prize

Muriel Rapport is presented with £200 at S&B Motors.

Lucky motorist Muriel Rapport has won £200 towards the cost of her recent car service at Good Garage Scheme member, S&B Motors in Edgware in a recent Feedback Prize Draw.

Muriel’s feedback card was picked at random from thousands of customer satisfaction surveys submitted by the public throughout the UK earlier this year.

Good Garage Scheme customers are encouraged to provide feedback to help drivers visiting www.GoodGarageScheme.com make an informed choice when selecting a local workshop to service or repair their car.

The Edgware-based driver awarded S&B Motors with a maximum five-star rating for the service and MOT carried out on her car. The garage has been a member since 2008 and enjoys an overall satisfaction rating of five stars from over 98% of customers, with some 99.7% of customers saying they would recommend the garage and visit again.

Muriel Rapport commented: “S&B Motors did an excellent job of servicing and carrying out an MOT on my car, undertaking the work quickly and efficiently. Based on my experience, I would be pleased to recommend S&B Motors to other drivers seeking a trustworthy and reliable workshop to look after their car.”

Sean Regan of S&B Motors, added: “We are delighted that one of our valued customers has won the Good Garage Scheme’s feedback prize, and were just as pleased to have received such a glowing review. This positive feedback shows the importance we place on providing our customers with an excellent service, as well as the hard work and dedication of our team that makes this happen.”

Visit www.GoodGarageScheme.com and enter your postcode to find your local Good Garage Scheme member and view customer feedback. The next feedback prize winner will be drawn before Christmas. If you are having your car serviced or repaired, fill in a feedback for your chance to win back the cost of your next one.

Save Money on Your Next MOT

According to advice from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agengy (DVSA), around 40% of cars fail the MOT test at the first attempt.

• 30% of all faults relate to lighting and signalling
• 10% of all faults relate to tyres
• 8.5% of all faults relate to ‘Driver’s view of the road’

This means extra cost for repairs to improve the standard and possibly an extra cost for the re-test.

How can you save money on your next MOT?

By checking the following items before you take the car in for your test.

1. Are your lights working? Ask a friend or family member to come out to the car and help you check.
2. Are your tyres in good condition and is the pressure correct?
3. Are your mirrors, wipers and washers in good working order?

Remember - an MOT test is NOT a service

Don't be fooled into thinking that an MOT test means that your car has been serviced. The MOT is an assessment of some of the most important items on your vehicle checking that it meets legal standards.

It is not the same as having a service and it does not check the general mechanical condition of your car.

Find your nearest Good Garage Scheme member to carry our your next service.

Good Garage Scheme Celebrates 10 Years in 2016

The Good Garage Scheme starts off 2016 with celebrations of its 10th year anniversary.

We are so proud of our members and what we have achieved together...

• Over 754,000 customer feedbacks
• Over 3500 jobs booked online in 2015
• Over 1.5 million web page views in 2015
• National TV advertising on SKY, DAVE and ITV
• Over 400 members celebrating 10 year membership
• Top App as voted by the Sunday Times

New for 2016 are the Good Garage Scheme Service Plans, a budgeting tool for motorists to spread the cost of car servicing and MOT payments.

Have a look online for more information.

Happy 10th Birthday Good Garage Scheme - 10 years of having a friend in the know!

New budgeting solution takes the headache out of car servicing

Having a safe, reliable and economical family car has now become essential for almost every household, be it for the school run, getting to work or the weekly grocery shop.

However, keeping a car well maintained can also be costly, especially at a time when incomes are under pressure. With this in mind, the Good Garage Scheme  has introduced a Good Garage Scheme Service Plan to provide motorists with a simple and flexible means of budgeting servicing and MOT costs throughout the year through interest-free monthly instalments.

Good Garage Scheme Service Plans are inflation-proof and ensure that the price of parts, labour and oil is fixed for up to three years. The new plans are available to suit each driver’s needs with a choice of plans for interim and standard servicing with or without an MOT and are inclusive of parts, labour and VAT according to clearly defined terms and conditions.

Setting up a plan is easy: Motorists just need to visit www.GoodGarageScheme.com and choose the member garage and plan that best suits their requirements. Then, when the time comes to book a service, it can be arranged at a participating Good Garage Scheme member workshop with the peace of mind that there will be no unexpected bills to pay once the servicing is complete.

