And because I come from the Newcastle upon Tyne I know that many female motorists there find garages to be intimidating places in what is seen to be a very male oriented area.

But it’s clearly commercially daft that women drivers should feel unwelcome in garages that need our business; so much so that many are slowly realising how to polish up their act with female friendly services so local women drivers can feel welcome in future.

One garage that is offering women car care courses is Ashington Service Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne run by Tony Johnson, who set up his business after a career with Kwik Fit and Ford. These are free weekly classes and they include advice and hands on experience of how to change a wheel, check oil levels and replace bulbs.

Having been to a fair few of these garage evenings for women drivers, they are usually good fun as much as informative but they are also a chance for women to see behind the macho facade and hopefully dispel the myth that garages are unfriendly places for women to visit.

Good on Tony for setting out to explain to women that they don’t need a garage to do these jobs even if it’s easier and more reassuring to have the likes of tyres, oil, collant levels and emissions checked on a regular basis by garage professionals. And of course, once women drivers in newcastle upon Tyne know they have a choice between female friendly garages and the rest, they will know to choose the female friendly variety when it comes to MOTs and car servicing (which they can’t DIY…)

A good business strategy Tony.

FOXY Steph

Find out about FOXY Choice’s network of female friendly UK garages that have signed the FOXY Promise.

Find out about free car fitness checks and moneysaving garage offers across the UK,  for women drivers.