Trade Associations provide us with the information and support that we need to operate effectively and lawfully; to ensure that we abide by current regulations and within guidelines to ensure consumer confidence. They demand minimum standards and provide additional benefits such as mediation in the event of any dispute.

Our foremost association is with The Retail Motor Industry Federation, (formerly the MAA,) who have been established as the leading Motor Trade Repairers' and Dealers' association for many decades.

We subscribe to the Motor Industry Code of Practice and in fact have been filmed by the BBC in our support of the code. There is currently no requirement for any repairing garage to adhere to any particular standard other than to trade within the law and this code is an attempt to ensure at least a MINIMUM standard for vehicle repairers.
Our only concern with MICP is that it is owned by the Motor Manufacturers and Agents association, the SMMT, who will not admit us into membership and are essentially opposed to independant repairers, like us, having free access to the information that we need to repair motor vehicles. Our concern is that once established as 'the authority' they would use their strong financial position to raise levels of compliance over that which is reasonable for small repairers to achieve and maintain, to the certain financial detriment of the motoring public.

We are delighted to have been appointed as an RAC Repair Centre and to comply with their rigorous conditions.

We belong to the trade suppliers' association Alliance Autocentres. This organisation was set up to help provide support to the independant repairers who are predominantly their customers through their direct contact with component manufacturers and distributors. They also provide a national network to back up repairs carried out to members' customers' vehicles in the event of any problem while 'out of area'. They have minimum standards that must be met but importantly do not dictate any particular product or method of repair is used, just that current good practice is kept and WHERE POSSIBLE, parts sourced through their networks are used.

We do not subscribe to the 'GOOD GARAGE SCHEME' (Green tick.) We have had discussions with prominent members of the management of this scheme and could not agree to their conditions. The overriding negative for us was that there was stated a requirement for (essentially) every service to include the application of fuel and oil treatments (additives) that are produced by the owners of the scheme, Forte Lubricants. We questioned whether use of these treatments (additives) might compromise any manufacturer's warranty and were told that (quote) "...there was no law preventing their use and a good case would be presented in defence of their use."
While accepting that such additives can have a place in the treatment of some conditions, we decided that it was not in the best interests of our customers that these additives (treatments) were used regardless of need or consequence and declined the invitation to join. The scheme's management claimed that we simply did not understand the scheme, this of course being a view with which we do not agree. We contacted a major fuel injection system manufacturer who informed us that they do not recommend the use of any treatment or additive with their systems.

We are happy to consider and correct any statement made here that is incorrect. The opinions are solely those of our management and are given simply to explain our position in relation to the associations and organisations within the Motor Trade and not to support or otherwise any particular product. E&OE