Both new and used vehicles can be serviced as part of the plan and depending on the car’s engine size, can be arranged for one, two or three years. The plan can also be easily transferred and any costs easily adjusted if a driver changes their car. No membership card is required and motorists can view their plan details and balance securely online, as well as cancel their plan at any time.

Why not spread the cost of your car servicing and MOT payments just as you would with other household bills?

Visit GoodGarageScheme.com.

 It's like having a friend in the know.

Good Garage Scheme's Miles Better on DAVE TV

The Good Garage Scheme's television advert will appear on DAVE TV from Monday, 9th November alongside popular programmes such as Mock the Week, Top Gear and Blackadder.

The national television campaign aims to increase awareness of the Good Garage Scheme and how easy it is to find a local garage to trust for car servicing, car repair or MOTs.

The Good Garage Scheme's animated TV star, Miles Better, will appear once again to help spread the message about the Good Garage Scheme...

"It's like having a friend in the know!"

To view the ad, simply visit the website.

Concerns on MOT Test Change Proposals

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The Good Garage Scheme is concerned about the Government’s proposal to extend the time period before a newly-registered car receives its first MOT test from three years to four.

The Good Garage Scheme, along with industry and motoring bodies including the IMI and IAM, are all working hard to educate motorists about the importance of regular car servicing.

The MOT is just as important for three year old cars as it is for older vehicles. Some 20% of cars fail their first MOT when they reach the three year stage. Extending it to four years will increase the number of cars with issues on the road.

The MOT is not a cost to the motorist if it provides them with safe motoring. If problems go undetected, it could cost financially more at a later stage, or could even result in road safety issues, putting motorists and their families at risk.

Visit www.GoodGarageScheme.com and enter your postcode to find your local Good Garage Scheme workshop to carry out your next MOT test.

Get Ready for Your MOT Test

An MOT test is required by law to check that a vehicle is roadworthy and safe for the environment. It is due once your car is three years old and then annually.

According to the Drivers and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) the top three items to fail an MOT are:

1. Headlight Aim

2. Tyre Tread Depth

3. Windscreen wipers

Headlight aim might have been off if you replaced a headlight since your last MOT and it is higher or lower than the other. Check your lights before your test. All lights will be tested so ask a friend or neighbour to help you check your lights are working and replace any if possible beforehand.

Tyre tread depth is easy to check with a 20p coin. If you can see the outer rim of the coin when you insert into the tyre grooves, they may need changing. Visit any Good Garage Scheme member garage to check if you are unsure.

Windscreen wipers do a tremendous amount of work and may need changing. This is something you can easily check and replace should they look worn. You can probably tell if they are not clearing the screen as smoothly as possible in bad weather but best to run your hand along to edge to check for cracks or wear.

Other items you can check before your test are seat belts, fluids in the car and bodywork.

Remember, an MOT is not a service. If you are looking to buy a car that has recently passed an MOT, ensure you also check when it was last serviced.

For more information about MOTs visit www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/the-mot-test

Will Your Car Pass its Next MoT?

The MoT test checks that your vehicle meets road safety and environmental standards.  An MoT is required when a car is three years old (four years in Northern Ireland) and then annually after that.

As we all know the MoT test fee itself is not the most worrying cost but rather the repairs required in order for your vehicle to pass the test.

Research by What Car? shows that nearly 4% of the 285,236 MoT test failures recorded between August 2012 and August 2013 were on cars having their first test and for items that could have been easily avoided.

According to their research the Top 5 reasons for MoT test failures include:

1 Screenwash not topped up
2 Car dirty or full of clutter
3 Reg plate anomaly (incorrect font/spacing, dirty, missing) - If you have a personalised plate, make sure it adheres to DVLA rules
4 Stickers on windscreen blocking driver’s view - Keep any windscreen furniture, including tax disc and parking permits, strictly outside the area of the wipers’ sweep
5 Warning light on dash - Warning lights have been part of the MoT test since 2012 and relate to anything from brakes to tyre pressures and airbag; if you see one, get it checked out

What Car? has launched a handy new online tool designed to help drivers boost their car’s chances of passing its first MoT test. It offers motorists advice on how to get their car through the test and ranks cars by make and model on their likelihood of passing first time. Find your vehicle here.

