The Good Garage Scheme continues their look at rules for driving abroad.

A large number of British families, during their summer holiday, will drive while abroad, hoping to find unspoilt beaches or plan excursions “off the beaten track” with their families without the need for a coach full of other tourists and a guide.

 

Many choose car hire once reaching their destination. One of its main advantages is not having to make mandatory additions to your own vehicle (such as safety measures, additional vehicle documentation/stickers) to comply with other countries’ regulations.

It is important to check the local rules as there are many laws which differ in each country. These include:

•    Speed limits
•    Which side of the road is used
•    Age restrictions on who can hire a car
•    Driver to have had a license for at least a year
•    Zero-tolerance regarding drink-driving
•    International Drivers Permit (IDP) required

Some car hire procedures can also differ from those in the UK. It’s advisable to use a reputable company for your car hire as sometimes it’s worth paying that bit more and getting a better overall deal for your money.

Also, be aware of any extra charges added on that are very common. These can include the following:

•    fuel for the vehicle
•    out of hours services
•    one-way rentals (e.g. travelling to or from an airport by hire car)

Some countries require possession of an International Drivers Permit (IDP) in addition to your own UK driving license. These are only valid for one year and need to be obtained at least three months prior to travel.

With school holidays in full swing, the Good Garage Scheme looks at rules for driving your own car abroad.

A large number of British families will drive while abroad during their summer holiday, hoping to explore some unspoilt beaches or plan excursions with their families without the need for a coach full of other tourists and a guide.

Some choose to drive their own car by taking a ferry. Others will hire a car once reaching their destination. This raises issues that many motorists won’t consider until it’s too late.

A few simple checks on your vehicle can make all the difference.

Top Five Essential Vehicle Checks

•    Oil & Fluids – check, top up and change oil and coolant if needed to ensure smooth running and prevent overheating. Power steering fluid and brake fluid are other particular areas to get checked.
•    Tyres –Ensure correct pressure to cope with increased weight of luggage and passengers.
•    Rubber components –check and see if items like wiper blades need replacing.
•    Brakes – listen for excessive noises and have the discs and pads checked for wear.
•    Air Conditioning – check for bad smells in the air conditioning ducts which can cause flu-like symptoms.

There are aspects of driving overseas that need to be prepared for:

•    Roads – the most basic difference in most countries is their motorists drive on the opposite side of the roads to the UK.

•    Communication – it’s wise to ensure you have a good phrase book with you to ask directions or find a local garage in case of getting lost or your car breaking down

•    Speed Limits – each country differs. Most display limits in kilometres per hour. Therefore signs showing “80” as the maximum speed will mean “50” in terms of miles per hour (80 kmh = 50 mph).

•    Mobile phones – if used for directions and/or route planning please be aware of the costs of using abroad which can be significantly higher.

Further advice can be found at the websites of the RAC and the Foreign & Commonwealth office.

Are we nearly there yet? How do you keep kids entertained on long road journeys? The Good Garage Scheme provides some tips.

August normally sees thousands of families take to Britain’s roads to journey to the seaside with their children for their summer holiday. For some, this can take families several hours which any parent knows can provide challenges when it comes to keeping their kids entertained.

Ideas exercised by parents in years past include various in-car games like I Spy or various alphabet-based games, magazines, puzzle or colouring books or children’s card games like Snap or Old Maid.

With the developments in technology, the options have become ever more sophisticated. Nowadays many choices of gadget exist to ease the boredom. Portable DVD players, iPods and console computer games can be really useful at breaking the monotony of road travel for younger passengers.

Even with all these options, journey times can still be tedious for children. So what else can you do?

One option is to stop off at a recreational area like a park to allow them to run around for a while to help them release some pent-up energy. Also, it’s a good idea to make sure the kids are comfortable by making sure they have enough room and are not cramped by luggage.

What ideas have worked for you and your children?

Good Garage Scheme raising standards through customer-focused training

There is an air of positivity throughout the Good Garage Scheme at the moment, as members are being constructively urged to develop their customer focus.

New training seminars specifically developed for Good Garage Scheme members are another addition to the list of proactive support and development that drives our members to business success and raises the standards throughout the industry as a whole.

Our ongoing ‘mystery shop’ initiative has opened the door to further areas of improvement to maintain the excellent standards our members adhere to.

