Last week a mystery shopping exercise (involving 62 cars with pre-existing faults) carried out by consumer watchdog Which? found ‘shocking levels of incompetence’ and ‘inexcusable dishonesty’ in UK garages where only 8 garages did the job properly and 90% missed at least one potentially dangerous fault.

Shocking yes but no surprises for those of us who know that UK garages aren’t licensed, mechanics don’t have to be qualified, many garages aren’t up to the job and are overcharging us by baffling us into forking out.

If you’d like to know what your best garages are by all means read the Good Garage Guide at FOXY Choice’s website. Where in doubt (and it’s a minefield I’m afraid), pick an ATA qualified mechanic over another whether in an independent, fast fit or main dealership garage. He or she has to stay up to date with the latest best practice, is tested every five years and has signed an ethical Code of Practice.

And don’t trust well-intentioned recommendations from friends; they’re usually based on the friendly welcome there – what you need is evidence of measurable quality of workmanship first of all, such as a professionally qualified mechanic.

You should also remember the following findings from the Which? exercise, that…

Even the best performing garage group (Bosch Car Service) failed to find 36% of faults

Garages from the Good Garage Scheme (don’t be deceived by the name – this is a B2B scheme to sell Forte engine flushing oils to garages, not to identify the best garages by any measurable indicators) performed worst of all, finding just 39% of simple pre-existing faults.

Yes, it’s a lottery out there with your life and purse at risk.

Be aware too that if you opt for a much publicised Motor Codes subscriber, odds are you’ll be directed into a dealership* (the code sponsor here is the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders representing manufacturers and their dealers) where you’ll pay more than you would to a measurably good independent garage. Motor Codes subscribers found 60% of the faults in the Which? Shopping exercise by the way.
*as at 30 August 2010 and using a 5 mile radius; in Glasgow 2 of the 58 subscribers are independent garages, the rest are dealerships; in Manchester 7 are independents out of 47; in Birmingham 5 are independents out of 45; in London 10 are independents out of 43; in Bristol 13 are independents out of 43; in Southampton 5 are independents out of 38; in Exeter 4 are independents out of 30.

Having studied garage safety standards all ways up I can’t see any other solution, after 60+ years of the industry failing to put its own house in order, than full blown Government regulation. We deserve qualified garage mechanics and retail garages (including fast fits and dealerships) that are regularly inspected.

The argument is that regulation will be expensive and the motorist will pay in the end but what price our lives in dangerous cars? And let’s see the cost facts within the context of motorists getting ripped off as the Which? exercise confirms is happening today.

I imagine someone knows how many of the massive number of annual garage complaints are to do with overcharging practices.

If you take anything away from reading this blog I hope it will be to do your homework seriously before choosing a local garage in future. And check out the local one you use, just because it’s convenient.

FOXY Steph

Find out about UK garages that have signed the female friendly FOXY Promise to ‘never overcharge, patronise or sell women services they don’t need.’

Some of us can and others can’t. My sister-in-law, step-daughter and niece can, for example, but my son and I can’t ;-(.

Perhaps when thinking about this your mind has instantly conjured up delicious Turner-like landscapes, Rembrandt-esque portraits and modern day images from the likes of Beryl Cook and Jack Vettriano…

But there is another kind of more practical painting in the UK motor industry that deserves our accolades too – that of painting vehicles leaving a perfect, durable and high gloss surface at the end of the job. Undoubtedly a skilled profession involving meticulous surface preparation, masking, spotlessly clean working conditions, the patience of Job and the time that so many coats of paint takes to apply and then dry…and everything else that an expert knows about this of course.

And surprisingly for some, you don’t have to be a man to do this well, as the first women-only automotive paint course will testify when Southgate College teamed up with the IMI (Institute of the Motor Industry) and Morelli Group, to offer courses in bodywork spray painting last month.

The occasion illustrated in the photo was intended to show women that the UK motor industry is a serious career choice for females (who account for as little as 20% of the industry workforce, dropping to just 3% of the automotive paint spraying workforce).

