Hiya guys and gals
It’s with huge excitement that I am announcing some big and great news/developments for MK Auto Repairs And Tuning Ltd.
As most know, I’ve been working out of rented units, whilst with all your help building up my reputation and the customer base to the position that I am in now. Approx 6 months ago I was told about an mot test station/garage that was up for sale, so with an open mind Scott and I went to look at it. It turned out to be absolutely perfect with the added bonus that the current owner was fully retiring, so the option was there to buy the complete set up. This meant this could be a case of move in and get straight to work in a garage that finally we can customize and improve to our own requirements and will one day own outright.
Scott and I are currently going through the applications to firstly take over the test station as MK Auto Repairs And Tuning Ltd and once we get this passed we can then become qualified mot testers. This will ultimately mean absolutely everything is in house and no more nipping up the road to mot test a vehicle. Perhaps the most important bit is that all takings will be reinvested into the company moving forwards in the future to further improve what we can offer within the staffing levels and room that we have without compromising our reputation or the quality of the work and service we offer.
So onto the new premises; it is a garage/business that has been up and running for 32 years. It’s sited 30 seconds off the m65 motorway in a built up residential area so is very secure and safe and is just 5 mins drive from my house. It’s more than twice the garage space of my current unit and is already equipped with 4 ramps including a fully functional mot testing bay, etc. It is sited on gated freehold land and comes with room for approx 15 to 20 cars parking on the land. It needs a good clean out and repaint before we move in but it’s gonna be extremely satisfying getting stuck in to sprucing it all up before moving in.
The business was once a very busy and thriving one, but due to the owner becoming seriously ill over the last few years, business has unfortunately run down as he isn’t in a position to work anymore. However from the moment we move in we will be rolling back the clock for the garage making it once again alive with cars.
One thing I would like to stress to people is that we are not looking to grow into a huge company, we are purely improving the level of care and service we can offer our customers without compromise, whilst investing in and improving the property and land rather than renting.
The new venture means we now have in house, engine building, mot testing station, mot and service work/repairs, general repairs, clutches, timing belts, etc, diagnostics using the latest snap on test equipment and diagnosis using advanced oscilloscope testing, 2 and 4 wheel alignment including camber adjustments, track preparation, tyre supply, fitting, balancing, puncture repairs, custom mig/tig welding fabrications, steel, fibreglass bodywork, panelwork fabrications and repairs, etc. All in all we are working on being able to do more and more ourselves in our own little paradise.
We also offer a vehicle transportation service where needed through a 3rd party who offers a great and friendly service and amazing rates if booked through us.
We also offer postage refurbs on many parts, for example, post us your chargecooler pump, brake calipers, etc we refurb them and post them back to you all good and working well
Another development is that we’ve been applying for the right to become a dealer or distributor for certain brands as well as looking into simply offering parts for supply/sale. Most of this is slowly going on in the background but we are pleased to announce that we are currently dealers for BC Coilovers, D2 brakes, Hardrace and distributors for ACL bearings and Gizmo.
I will post up pictures and updates as things develop.
I have to give a certain fella a huge mention and thank you for initially providing a great basis of trust and gt4 work and instigating the drive, albeit stubborn, from which the business was born, built and developed into what we will see in October. This guy is well known for going well out of his way to help people wherever he can and am sure its no surprise when I say it’s Colin (gottagoturbo) thank you!
Also a thank you to someone who needs no introduction
the very original and argumentative bumhole who gave up most weekends travelling from Scunthorpe to Blackburn to firstly argue and moan, then help me with the work load. This was always followed by a return to my house to drink my beer yet pay for the midnight treats. He’s bloody hard work but he really has been worth it and after all I’ve taught him and our very productive experiences racing in the Toyota sprint series, I hope the feeling is mutual
Continuing on with the subject of buying the garage and premises we couldn`t have even considered this, never mind actually done it, without the support of all our customers. This includes a few that have placed huge trust in our future visions to the extent of actually investing their own money to contribute to a very hefty 30% deposit which was needed before we could move forward with buying the garage at all. So again, a huge thanks to all of those who considered or offered their own money and an especially large thanks to Steve (G7TOA) and Baz (BARRYST205) who have invested a large sum between them. I have re-mortgaged my house and Scott’s family have also invested large amounts of money, so once again huge thanks to all for all this support.
I would also like to extend a huge thanks to Chris (bodhi) who has given up a serious amount of hours to programme us a really great bit of software to control everything including turnover, invoices, etc with ease.
I would also like to extend great thanks for people’s patience in waiting for spaces for cars to be booked in. Also to apologize and thank people for waiting for jobs to be completed, these problems will all be resolved once we are in the new garage. It really has been hard to keep everything ticking over efficiently and stick to bookings with just one ramp at our disposal. It sometimes only takes one late delivery to leave our ramp redundant!
I could go on thanking people forever so if ive missed anyone I apologize sincerely.
Due to the administration side of the business becoming very time consuming for me, another great move for the future is that my wife Joanne will be joining us. She will mainly be doing invoicing, paperwork, etc also taking calls and bookings where she can which will free me up to do what I do best and that’s fixing and restoring whatever is put in front of me. I will of course still be available to speak to you whenever you want to speak to a hairy assed spanner monkey rather than my wife
Another development is that I have also given Scott a share of the company and appointed him as a director, as am sure all that know him will agree he fully deserves.
The official hand over of keys date is currently set at 1st October if there’s no further issues, so anyone who would like to assist in the move, I am more than willing to call in all my favours as its gonna be one hell of a task.
Once we are fully moved in and settled we will be inviting all our customers and friends to a big open day which will be a great excuse for us all to get together, chat and give me feedback on what you think or how we can improve, all ideas appreciated. There will also be a big celebration barby/party which we would like to share with everyone who has supported us in the past and present.
Long may the extensive support continue and please carry on with word of mouth recommendations to keep increasing the customer base and variation of work and we promise to keep improving the standards set by, and services offered by, MK Auto Repairs And Tuning Ltd.
Martin and Scott