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Potholes

Happy New Year to everyone, lovely weather we’re having. We all suffer when the snow is on the ground, journey times escalate exponentially, drivers with limited driving skills become all too apparent, and the road surfaces detiorate badly, leading to yet more potholes. I appreciate that in the Austere Times in which we find ourselves, local authorities have to stretch diminishing financial resources further and further, so the roads aren’t maintained as well as we would like. However, a balance has to be struck, and there is a limit to how bad the roads can be allowed to become, in the area around the Skidmarques workshops, we have potholes that have been here so long, that they are now eligible for listed status, perhaps that’s why they’re not repaired?.

When your car crashes down into a pothole, the impact jars the suspension and steering components, knocking them out of correct adjustment. This will affect the way your vehicle handles and can cause premature and excessive wear to the tyres. The solution is simple, just pop along to Skidmarques, your friendly four wheel alignment centre, we’ll check your alignment for FREE! then discuss any remedial adjustments required, which will cost as little as £25 inc. VAT. I know that we all are having to be a bit more careful with our personal finances, particually just after Christmas, but consider that the £25 alignment charge, is much less than two new front tyres.

Take Care Daddyskid.

Some bits At The Side

No lectures this week, just some news and notes.

A  few days ago, ourvery good friends at Eastern General recovery bought us a rather distressed elderly gent and his Fiesta with a puncture. Seems he had left the locking wheel nut key with his grandson, who had previously done some work on Grandad’s car. We offered him tea and sympathy while we set about sorting his car out. We quite often see wheel-nut keyless car owners, usually stranded on the nearby A12, (we’re only a mile or so from the Ingatestone junction), so I assumed that’s where Eastern General had recovered him from.

“Whereabouts did they pick you up from?” was my opening gambit.  “Just around the corner” he replied. He then went onto explain that this was the second time he had been recovered that day. Seems he had originally suffered the puncture a mile or so away, called the AA who taken him to a national tyre company just around the corner from our workshops, and had dropped him there, At The Side. Whilst At The Side of this national tyre company, he explained his predicament and was told that there was nothing they could do to help, so they left him there, stranded, At The Side. So he rang the AA again, who were unable to send one of their own vehicles, so they passed the job to Eastern General, who collected him from his position At The Side of this national tyre company and brought him to us, because they knew we could help.

Whereupon we used a specialised tool, (not generally available to the public, but expected to be found in a commercial tyre shop) to remove the offending wheel nut, fixed the puncture and wished him well on his way. We’ve since seen him again, when he came back to buy two tyres, and we’ve also met the grandson, also, when he bought tyres from us, seems they like the service and helpful attitude provided at Skidmarques. We aim to please.

I’m sure you have read in the national press about the court proceedings between the BBC and Ben Collins, who broke a confidentiality agreement to declare himself a former Stig. Seems a waste of license payers money to me, so I feel it is my duty to “out” Skidmarques equivalent of Stig… Mong The Mutant Fitter, who is in fact our Senior Technician Grahame Norris. Comparisons can be drawn between Stig and Mong, Both wear overalls, although Mong’s are black as he would only get white dirty, both wear helmet with a tinted visor, in Mong’s case to prevent him upsetting children and animals. They share highly individual driving skills, Stig takes a reasonably priced car and makes it perform like a supercar. Likewise, Mong takes a high performance car and makes it perform if it were a family saloon. And to be fair they are both very good at their job. Mong is currently available for personal appearances and can be found in the meter cupboard in the corner of the workshop.

And to end on a serious note, Skidmarques are currently offering free tyre and alignment checks, to help you prepare fof the rigours of winter motoring, and of course to saty legal, 1 bald tyre can mean 3 points and a £2500 fine. Contact us for details.

Thanks for your time, take care Daddyskid.

Nitrogen, Honestly.

Before I begin my latest missive, a note of deep appreciation to the Mayor Of Brentwood, Councillor David Tee, who so graciously attended our Grand Opening. He has generously recommended Skidmarques on his personal website and put his money where his mouth is by visiting us as a Paying customer (no corrupt or sleazy politicians tolerated here) to have a puncture repaired on his personal vehicle.

Nitrogen has been promoted as a superior alternative to plain old air for around five years or so now. The alleged advantages to motorists being better maintenance of tyre pressures, improved handling, road holding and fuel economy, protection from corrosion to the inside of the wheel, increased tyre life, and a smaller carbon footprint. It’s always good to appeal to the collective eco-conscience, although I personally feel that most motorist’s honest attitude is “sod the trees, build the by-pass”. Which is a discussion for another day. All of the above are true to a lesser or greater degree.

The advantages to a tyre specialist, such as Skidmarques, are, according to the companies that supply Nitrogen inflation equipment, mostly financial. I am not saying that this is entirely wrong, because after all, we are a business and if we don’t make a profit we go bust and people loose their jobs. At Skidmarques, we have Nitrogen filling equipment, which is expensive, so we charge for filling tyres with Nitrogen, it is an additional service for which we are fully entitled to make an additional charge.

But, and it is a big but, but there is a conflict of interests for us. We pride ourselves on giving honest, impartial advice to our customers. as far as Nitrogen filling is concerned, the honest and impartial advice is that is only really appropriate in some specialised applications, such as race and high performance cars, especially track day cars. Also, possibly, for vehicles that do high mileage such as taxis or delivery vans. We have found Nitrogen filling on high pressure, multi ply tyres used on car recovery trailers and dollies improves wear rates, primarily because Nitrogen filling lowers running temperatures and reduces pressure loss. The advantages to the average motorist are negligible, despite the fact there is money for us to earn if we fill tyres with Nitrogen.

We know that some tyre centres routinely fill new tyres with Nitrogen, disguising the extra cost in an all encompassing fitting charge, but the truth is that you will be paying for it, as there is a cost to producing the Nitrogen. Try asking for a discount for filling your new tyres with bog standard air.

At Skidmarques, we will always to be happy to offer the option of Nitrogen to our customers, and if appropriate suggest it’s use, but for the majority of new tyre fitting it remains good, old, honest air. Honest

Take Care Daddyskid.

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