24 March 2010: Motor Codes has revealed the top ten garages in the UK as voted for by British motorists. Today sees the close of the second round of public voting as this nationwide competition – Golden Garages – approaches its climax to find the best local garage in Britain.
The campaign has touched a nerve with British motorists, and an overwhelming number have voted since its launch on 11 February. The ten winners will receive a host of prizes (as detailed below) and now the Motor Codes industry expert judging panel will begin the difficult task of choosing the best garage. To ensure the judging process is fair and thorough, Motor Codes will work with the RAC to conduct on site visits and independently assess each of the top ten garages before deciding on a national winner, to be announced on 6 April. The judging panel includes TV presenter and racing car driver Vicki Butler-Henderson who will visit the winning garage.
The national campaign to find the UK’s best garage will help consumers feel more confident about their choice of garage, as well as rewarding reputable garage owners with the recognition they deserve. Research by Motor Codes found that
over 14 million[i] motorists feel short changed by their local service and repair garage, but that over 90% using a Motor Codes garage were satisfied. “Going to a garage can understandably be quite daunting for both men and women. You practically have to be a mechanic yourself to spot when you’re being ripped off by a dishonest garage,” commented panel judge and TV presenter, Vicki Butler-Henderson. “The Golden Garages competition will champion the best garages out there so that motorists can be confident when taking their car for a service or repair.” Chris Mason, Motor Codes director said, “Following on from our first round of voting, we’ve seen a further 4,000 votes cast by British motorists in the search for the nation’s best local garage. Such a high turnout of votes is a clear reflection of how important the public consider the issues raised by this campaign to be and it’s great that British motorists are embracing the chance to have their say. Motor Codes is determined to promote the best the service and repair sector has to offer, every motorist can benefit from fair, honest, quality service by visiting www.motorcodes.co.uk.”Motor Codes operates a self regulatory Code of Practice for garages across the country ensuring that motorists receive consistently high standards of service. Supported by consumer groups and government, including the Department for Transport, Motor Codes raises standards across the industry and the Golden Garages competition is playing an important part in this process.
British motorists and garages can follow the final stages of the competition on the Golden Garages website (
www.goldengarages.co.uk) as well as on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GoldenGarages.
