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13th September 2007
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Page 54, 13th September 2007 — S MONEY
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Worcshop bills are a fad of life, and rates vary between regions and marques. But as Colin

Barnett discovers, some woRshops charge

more than twice as much as others — and there's a similar discrepancy in opening hours.

Welcome to the third appearance of the annual Coinmercial Motor workshop survey.

Each year we investigate and compare truck and van workshop labour rates and opening hours, covering representatives from all the leading marques in four areas around the UK. This year, in a hid to identify trends, wc return to the four areas featured two years ago: Cardiff, Carlisle, Purfleet and Walsall.

The only significant change to the survey is the inclusion of Hino.

When the cat's away...

Almost all dealerships were happy to cooperate, although one truck dealer couldn't provide rates because "the service manager is on holiday and we leave the invoicing until he's back-. And there must be something strange about Cardiff because in that one area Ford, LDV and Volkswagen franchises bluntly refused to co-operate.

You might expect that in two-and-a-bit years, rates would have moved in just one direction. In fact two truck dealers —Guest Trucks and On-time Rescue and Recovery— and two van dealers— Solway LDV and Dagenham Motors—have cut their rates by between £4 and £8 per hour. We should point Out that all the rates quoted are basic retail rates; in many cases it was pointed out that regular and contract customers could often negotiate significant reductions.

Looking firstly at the truck sector. it comes as no surprise that the most expensive region was the South-East; the Purfleet area average of £64.44 was about £10 more than the three other areas.

High marques

Compared by marque,Mercedes-Benz is the most expensive at £69.25, while at £49.75, Daf dealers have the lowest average rates. With this in mind its no surprise that the M-B dealer at Wes t'Th urrock is the single most expensive dealer in this survey at a whopping £79.50, but to put this in context plenty of car workshops in the London area are charging well over £100.

The prize for bargain of the survey goes to the Hino dealer in Carlisle,where an hour's work will cost you just £34.

Six-day opening now seems to be the norm, with only three workshops, all in the Walsall area. opening on Sunday: two of these — Hino's Hi-Trucks and Volvo's Hartshorne —offer the full 24/7. These night owls helped boost the open-all-hours Midlands' average to 126.5 hours per week, while the rural folk around Carlisle manage to satisfy local demand in just 67.5 hours.

Putting in the hours

Him) and Volvo are the only two brands to exceed 110 hours, but proving that all these hours must be paid for, budget brand Daf averages just 72.75 hours.

It's reassuring to note a significant cut in waiting timesThe vast majority of workshops we spoke to would book a routine appointment within two days, and all would see an urgent case later the same day at worst.

In the van world only two dealers don't work Saturdays, the Renault outlets inWednesbury and Cardiff. while the VWVan Centre at Bilston is alone in opening on Sundays Regionally, the average ranges from Carlisle's just under 60 hours to the near 75 hours in the Midlands and South-East. Given their truck connections, it shouldn't be surprising that the brands with the longest average opening hours are lveco and Mercedes-Benz,at around 97 hours per week. Maybe it's the Gallic influence that encourages Citroen and Renault to put in the shortest working week, of around 47 hours.

Join the queue

More than a fifth of all van dealers quoted a wait of at least a week for a service appointment. Reflecting the trend to outsource breakdowns, a significant number don't have any facility for accommodating urgent repairs.

Turning back to labour rates, the South Eastern Renault dealer,Whitehouse Dartford. Lakes the Golden Spanner award at £94. with the bargain going once again to Carlisle, where Solway LDV charges just i37. Like the truck dealers, the regional figures put Carlisle lowest and Walsall and Purfleet highest, although the range of rates is much narrower than with trucks.At £53.50, the LDV network has the lowest average rate, with the Renault and Ford averages breaking the £75 barrier. u

Tags

Organisations: VWVan Centre
Locations: London, Cardiff

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