The fact that there are so few women in the industry isn’t because they can’t do the job because they can. It’s part to do with the way the male dominated industry is perceived by women and part because of the way some businesses treat women as second class employees or customers.

Why shouldn’t women be technicians, paint sprayers, accident estimators, roadside patrolmen, diagnostic engineers, car designers, salesmen, Managers and Board members in the UK motor industry?

No reason at all. They are perfectly able to do all these jobs given the right training and education.

Thank goodness times are changing in the motor industry at long last for the good of all employees and customers in future, offering women better career choices in the process.

Exciting times.

FOXY Steph

Find out about Female Business Ambassadors representing female friendly businesses in the UK motor industry.

My particular interest is to enthuse young girls who might otherwise imagine that the motor industry is a male dominated industry that has nothing to offer them. You’d be totally wrong to think this…

Yes, this is a male dominated industry as is, with a staggering 80% of employees male. Yes, I was personally shocked to find this after the 50:50 male:female leisure and tourism industries I worked in BUT I fervently believe that this is set fair to change for a more balanced future…

I believe this because I speak to and deal with so many good, well-intentioned and genuinely female friendly garages and car dealerships that want to employ more females in future. They realise that women trust women, especially in an industry which may well be the last male bastion. Not only can the very presence of a female in a business reassure wary women shoppers but this can also mean new female customers – serious added value for the bottom line; not to be sneezed at.

And there are so many female role models that have made it to the top – more about them in later blogs perhaps.

And now friendly female employees can promote friendly females they employ in customer facing roles; this is what FOXY Choice does with its Female Business Ambassador network of course.

I hope female recruits end up in a genuinely female friendly business of course – there are a lot that say they are female friendly, thinking that we are happy with male service levels – they haven’t got the message yet!

So if you are looking for a career destination and you’d like to know which motor industry businesses are likely to be the best ones to apply to, I suggest you contact any female friendly local garages or dealerships listed at FOXY Choice or those businesses that are ATA or AMA employers (see via the IMI website) because they have either signed the female friendly FOXY Promise or the IMI’s ethical Code of Conduct; both these commitments single out a business’ integrity over others who can’t be bothered.

Go for it girls – get in at the ground floor of the motor industry now. It knows it is in need of a female friendly makeover; the best businesses are looking for the best female students out there and they could be you learning on the job and getting qualified as you go.

All you have to do is get to work, roll your sleeves up and show the guys how the right women can help them make a genuine difference to service levels for ALL customers in future.

FOXY Steph

According to Steve Yardley of training organisation ReMIT “There’s a big skills gap and the automotive industry is an ageing workforce. There are not enough people to fill that gap and the industry needs to tap into GCSE level. There needs to be a vocational option for people at that stage in their life.”

Richard Ennis, dealer principal at Mercedes-Benz Colchester added that “There are heavy negative perceptions put on our industry and the automotive industry is not painted as somewhere good to work.”

I agree with all this but would add that in an industry which is probably the final male bastion, where 80% of the workforce is male yet 50%+ of its customers are female, this should be the wake up call for the industry to finally start to heal itself.

No tinkering on the margins though…nothing short of a total female friendly makeover will do the trick in my opinion.

The industry will then have to pull its quality socks up, clean its act up altogether, be much more open and honest when it comes to pricing practices and adopt for real the ethical standards of the ATA Code of Conduct.

No longer the boys doing business along status quo lines -  boys doing it all for boys and telling us girls what to do.

The industry must open its doors wide and welcome women to help us help them to sort this out. Please allow us to show you what your/our industry can look like when it operates to a (more) demanding female friendly standard.

The fact is that tomorrow’s job applicants and apprentices expect a fairer world to work in too – be seen as a female friendly employer and you’ll not only attract much needed female skills at all levels of your business but you’ll also attract a higher calibre of male applicants too (who are used to higher standards in other industries).

