By Nik Ellis At the start of my bodyshop career, I was amazed at how easy it was to steal a car. We received regularly a transporter full of stolen & recovered cars, normally with no keys. To gain entry & start the car up we typically used a flat screwdriver. It only took just…
By Nik Ellis Experts have transitioned towards virtual examinations through video calls and video conferencing rather than face to face appointments. But what are both the positive and negative effects of virtual assessments? We’ve been rattling on about virtual examinations since we helped BT trial their RVI (Remote Video Inspections) system back in 1995. We…
By Jonathan Mitchell Modern Classic Estate Cars It’s hard to believe when you look at the new car market today (just take BMW’s recent announcement of the new M3 Touring for example), that there was a time, not that long ago, when estate cars were the exclusive reserve of the sensible, practical and dare I…
Left of Centre or Leave of Senses? What constitutes a classic car? If you were to take HMRC’s definition to the letter, then for tax purposes, it’s any car that is worth more than £15,000 and over 15 years old. Meanwhile, the DVLA deems any car built over 40 years ago to be a ‘historic…
Classic Fords It’s a gloomy October morning as I write this. It’s dark, cold, and raining. Most of the country is back in an extended lockdown (pick a number between one and…), the pubs are (mostly) closed, the politicians are arguing(again), unemployment is at an all time high, and you can’t go into a bank…
Road Test by Nik Ellis This is a Swiss Army Knife of a car. Feel the need for speed? Big, fast engine, tick. Driving round Europe & require something comfy, tick. Taking the kids camping & need loads of room, tick. Owned & loved by many a famous supercar collector such as Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason…
By Jonathan Mitchell Classic Car Specialist My Dad had one of those… A line that most adults of certain age, with even a passing interest in things automotive, will have uttered at some point in the last 20 years (or more) when talking about cars of a certain age. Or perhaps they wished that their dad (or indeed mum,…
Nik Ellis test the new Huracán EVO RWD The Gallardo was the first model to emerge from Lamborghini after Audi took control in 1999. Rumour has it that Audi needed to reduce their 1-10 quality scale to -3 just to encompass the somewhat agricultural build standards. After being introduced in 2004, the Gallardo was very…
Recruiting the Best We’ve always had a problem recruiting staff, mainly because we’re super fussy. One of our big selling points is our outstanding service, so the staff have to be something special. We’ve won plenty of customer service awards for Yes qualifications are handy, experience even more so, but by far & away ethos…
Desktop Vehicle Damage Assessments Desktop reports are common place now, sometimes called Virtual Reports, simply Desk or Remote Video Inspections. It’s a very quick & efficient way of providing a vehicle damage assessment report and has been adopted by insurance companies, accident management companies, the motor trade & over the last few years some of…