After trying for more than a year, we have finally managed to recruit our first female friendly garage to our FOXY network, starting with a subscriber to our FOXY Choice website.
This is a good thing because women drivers in Northern Ireland should be able to enjoy the same female friendly garage services at MOT, car servicing and repair time as we now expect on the mainland. Surprisingly we find that a lot of motoring offers, car insurance for women in particular, exclude Northern Ireland in their geographical limits.
McCluskey Motors is a Unipart Car Care Centre which is a good business sign, based in Carryduff about 8 miles south of Belfast I understand. Like all other FOXY approved garages and car dealerships, they have signed the female friendly FOXY Promise to ‘never knowingly overcharge, patronise or sell their customers’ services they do not need or want.’ Unlike many of their garage colleagues north of the border, they have an email address and website too, which makes them much easier for us to work with and gives women drivers a choice of contact.
Interestingly the MOT test fee is £30.50 in Northern Ireland whereas it’s £50.35 on the mainland. You only need one there when a car is 4 years old, not 3 as is the case on the mainland. I would have expected these factors to be the same across the UK.
The job is looked after by the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency (DVTA) and as its name suggests, it also looks after driving test centres and maintains a register of approved driving instructors.
Here’s to better and female friendly motoring services for women drivers in Northern Ireland in future. I hope we can now make inroads with female friendly car dealerships there too.
FOXY Steph