FOXY Steph

Find out about female friendly garages and dealerships that have made the FOXY Promise commitment near you

If you are a female motorist, why not join FOXY Lady Drivers Club to enjoy female friendly motoring services with a difference?

Diamond Insurance studied the driving profile of almost 300,000 UK housewives and compared them with other women motorists (who aren’t housewives, presumably).  Their analysis suggests that these housewives clearly opt for powerful, expensive cars and are more likely to be caught speeding.

Applying some commonsense here, Motoring Mums are likely to need bigger cars to accommodate growing families. These cars are then likely to have a bigger engine. But whilst these cars might have a higher list price than a smaller, greener, more popular and more economic to run 2010 model, the reality is that there have been such fantastic deals on offer recently that foxy housewives are likely to have negotiated and then celebrated a fantastic deal for their big car wheels.

Two other thoughts dawn…
1  FOXY finds that some females are steering away from expensive big brand cars that they could afford to buy, saying these are not a ‘responsible’ or ‘caring’ choice in today’s tough economic times. Call it the ‘good citizen’ phenomenon perhaps, small eco-cars are increasingly popular with celebrities and others who can afford to pay more but decide not to, for very good and virtuous reason. Bravo.
2  However the motor manufacturers deserves a genuine pat on the back for reducing the C02 emissions from an average of 189.8g/km in 1997 to 149.5 g/km in 2009. Indeed many of yesterday’s gas guzzlers now have an eco-friendly model in the range, which is selling well. Bravo again.

So women drivers should be able to buy a bigger car where they feel the need, for practical reasons, without feeling guilty in today’s economic and fragile climate.

I am less able to understand another research finding however – that foxy housewives might be 11% more likely to have a speeding conviction than other women;especially when the housewives are driving c620 miles less a year. On reflection I’d put this down to the fact that housewives are more likely than students, business women, Grans (or men for that matter) to have children on board. Distracting children at that.

I’d like to know how any of these categories would fare with ‘are we there yet’ noisy anklebiters on board.

Diamond also looked at the types of cars housewives prefer and found that number one on the housewives’ list is the VW Golf, compared to the Ford Fiesta for other female motorist groups. I am not sure if I’d describe the Golf as a powerful, expensive car – certainly it wasn’t when I last owned one in 2001. but therein lies another tale – to do with aftersales service levels that were a long way short of good enough on two occasions.

Just like elephants, women don’t forget (no weight gags please ) and if anyone asks me, I’ll happily tell you what I wasn’t happy with (the dealership concerned has gone away…)

FOXY Steph

Discover a unique motoring association for women drivers that will help you do your new car buying homework and support you through the car buying and dealership experience.

Find a female friendly car dealership near you at FOXY Choice.

Remember the film ‘The Seven Year Itch’ with Marilyn Monroe when the faithful husband is tempted to wander? No I’m not that old really but I have seen the film and it seems to apply in other contexts too!

For example, put into a driving context I wondered if cars can reasonably be expected to limp along for a lifetime of low mileage and short local journeys (rather than 7 years)? Think about the engine wear and tear plus annual garage bills as the vehicles age…

If you haven’t got my gist yet, my apologies – I’m talking about the difference between Kia’s 7 year new car warranty versus Vauxhall’s new lifetime warranty offer.  Both are for a total mileage of 100,000 miles so you might say, what’s the difference?

Well the difference is to do with your annual mileage and whether a car can last long enough to benefit from a lifetime warranty.   But either way, before we look a bit deeper at these offers, these two manufacturers deserve a genuine pat on the back for offering a lot more than most other car manufacturers, so well done both.

And what will Ford follow in with I wonder?

I’m not sure if the Kia 7 year warranty is transferable to a second owner but the Vauxhall offer isn’t, so if you drive c5k miles a year and have your car serviced annually (by a VAT registered garage, not necessarily a dealership I believe) then a Vauxhall is a great buy that could last up to 20 years, assuming you do or want to drive the same car that long .

