I’ve visited a few independent garages recently, and there seems to be a severe lack of knowledge about the new code of practice for service and repair.

The people I’ve spoken to are not sure if they’ve heard about it, getting it confused with other schemes, for example the Bosch equivalent and voluntary Good Garage Scheme.

As recently reported in AM, only 10 per cent of workshops signed up are non-franchised. But surely these are the companies that need the recognition of quality more.

Only time will tell if these numbers even out, giving many independent garages the respect they deserve.

I would much rather go to an independent than go to a franchised workshop. But the risk of picking a bad garage leaves some people with no option.

Word of mouth is how many of these repair centres gain business. Getting onboard the code of practice will give them an opportunity to grow further and separate the wheat from the chaff.