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COVID-19 Update 05-11-2020

The government have reaffirmed that car repair garages are essential services which can remain open during the second lockdown. I have therefore decided to keep the workshop open throughout this month-long lockdown.

The workshop will be closed for one week between Monday 7th December and Friday 11th December 2020.

The workshop remains closed to visitors. Unless you are dropping a car off for a prearranged appointment, collecting a car after work is completed or delivering parts then please do not visit the workshop.

Our Safe Workshop Practice Charter

  • We try to minimise contact with customers and suppliers.
    • The workshop is closed to visitors and all work is carried out by appointment only.
    • Initial customer contact is by telephone, email or social media messaging only.
    • Drop-off and pick-up times will be staggered to ensure there is only one customer present at the workshop at any time.
    • We are not providing a while-you-wait service and there will be no waiting at or in the vicinity of the workshop.
  • We keep customers safe by using new disposable seat covers, floor mats and gloves for every job.
  • We will turn off vehicle Air Con/Climate Control to avoid spreading germs.
  • We wipe down all vehicle contact points as we work with Smartsan-V (passes BS EN1276:1997 & BS EN 1650:1998 disinfection standards), a non-staining broad spectrum sanitiser that is effective against a wide range of pathogenic virus, bacteria, yeast and fungi. A sanitation checklist will be left in all vehicles after the final treatment.
  • Items in the workshop which come into contact with customers such as the card machine will be sanitised after each use with Smartsan-V.
  • Our workshop follows all current government social distancing guidelines.
    • New signage and barriers have been installed at the workshop complying with the government’s latest ‘COVID-19 Secure‘ guidelines.
    • A clear plastic cough/sneeze guard is now installed at the reception counter.
    • Alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel (≥70% alcohol content, passes BS EN 1276 & BS EN 1500 disinfection standards) is available on the reception counter. I would ask all visitors to use it on arrival at reception and before they leave.
  • We respect high risk customers by maintaining an external drop-off and collection point.
    • When necessary and for high-risk customers we will increase our level of personal protective equipment (PPE) to include a 3M FFP3 respirator and disposable nitrile examination gloves.
  • We will offer you value-added services; e.g. Air Con disinfection, cabin filter replacement (HEPA) etc. for your added protection.
  • To keep your vehicle legally roadworthy we will carry out a free visual safety check of the following:
    • Brake Discs
    • Brake Pads
    • Horn
    • Lights
    • Wipers & Washers
    • Tyres
    • MOT Due Date
  • We will notify you of any defects found during this check.
  • We will ensure all contact points and keys are wiped down before collection.

New Equipment

Snap-on APOLLO-D8 Scan Tool

*** New Equipment Update ***

Today we took delivery of our latest diagnostic hardware, the Snap-on APOLLO-D8 full-function scan tool.

Snap-on APOLLO-D8 Full-Function Scan Tool

The APOLLO-D8 is equipped with the latest Ethernet for diagnostics or “DoIP” technology, required for 2018 and newer Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo vehicles with the expectation that many other vehicle manufacturers will deploy this communication standard in the near future.

The APOLLO-D8 is Secure Vehicle Gateway ready. Automobile manufacturers are developing solutions to protect their vehicles’ networks from unauthorised access, including potential cyber-attacks. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) recently implemented a secure gateway module that was introduced on a selection of their 2018 and newer model vehicles. For those vehicles with the secure gateway module, access to certain diagnostic functions requires registration and authentication through an approved device for all aftermarket scan tools.

It also offers the extra assurances of SureTrack™ expert information, “Smart Data”, and quick access to functional tests and resets – within a highly intuitive user interface that’s simple to learn and operate.

APOLLO-D8 Features

  • “Smart Data” automatically configures the display to show vehicle data parameters (PIDs) relevant to the fault code. Non-related parameters are filtered out to save you time
  • Highlights vehicle data that is out of expected range
  • Functional tests to verify component operation; reset procedures to complete the repair after component replacement. Only those that pertain to that fault code are shown
  • Scan for vehicle fault codes/diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs)
  • SureTrack common replaced parts and real fixes for the specific vehicle and DTC
  • Large 8in display for better readability and greater ease of use
  • Super-fast boot up: ready to use in just 5 seconds
  • Detailed trouble code definitions, live data, functional tests, relearns, and adaptations
  • One-Touch Full Vehicle Code Scan & Clear quickly checks and clears codes for all available modules on the vehicle
  • Custom data lists, freeze-frame, PID sorting, pause, zoom, PID trigger, snapshot, and cursor functions
  • Ability to record all available live data parameters and graph any four on screen at once
  • Embedded SMX® Operating System dedicated to diagnostic functions for fast, reliable operation
MOT Testing

DVSA issues clarification on MOT exemptions — Garagewire

Vehicles exempt from MOTs which are presented for testing and fail to achieve a pass must no longer be driven on public roads, a DVSA notification has confirmed.