But I imagine that this offer, linked to car models that women like, like the Picanto or Corsa, will appeal to foxy lady drivers who like great value for money supported by female friendly service levels.

And our advice to Club members will be to factor in the cost of the annual servicing that Vauxhall and Kia will require you to have, to maintain that warranty.

FOXY Steph

Find out about female friendly garages near you.

Find out about a membership association for women drivers; invaluable friendly advice, information, support and offers when motoring gets stressful and ultra expensive.

Reason Number One for this is because women are the Chief Purchasing Officers in most families and too many feel ill-at-ease in garages, dealerships or at industry exhibitions.

Reason Number Two is because 80% of the motor industry workforce is male.

Having said that, this is not a feminist rant and of course there are men who are female friendly when it comes to looking after women customers in the motor trade. It’s simply the case that many men who have grown up in a male dominated business culture (where women are often the butt of the motoring joke, where sexy posters are found on workshop walls, where sexy front cover magazines are displayed on service station shelves, where scantily clad females are the norm at some car exhibitions/events as in the photo… and so on) are unlikely to treat some women customers with the respect they deserve.

One way to make a big difference here is to reposition the UK motor industry as a female friendly one in the minds of women by using creative, honest and people-oriented Marketing Communications.

Another is to actively recruit more females at all levels within the industry. Bring in female role models at the top as Non Executive Directors and actively promote women upwards from within, wherever this makes sense. But the women will need encouragement and it’s a shame that the Women and Work Level 4 training grant funding is unlikely to be continued in today’s troubled economy…

But how to reach females when you don’t want to be accused of discrimination in a recruitment ad? Which is ironic when you think that many women perceive the motor industry to discriminate against them in terms of patronising behaviour or by selling them services they don’t need…

A definite recruitment barrier is that many women read the words ‘motor industry’ or ‘garage’ and instantly dismiss the job as one for men. Another barrier is that men usually write the job specifications and are likely to base this on their experience of the role and in their own liking. Which means that despite one’s best intentions the reality can be that current recruitment practices very often produce a self perpetuating status quo!

Yes I believe that an industry makeover is long overdue here and I believe this should be started soon, handled sensitively and with a view to be totally fair to both genders. I am always amazed at how many senior individuals in the industry tell me that they treat both genders as equal without seeming to recognise that women customers have different needs and expectations from men and are the more demanding shoppers whatever they are buying.

Which is why men would do well to look out for businesses that display FOXY’s Female Friendly Code in recognition of a commitment to superior standards of customer services. If women are happy (having tried and tested service quality, value, welcome and cleanliness) you can bet your bottom dollar that most men will be absolutely delighted by the difference.

FOXY Steph
PS: Find out more about FOXY Choice’s Female Business Ambassador network, designed to recognise businesses that are run by or employ women in customer facing roles.

“Sometimes the situation is only a problem because it is looked at in a certain way. Looked at in another way, the right course of action may be so obvious that the problem no longer exists” Edward de Bono

Yet another provocative headline designed to wind men up .

This because, apparently, men get more distracted and irritable than women in the heat. As the temperature starts to rise so does their temper and their testosterone, when the temptation of totty talent proves irresistible.

After all, men are not famous for their multi-tasking abilities…

Perhaps scantily clad females are equally to blame and should carry a health warning during summer months; something like ‘Look at me and you might crash.’

But what I’d really like to know is whether women aren’t the better drivers in the winter as well?

Could it be that the cold weather slows male drivers down?

In which case turn the air conditioning up to its maximum guys during the summer months and let’s see if it keeps us all safer on the roads no matter the season.

FOXY Steph

“A lot of guys think the larger a woman’s breasts are, the less intelligent she is.  I don’t think it works like that.  I think it’s the opposite.  I think the larger a woman’s breasts are, the less intelligent the men become.”
Anita Wise

Why aren’t there any dedicated motoring magazines for women?

