IK Classics and Racing

"Why you should not use a franchised dealer" - quite a statement to make, but one I feel very strongly about, please allow me to qualify this remark.

IK Classics regularly takes in vehicles for service that have, up until this point, always been serviced and repaired by the appropriate dealer and I have to say that I am often horrified by the condition of the vehicles we are confronted with - and the amount of work we have to do to bring the car back to a good level of reliable maintinance.

What has this got to do with the dealers you may ask - please allow me to give you my opinion.

I was in the past a service manager for a couple of specialist franchises and in order to be a technician on the shop floor an individual had to achieve 120% as an average and steps were taken if the individual did not reach this target.

So you can imagine what happens if the technician finds his efficiency starting to drop - he will start to miss out certain items on the service check sheet that the man in the street may not notice.

Combine this with the fact that virtually all main dealers operate a bonus system which is usually paid on labour sales (i.e. high efficiency) and possibly from extra parts sales, then again short cuts and non essential repairs are going to take place.

These practices are both beneficial to the technician as he will improve his pay packet bottom line and the dealer will benefit from both higher labour and parts sales, so the person that suffers is the customer.

Also bear in mind that garages are under a franchise agreement with the various vehicle suppliers and this will dictate the type of building that the dealer operates from and what equipment the garage must have and use.

How many dealerships now operate from new modern plush premises, and who is the person that pays for all these gin palaces?

The answer is the customers who buy the cars and use the service departments, it all goes on the bill. I know as I have in the past had to construct the budgets to cover these costs.

So please think about the independent garage, the chaps that work there on the shop floor and the knowledge they posses, the fact that they are more concerned about customer satisfaction and your return business than efficiencies and targets - and the fact that they will do the service correctly and at a reasonable cost.

YOU KNOW IT MAKES SENSE.