From today (27 May 2020) test certificates will remind drivers that if a vehicle fails its MOT, the six-month MOT exemption is no longer valid.

The test expiry date, which will be updated the following day, will revert to the fail date.

Read more:
DVSA issues clarification on MOT exemptions — Garagewire

New Equipment

CEM DT-5500 Digital Insulation Tester

** New Equipment Update **

Our new CEM DT-5500 Digital Insulation Tester arrived in the post this morning.

It’s designed to test the insulation of electrical equipment by introducing a high voltage, low current signal whilst monitoring the equipment’s ability to remain electrically insulated from that signal. This is invaluable for testing our workshop equipment to ensure it remains safe to use and the first thing I tested this morning using the DT-5500 was one of the workshop’s portable battery chargers which has a metal case and is often used outside in the car park. I’m pleased to say it passed with flying colours!

Its main use in the workshop however will be for testing electronically the insulation and the condition of the Piezo stones in both diesel and petrol engine fuel injectors.

Quite often an electrical leak into the body of the injector is an early sign of injector failure so being able to detect this quickly and easily can save many hours of work trying to detect intermittent drivability faults.

The following video shows the DT-5500 in use by ASNU Corporation Europe Ltd when bench testing a gasoline direct injection piezo injector, the type fitted to BMW cars.

Other News

Deodorising and Sanitising by CarSmart

Our friends at local bodyshop CarSmart are now offering a vehicle deodorising and sanitising service using their new fogger machine.

This technique is effective against a wide range of pathogens and remains effective for up to 30 days.

For further details contact CarSmart directly on 01482 223998.

Our Safe Workshop Practice Charter

  • We try to minimise contact with customers and suppliers.
    • The workshop is closed to visitors and all work is carried out by appointment only.
    • Initial customer contact is by telephone, email or social media messaging only.
    • Drop-off and pick-up times will be staggered to ensure there is only one customer present at the workshop at any time.
    • We are not providing a while-you-wait service and there will be no waiting at or in the vicinity of the workshop.
  • We keep customers safe by using new disposable seat covers, floor mats and gloves for every job.
  • We will turn off vehicle Air Con/Climate Control to avoid spreading germs.
  • We wipe down all vehicle contact points as we work with Smartsan-V (passes BS EN1276:1997 & BS EN 1650:1998 disinfection standards), a non-staining broad spectrum sanitiser that is effective against a wide range of pathogenic virus, bacteria, yeast and fungi. A sanitation checklist will be left in all vehicles after the final treatment.
  • Items in the workshop which come into contact with customers such as the card machine will be sanitised after each use with Smartsan-V.
  • Our workshop follows all current government social distancing guidelines.
    • New signage and barriers have been installed at the workshop complying with the government’s latest ‘COVID-19 Secure‘ guidelines.
    • A clear plastic cough/sneeze guard is now installed at the reception counter.
    • Alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel (≥70% alcohol content, passes BS EN 1276 & BS EN 1500 disinfection standards) is available on the reception counter. I would ask all visitors to use it on arrival at reception and before they leave.
  • We respect high risk customers by maintaining an external drop-off and collection point.
    • When necessary and for high-risk customers we will increase our level of personal protective equipment (PPE) to include a 3M FFP3 respirator and disposable nitrile examination gloves.
  • We will offer you value-added services; e.g. Air Con disinfection, cabin filter replacement (HEPA) etc. for your added protection.
  • To keep your vehicle legally roadworthy we will carry out a free visual safety check of the following:
    • Brake Discs
    • Brake Pads
    • Horn
    • Lights
    • Wipers & Washers
    • Tyres
    • MOT Due Date
  • We will notify you of any defects found during this check.
  • We will ensure all contact points and keys are wiped down before collection.

MOT Testing

Coronavirus MOT Updates

Car, van and motorcycle MOT expiry dates will be extended by 6 months if it’s due on or after 30 March 2020 – but you must keep your vehicle safe to drive.

  1. Eligibility
  2. First MOT Due
  3. How the 6-month Extension Works
  4. If you take your vehicle for its MOT and it fails

The government announced back in March that MOTs due to expire after the 30th March 2020 will be extended by six months. Since then there has been little demand from the public for MOT tests and as a result most MOT Stations and repair workshops have temporarily closed.

I have been in constant contact with the MOT Station I use for my customer’s MOT tests and I’m now pleased to announce that they have reopened but with reduce staffing and reduced operating hours. This means I can now take bookings for MOT tests when they fall due.