See the typical magazine titles if you don’t believe me; look at the colours, the cover cars and the headings… they’re SO obviously for men.

And yes I realise that most female magazines don’t carry much about motoring either which is surely another reason to think about this surely… They don’t include cars or other motoring matters for women, presumably because most of us prefer to read about beauty, health, celebrities, cooking and so on.

I also realise that it’s a gender thing. Traditional men are more likely to be petrolheads than us (with some notable exceptions, no offence intended) and they are more turned on by performance cars, gadgets and mechanical matters.

Whereas traditional women are more likely to look at practicalities like whether the car is fit for purpose, its safety and reliability record as well as how much it costs to buy and run, the onboard space and its environmental credentials. Then there’s the brand, looks, colour and accessories of course. This is a big homework job to do before you can be sure you’ve bought the right car. Remember that you immediately narrow your choices when you step into a new car showroom; good sales staff will do all they can to sell you a car they’ve got, not suggest one they don’t have but which might be better for you.

But the most important fact is that 80% of all consumer goods decisions involve women nowadays and we instigate some 60% of car sales and probably influence other ones our family and friends buy. AND we’re getting wealthier, more independent and definitely more discerning.

So if women want to buy cars AND it’s clearly a tough job to choose the right one let alone negotiate a fair deal AND most magazines are writing about cars from a male perspective AND ordinary women like me can write about cars and motoring matters without having to be racing drivers or Top Gear fashion accessories … what’s the real problem here Mr/Mrs Publisher?

Knowing the business case, wouldn’t a magazine or motoring section for women be supported by the likes of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and likely to attract manufacturer advertising? Many car companies are using Mumsnet and similar hi-density female websites yet Mumsnet readers aren’t there to buy a new car, nor are they daft enough to say ‘A new Ford, what a good idea, I must buy one now.’

Surely females considering their next big item new or used car purchase would buy a Magazine that was dedicated to helping them choose a car that was right for them. A Magazine with down to earth reviews and feedback from females rather than macho technospeak? And couldn’t they be interested in other motoring matters too, such as how to negotiate the best deal, find a female friendly car dealership or measurably good garage and compare the best insurance deals for women. And perhaps this could include content about what to do with your car in terms of days out, leisure and travel activities?

If this exists already Mr/Mrs Publisher, please tell me and I’ll subscribe to it. If it doesn’t, I think you are missing a trick here and women drivers are the worse off for it.

FOXY Steph

Well, a recent survey says women don’t clean their darling cars as often as men.

Shock horror – what sort of sluts are we females?

Let me suggest three reasons why this might be the case.

1 We are too busy doing everything else

2 We have asked someone else to do this for us (a man probably – they are very good at this I find)

3 We are talking about a car to take us from A to B, not live in…

And another survey in the same week says that men feel unsafe when the car is driven by their wife or girlfriend. But not if she is driving sober so he can down a few pints I suspect.

The fact is that these sorts of survey get published and businesses who sponsor them get mentioned, especially online or as fillers in male magazines and motoring publications.

The reason they get published (and then read by people like me) is to do with the differences between the two genders.

Whereas if women drivers were to publish ‘I feel frightened when my husband drives’ (and there must be many of us who do feel that way) there’d be a savage outcry from men whose pride had been dented and because they are fed up reading that women are doing well in all areas of their lives, especially the ones that used to be ‘male domain’.

Whereas we women are the peacemakers (yes, dear, you are the best…), we have a vital sense of humour (…yawn…), realise that none of this trivia matters very much and have more important things to do anyway; family, children, homes, career, community, leisure, holidays, fashion and so on.

Finally we know we are better drivers because insurance companies keep on telling us and they should know.

No contest men – get used to it! Or dig out that sense of humour (you’ll find it below the sense of indignation you feel when anyone challenges your male preserves…).

And it’s perfectly normal for you to feel this way – it’s how we are hard wired respectively.

FOXY Steph