Independent Garage Award

OPEN to independent service and repair garages, the XPart sponsored award will go to the business that can show it is putting in place measures to improve its customer care. The judges will also be looking for evidence of outstanding business performance and marketing skills. An awards entry form is included at the back of this preview supplement. Please follow the guidelines and ensure your entry is returned to the Motor Trader Industry Awards office by no later than 10 April.

YORKSHIRE based ARD, winner of Motor Trader's Independent Garage of the Year Award, is a company that recognises the drive and imagination needed to build up a business far removed from any preconceptions of a typical village garage. As a specialist Land Rover outlet, owner-manager Russell Dykes makes no apologies for his company's mission to take business away from traditional franchised dealers. Staff do not shy away from seeking out Land Rovers parked at the many local agricultural shows or point-to-points, leaving flyers on the windscreens asking owners if they are paying too much for their servicing. Before setting up on his own six years ago, Dykes was dealer principal for a Land Rover dealership for nine years and said his business sets about to do all the things that many of the franchised dealers neglect to do. "We care about our customers and we employ people on that basis," he said. As for pricing, his labour charges are £50 an hour against between £75 and £100 at franchised dealers. He

acknowledges that a more typical independent will charge substantially less, but the ARD difference is that it specialises in 4x4s and has product knowledge that is comparable with that of a franchised outlet. The business has grown quickly in six years. It outgrew its original site and now occupies 5,200 sq ft of workshop and showroom space within a modern industrial unit. Apart from serving its local market ARD also draws in customers from other parts of the country, but Dykes recognised that he could be more effective by investing in a network of satellite servicing centres. The recruitment of a former Pendragon service manager has allowed him to set up the first of these around 25 miles away where he has opened a 2,000 sq ft unit. The longer term aim is that it will develop its own customer base from car owners on its doorstep, but in the build-up period ARD is also using it to handle surplus hours in its main workshop. This entrepreneurial spirit impressed the Motor Trader Awards judges and has made ARD a company to watch.

content from Autotrader Awards Magazine 2005