UK Garage Trade Is Changing

The UK Garage Trade Is Changing – And Halifax Is Seeing It Too

Something is changing in the UK garage trade, and here at Pellon Tyre & Autocentre in Halifax we are beginning to see it with our own eyes.

Over recent months I have noticed something interesting when looking around our workshop. We seem to be servicing and repairing an ever-wider selection of car makes.

Ford one minute, then perhaps a BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai, Kia, Renault, Peugeot, Volkswagen, Skoda or Toyota.

Of course, we have always been an all-makes independent garage. That’s nothing new.

What does seem to be changing is where motorists are choosing to have their cars maintained.

And as the old saying goes, what comes around goes around.

Remember When Everybody Went Back to the Main Dealer? UK Garage Trade Is Changing

Going back a few years, manufacturers worked very hard to keep customers within their own dealer networks.

Buy a new Ford, and you went back to Ford.

Buy a Volkswagen, and you went back to Volkswagen.

The enormous glass-fronted dealerships became a familiar sight around towns and cities throughout Britain.

Many grew into huge motor groups operating dozens, sometimes hundreds, of dealerships.

Meanwhile, independent garages like ours simply carried on doing what we had always done – servicing, repairing, fitting tyres and keeping local motorists on the road.

Now the motor trade appears to be changing again.

Some main dealer networks are shrinking.

During the past couple of years there have been numerous reports of large UK dealer groups closing, relocating or consolidating some of their franchised dealerships.

This doesn’t mean the main dealer is disappearing.

Far from it.

But the traditional model of having numerous individual franchised dealerships spread across relatively small geographical areas is under pressure.

Large premises are expensive to run.

Staffing, energy, business rates and equipment all cost money, while the way motorists buy cars is also changing.

Increasing numbers of people research cars online before ever entering a showroom.

Consequently, some dealer groups appear to be concentrating operations into fewer, larger locations.

That’s perfectly understandable from their point of view.

But where does it leave the motorist who simply wants their car servicing or repairing?

Halifax Motorists Still Need Their Cars Fixing: UK Garage Trade Is Changing

This is where I believe the independent garage becomes increasingly important.

If a local franchised dealership disappears, the cars certainly don’t disappear with it.

They’re still driving around Halifax, Sowerby Bridge, Elland, Brighouse and throughout Calderdale.

They still need MOT tests.

They still need tyres.

Their brakes still wear out.

Coil springs still break.

Batteries still fail on cold Yorkshire mornings.

Exhausts still corrode.

And warning lights still appear on dashboards at the most inconvenient possible moment!

Someone has to maintain all these vehicles.

Increasingly, that someone could be the local independent garage.

Britain’s Cars Are Getting Older

There’s another major change taking place.

Britain’s vehicle population is ageing.

Modern cars are capable of travelling enormous mileages when they’re properly maintained, and motorists are increasingly asking themselves a simple question:

Why replace a perfectly good car? UK Garage Trade Is Changing

Changing a car can involve spending tens of thousands of pounds.

Keeping an existing vehicle properly serviced and repairing things as they wear out can make considerably more financial sense.

An older vehicle naturally requires maintenance, though.

By the time a car reaches eight, ten or twelve years old, parts will have worn simply through normal use.

That’s not necessarily a sign of a bad car.

It’s just motoring.

And this ageing population of vehicles represents an enormous amount of work that has to be carried out somewhere.

We’re Seeing More Makes at Pellon

This is the part that interests me most because we’re seeing it ourselves.

Look around our workshop on a busy day at Pellon Tyre & Autocentre, and there can be an incredible mixture of vehicles.

Some customers come for tyres.

Others come for servicing.

We may have another vehicle undergoing an MOT while one of our technicians is replacing brakes, suspension components or an exhaust on something completely different.

Wheel alignment is another regular job.

The badge on the bonnet really doesn’t matter to us.

What matters is carrying out the job properly.

Modern Independent Garages Have Changed: UK Garage Trade Is Changing

I think there’s still an outdated image of an independent garage in some people’s minds.

Perhaps they imagine a little workshop with an oily mechanic underneath a car with a hammer and a spanner.

Those days have long gone.

Modern cars contain sophisticated electronics, computers and safety systems.

Today’s independent garage therefore has to invest constantly in equipment and knowledge.

Diagnostics, electronic service systems, tyre-pressure monitoring, wheel alignment equipment and hybrid technology are increasingly part of everyday garage life.

The modern independent garage has evolved along with the modern motor car.

It had to.

Trust Is Still Our Biggest Advantage

Technology may have changed, but one thing hasn’t.

People like dealing with people they trust. UK Garage Trade Is Changing

That’s particularly true when something goes wrong with their car.

Most motorists aren’t mechanics.

When somebody tells them their car requires hundreds of pounds to be spent on it, they’re placing considerable trust in that garage.

I’ve always believed that trust is something you earn over many years.

Our philosophy at Pellon has always been straightforward:

We never do a job unless it needs doing.

If something doesn’t need replacing, we tell the customer.

That might not produce the biggest invoice today, but hopefully it produces a customer who comes back tomorrow.

For an independent garage, reputation is everything.

Yorkshire Motorists Appreciate Straight Talking: UK Garage Trade Is Changing

Perhaps that’s particularly true here in Yorkshire.

People around Halifax and Calderdale generally appreciate somebody telling them things as they are.

If a brake pad has plenty of life left, say so.

If a tyre is dangerous, show the customer why.

If something can wait until the next service, tell them.

That’s how relationships between local businesses and their customers are built.

Many of our customers have been coming to Pellon for years.

Some families have used us through different generations.

You can’t buy that sort of loyalty with an enormous shiny showroom.

You have to earn it.

The Independent Garage Could Be Coming Full Circle

I’ve been around the tyre and motor trade long enough to see plenty of changes.

Businesses grow.

Businesses merge.

Manufacturers change direction.

New technology arrives and everyone predicts the end of something.

Yet the local garage survives.

Why?

Because ultimately somebody still has to repair the cars.

If Britain’s main dealer networks gradually become more concentrated into larger regional centres, then motorists will naturally look for convenient alternatives closer to home.

And that’s where good independent garages have an opportunity.

Not because we want to see anybody else’s business close.

Nobody in business should celebrate another company struggling.

But markets change.

When they do, somebody has to provide the service customers still require.

What Comes Around Goes Around: UK Garage Trade Is Changing

Perhaps we’ve come full circle.

The independent garage was once the natural place where most people took their family car.

Then enormous franchised dealerships became increasingly dominant.

Now, as cars stay on the road longer and dealer networks begin changing again, motorists may increasingly return to the trusted garage around the corner.

We’re already seeing signs of it here at Pellon Tyre & Autocentre.

More brands.

More different models.

And customers looking for somewhere local that can look after their car without all the fuss.

Nobody knows exactly what Britain’s garage trade will look like ten years from now.

But one thing I’m fairly confident about:

The good independent garage isn’t going anywhere.

And here in Halifax, we might just be watching the next chapter begin.

UK Garage Trade Is Changing