To find a local trustworthy garage to carry out your next MOT test, visit the Good Garage Scheme's website and enter your postcode or town name.

Save Money On Your MOT

The MOT test was originally called the "Ministry Of Transport test", it is now simply called an MOT. All MOT Testing Stations are regulated by the newly named Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which replaces both the Driving Standards Agency and VOSA. According to the government-run DVSA, you must keep any vehicles driven on the road in a roadworthy condition and records are updated on a database. The MOT test checks that your vehicle meets road safety and environmental standards.  An MOT is required when a car is three years old (four years in Northern Ireland) and then annually after that.

As we all know the MOT test fee itself is not the most worrying cost but rather the repairs required  in order for your vehicle to pass the test.

A vehicle that does not have a valid MOT test certificate has its registration details automatically passed on to the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) of police vehicles. Certain static road-side cameras use ANPR too. An invalid MOT may also be an excuse for an insurance company to not honour a claim.

Here are some simple tips from the Good Garage Scheme to help keep the costs down:

Service your car regularly
An MOT test is NOT the same as having your vehicle serviced and does NOT check its general mechanical condition.The best way to avoid costly repair bills at MOT test time is to keep your vehicle in tip-top condition with regular checks and servicing.

Offers
Look for garages that offer discounts on servicing when MOTs are booked at the same time.

Check the lights
One in five vehicles fail MOTs due to an inoperative light bulb. Walk around to check your car's indicators and headlights, front and back. Ask for help from a friend or neighbour with checking your reversing light.

Be an early bird
Have an MOT test in the month before the current certificate ends. The new certificate will expire exactly a year from the existing one's end date (the earliest date you can do this is printed on your test certificate) so that you benefit. If you have the MOT test more than a month before the MOT's due date,  it will expire exactly a year later, meaning you lose out.

For more information about MOTs visit the Good Garage Scheme website.

MOT Repairs Costing UK Motorists Billions

According to recent research from Allianz Your Cover Insurance, two in five cars fail their MOT test every year in the UK. Motorists are then reported to pay more than £2 billion in repairs and the cost of a second MOT to get their vehicle back on the road.

Here are the Top 5 reasons vehicles didn’t pass their MOT according to Allianz Your Cover's research:

• Damage to tyres (28%)
• Problems with the exhaust (17%)
• Windscreen wiper blades need replacing (14%)
• Defective headlights (12%) 
• Brake lights not working (10%)

Not only do these items cost motorists money in MOT bills and repairs, but damaged tyres and dysfunctioning brake lights are a real danger to all motorists. These are items that car owners should regularly check, but most of us lead busy lives and do not find the time.

Your local Good Garage Scheme member would be happy to check your tyres, lights, windscreen wipers and exhaust and advise if any need replacing. Simply visit www.GoodGarageScheme.com and find a local trustworthy garage. The Good Garage Scheme website has over 600,000 customer reviews so that you can read feedback from previous customers before you visit.

It's like having a friend in the know!

Good Garage Scheme to Appear on SKY TV

With the catchphrase ‘It’s like having a friend in the know’, the latest Good Garage Scheme advertising campaign will run on SKY television from 13th to 24th of May. The advertisement will appear over 300 times during the two week period reaching millions of viewers.

The new campaign follows previous successful campaigns on ITV 1, ITV 2 and DAVE, reminding motorists how easy it is to find a garage they can trust for their next service, repair or MOT. After all, a car is probably the second most expensive item owned by a consumer after the home. Why not shop around for someone you can trust to look after it?

Simply add your postcode or town name to www.GoodGarageScheme.com to find a garage near you. You can then view feedback from previous customers to help you make the final decision. With over half a million feedbacks online and thousands of garages across the UK, there is sure to be a garage to suit your needs.

Anndi Sheppard, Marketing Manager of the Good Garage Scheme, said: “Our previous  advertising campaigns have been major successes in both raising awareness of the Good Garage Scheme and generating business for members. We are confident our latest campaign will help us build on that success in reaching the widest possible audience.”

The Good Garage Scheme was launched in 2006 and is now widely accepted as a mark of quality for independent garages across the UK. Good Garage Scheme garages are recognised as providing exceptional service to their customers based on a rigorously monitored mandatory code of practice. 

Why not download the Good Garage Scheme's free app for the next time you need a service, repair or MOT? It's like having a friend in the know.