In July we saw the launch of the first one–day Customer Focus seminar where members joined to experience training by an Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) Accredited Training Organisation. The feedback from members was great, as they now have some direct training and support from a reliable and educated source.

Sid Patel of Cavalier Cars in Loughton, Essex said: “Very interesting course! We need more of these courses.”

Included in the training was telephone handling skills and delegates were presented with a certificate of completion for display in their reception areas.

The Good Garage Scheme is positively working with its members in a hands-on approach to monitor the direction of all the businesses and guide them to even more success.  By investing in customer-focused training for our members, we will provide them with tools to help them compete in today’s business environment with the specific aim of developing new leads and retaining more business.

Good Garage Scheme iPhone app added to “The App List” created by The Sunday Times.

This week, The Sunday Times chose to include the Good Garage Scheme iPhone app in its definitive, easy-to-use guide to 500 of the best apps worldwide, entitled "The App List”. 

 This is in addition to being recognised in the InGear supplement to The Sunday Times on 10th July as a ‘Money Saving App for Motorists.’ 

 The App List guide enables users to search by app category, price and platform and is compiled by a team of both regular Sunday Times app reviewers and experts in the relevant fields. 

 Online access to “The App List” can be found on the website of The Sunday Times at:  http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/public/applist/article540389.ece.

To gain online access to the list you need to subscribe at a cost of £1 for the first thirty days and this includes access to the websites of both The Sunday Times and The Times.

 The free Good Garage Scheme iPhone app is a useful tool for motorists that incur car problems while out and about with their vehicle and can be accessed here: http://www.goodgaragescheme.co.uk/phone_app.

It enables the user to access either a map or a list of the nearest Good Garage Scheme members plus contact details, feedback and star ratings for each of those garages shown. Car care tips such as how to check the oil are also available within the app.

Apprentice scheme launched by the Good Garage Scheme

While Lord Sugar has made the headlines following his successful hiring of a new apprentice, the UK-wide Good Garage Scheme has launched its own search for apprentices to work with garages in the independent motor repairs industry.

The Good Garage Scheme, in conjunction with leading automotive apprentice and automotive customer services trainer Skillnet, has developed an initiative to find new apprentice technicians for its membership of independent garages and workshops. They can register their interest via its member benefits website www.ggsbenefits.co.uk which immediately puts them in contact with Skillnet to ensure apprentices are found as quickly as possible.

With fierce competition among 16-year-olds to gain an apprenticeship, garages are being urged to act quickly to recruit the best. Skillnet handles everything from recruitment to delivery of apprentices and all garages have to do is pay their wages as apprenticeships are fully funded by the government for 16 to 18-year-olds.

Garages can also benefit from significant returns on their investment with a recent report suggesting that on average apprentices can typically earn a business six times the amount invested in them. David Moran, Business Development Director of Skillnet Limited said: 'We are delighted to be working with the Good Garage Scheme in developing the talented technicians of the future and urge employers to give young people the same opportunity they had when they first entered the industry.'

Anndi Sheppard, marketing manager at the Good Garage Scheme, said: 'One of the key aims of the Good Garage Scheme is to make sure our members are well trained and we want to encourage them to gain Automotive Technician Accreditation (ATA). There’s currently no legal requirement for someone to work on your car but we believe it’s important for people working on cars to be as qualified as possible.'

Good Garage Scheme Hit the Beach to raise funds for BEN.

The Good Garage Scheme has today been in summery mood by holding an office party with a beach theme.

With the aim of raising money for a good cause, the automotive charity BEN, the team have been donning a variety of clothing including Hawaiian shirts, leis, sunglasses and shorts and even placing beach towels on their chairs, to show their support for this charity.

This week (from 18th – 24th July) has seen the BEN charity’s 106th birthday and is the UK’s only charity that provides help to those who work or have worked in the automotive and related industries, as well as their dependants. This includes their range of care centres nationwide to care for older members of communities.

Good Garage Scheme members have been encouraged to take part and win a hamper full of goodies. For more details of the competition, please see here. The entry fee for these garages is £1 which is payable directly to BEN at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/goodgaragescheme.

Please e-mail all photo entries to marketing@goodgaragescheme.co.uk. All photograph entries received for the competition will be posted on the Good Garage Scheme facebook page. The winner will be chosen from all entries received by 31st July 2011.

More information about the BEN charity can be found here.