New guidance issued by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency on May 27th 2020 clarifies the rules regarding vehicles which fail the MOT test. This will have implications for my customers as their vehicle will be unusable until a repair and retest have been carried out.

I will keep this page updated with any changes or new information as an when it released.

A brief outline of these changes is detailed below. You can read the full guidance here.

1. Eligibility

Your MOT certificate will be extended by 6 months if it was due to expire on or after 30 March 2020 and your vehicle is a:

2. First MOT due

The extension also applies to these types of vehicles that are due their first MOT test on or after 30 March 2020.

3. How the 6-month extension works

Your vehicle’s MOT expiry date will be automatically extended by 6 months if it’s eligible. This will be done about 7 days before it’s due to expire.

This means that:

  • your vehicle will still have a valid MOT certificate for an extra 6 months
  • you can still tax your vehicle – you might need to wait to do this until later in the month if both your MOT and vehicle tax run out this month
  • your insurance will still be valid
  • your vehicle’s record will be updated so the police can see you have a valid MOT

You will not get a new paper MOT certificate with the new expiry date on it.

You must still keep your vehicle safe to drive.

Example

Your vehicle’s MOT was due to expire on 3 May 2020.

This will automatically be extended to 3 November 2020. You will need to get your MOT by this date.

4. If you take your vehicle for its MOT and it fails

Your MOT extension will no longer apply if you take your vehicle for its MOT and it fails.

Your vehicle will need to be fixed and pass its MOT before you can use it again.

Example

Your vehicle’s MOT was originally due to expire on 3 May 2020, but has been extended to 3 November 2020.

You take your vehicle for its MOT in August and it fails. You must stop using the vehicle until it’s fixed and passes another MOT test.

check mot expiry date
Gov.uk mot guidance

Our Safe Workshop Practice Charter

  • We try to minimise contact with customers and suppliers.
    • The workshop is closed to visitors and all work is carried out by appointment only.
    • Initial customer contact is by telephone, email or social media messaging only.
    • Drop-off and pick-up times will be staggered to ensure there is only one customer present at the workshop at any time.
    • We are not providing a while-you-wait service and there will be no waiting at or in the vicinity of the workshop.
  • We keep customers safe by using new disposable seat covers, floor mats and gloves for every job.
  • We will turn off vehicle Air Con/Climate Control to avoid spreading germs.
  • We wipe down all vehicle contact points as we work with Smartsan-V (passes BS EN1276:1997 & BS EN 1650:1998 disinfection standards), a non-staining broad spectrum sanitiser that is effective against a wide range of pathogenic virus, bacteria, yeast and fungi. A sanitation checklist will be left in all vehicles after the final treatment.
  • Items in the workshop which come into contact with customers such as the card machine will be sanitised after each use with Smartsan-V.
  • Our workshop follows all current government social distancing guidelines.
    • New signage and barriers have been installed at the workshop complying with the government’s latest ‘COVID-19 Secure‘ guidelines.
    • A clear plastic cough/sneeze guard is now installed at the reception counter.
    • Alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel (≥70% alcohol content, passes BS EN 1276 & BS EN 1500 disinfection standards) is available on the reception counter. I would ask all visitors to use it on arrival at reception and before they leave.
  • We respect high risk customers by maintaining an external drop-off and collection point.
    • When necessary and for high-risk customers we will increase our level of personal protective equipment (PPE) to include a 3M FFP3 respirator and disposable nitrile examination gloves.
  • We will offer you value-added services; e.g. Air Con disinfection, cabin filter replacement (HEPA) etc. for your added protection.
  • To keep your vehicle legally roadworthy we will carry out a free visual safety check of the following:
    • Brake Discs
    • Brake Pads
    • Horn
    • Lights
    • Wipers & Washers
    • Tyres
    • MOT Due Date
  • We will notify you of any defects found during this check.
  • We will ensure all contact points and keys are wiped down before collection.
COVID-19

COVID-19 Update w/c 25-05-2020

The workshop will be closed on Monday for the bank holiday but will be open again on Tuesday 26th May. I am already 80% booked up for the week but there is room to accommodate emergency jobs if required.

The workshop remains closed to visitors and all work is carried out by appointment only. Initial contact is by telephone, email or social media messaging. I will be staggering drop-off and pick-up times to ensure only one customer is present at the workshop at a time.

I will continue to sanitise all vehicles when they arrive and before they leave with a suitable anti-microbial disinfectant.

Our Safe Workshop Practice Charter

  • We try to minimise contact with customers and suppliers.
    • The workshop is closed to visitors and all work is carried out by appointment only.
    • Initial customer contact is by telephone, email or social media messaging only.
    • Drop-off and pick-up times will be staggered to ensure there is only one customer present at the workshop at any time.
    • We are not providing a while-you-wait service and there will be no waiting at or in the vicinity of the workshop.
  • We keep customers safe by using new disposable seat covers, floor mats and gloves for every job.
  • We will turn off vehicle Air Con/Climate Control to avoid spreading germs.
  • We wipe down all vehicle contact points as we work with Smartsan-V (passes BS EN1276:1997 & BS EN 1650:1998 disinfection standards), a non-staining broad spectrum sanitiser that is effective against a wide range of pathogenic virus, bacteria, yeast and fungi. A sanitation checklist will be left in all vehicles after the final treatment.
  • Items in the workshop which come into contact with customers such as the card machine will be sanitised after each use with Smartsan-V.
  • Our workshop follows all current government social distancing guidelines.
    • New signage and barriers have been installed at the workshop complying with the government’s latest ‘COVID-19 Secure‘ guidelines.
    • A clear plastic cough/sneeze guard is now installed at the reception counter.
    • Alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel (≥70% alcohol content, passes BS EN 1276 & BS EN 1500 disinfection standards) is available on the reception counter. I would ask all visitors to use it on arrival at reception and before they leave.
  • We respect high risk customers by maintaining an external drop-off and collection point.
    • When necessary and for high-risk customers we will increase our level of personal protective equipment (PPE) to include a 3M FFP3 respirator and disposable nitrile examination gloves.
  • We will offer you value-added services; e.g. Air Con disinfection, cabin filter replacement (HEPA) etc. for your added protection.
  • To keep your vehicle legally roadworthy we will carry out a free visual safety check of the following:
    • Brake Discs
    • Brake Pads
    • Horn
    • Lights
    • Wipers & Washers
    • Tyres
    • MOT Due Date
  • We will notify you of any defects found during this check.
  • We will ensure all contact points and keys are wiped down before collection.
COVID-19

COVID-19 Update

The workshop will reopen at 9.00am on Monday 18th May to deal with breakdowns and a few jobs which have accumulated over the past few weeks. The workshop will remain open all week and I’ll decide at the end of the week whether to stay open or close again depending on demand.

The workshop is closed to visitors and all work is carried out by appointment only. Please phone the workshop on 01482 521201 or the workshop mobile and leave a voicemail message. Alternatively send a text message to the workshop mobile, a WhatsApp message to 441482521201 or use the message function on the company Facebook page. Please don’t send work-related messages to my personal Facebook account as I won’t see these on the workshop computer.

I’ll advise customers of the new procedures in place at the time of booking. As has been the case since the 13th March all vehicles are sanitised on arrival and before they leave with an appropriate anti-microbial disinfectant.

Our Safe Workshop Practice Charter

  • We try to minimise contact with customers and suppliers.
    • The workshop is closed to visitors and all work is carried out by appointment only.
    • Initial customer contact is by telephone, email or social media messaging only.
    • Drop-off and pick-up times will be staggered to ensure there is only one customer present at the workshop at any time.
    • We are not providing a while-you-wait service and there will be no waiting at or in the vicinity of the workshop.
  • We keep customers safe by using new disposable seat covers, floor mats and gloves for every job.
  • We will turn off vehicle Air Con/Climate Control to avoid spreading germs.
  • We wipe down all vehicle contact points as we work with Smartsan-V (passes BS EN1276:1997 & BS EN 1650:1998 disinfection standards), a non-staining broad spectrum sanitiser that is effective against a wide range of pathogenic virus, bacteria, yeast and fungi. A sanitation checklist will be left in all vehicles after the final treatment.
  • Items in the workshop which come into contact with customers such as the card machine will be sanitised after each use with Smartsan-V.
  • Our workshop follows all current government social distancing guidelines.
    • New signage and barriers have been installed at the workshop complying with the government’s latest ‘COVID-19 Secure‘ guidelines.
    • A clear plastic cough/sneeze guard is now installed at the reception counter.
    • Alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel (≥70% alcohol content, passes BS EN 1276 & BS EN 1500 disinfection standards) is available on the reception counter. I would ask all visitors to use it on arrival at reception and before they leave.
  • We respect high risk customers by maintaining an external drop-off and collection point.
    • When necessary and for high-risk customers we will increase our level of personal protective equipment (PPE) to include a 3M FFP3 respirator and disposable nitrile examination gloves.
  • We will offer you value-added services; e.g. Air Con disinfection, cabin filter replacement (HEPA) etc. for your added protection.
  • To keep your vehicle legally roadworthy we will carry out a free visual safety check of the following:
    • Brake Discs
    • Brake Pads
    • Horn
    • Lights
    • Wipers & Washers
    • Tyres
    • MOT Due Date
  • We will notify you of any defects found during this check.
  • We will ensure all contact points and keys are wiped down before collection.