AssessorsJournalMagSpring2024 web - Flipbook - Page 11
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CAR INSURANCE PREMIUMS
DOWN 5% (£54) TO £941 AVERAGE
Car insurance premiums have fallen
for 昀椀rst time in more than two years to
an average £941, £54 less than three
months ago, indicating prices might be
starting to fall for the 昀椀rst time since a
worldwide surge in in昀氀ation began in
mid-2021.
GARAGE OWNER JAILED FOR 12 MONTHS
"FOR DANGEROUS CAR REPAIR"
A Warrington garage owner was jailed
for 12 months "for dangerous car
repair" following a Trading Standards
investigation.
Lee Hill, 45, owner of Performance
Northwest Ltd in Warrington was
sentenced to 12 months in prison
following an investigation conducted
by the council’s trading standards
service.
In August 2022, a consumer took her
car to Lee Hill’s garage for repair where
he agreed to 昀椀t a new exhaust to her
car for £1,500. The consumer collected
the vehicle and two weeks later she
embarked on a 200-mile journey.
However, while travelling, she noticed
what she thought was steam coming
from the rear of the vehicle. As she
pulled in at a motorway service
station, she saw fuel pouring out from
underneath her car.
When a breakdown recovery mechanic
examined the car, they advised that
the exhaust was positioned to run
directly underneath the fuel tank, and
the heat had melted a six-inch hole
in the plastic tank. Lee Hill agreed to
repair the exhaust and replace the fuel
tank with a new one. However, despite
con昀椀rming to the consumer that the
works involved 昀椀tting a new fuel tank,
he only repaired the old one.
BODYSHOP GROUP NEWS
In March, Steer Automotive acquired
six of iRG's 12 sites, three in South
Wales (Whitland, Carmarthanshire;
Swansea and Pontypridd (a prestige
site), and three in England (Bristol
(prestige); Birmingham (Kings
Norton) and Wolverhampton. iRG
have kept six sites.
Gemini Accident Repair Centres
opened a new bodyshop in
Barnstaple, Gemini’s 35th site.
FMG Repair Services con昀椀rmed
bodyshop site number 66, in
the Greater Manchester town of
Chadderton.
Veetec Motor Group opened a new
state of the art accident repair centre
in Hayes, West London, to replace
Veetec's previous Hayes bodyshop.
In Northern Ireland Charles Hurst
con昀椀rmed it would become the
Dumurry branch of Wrights ARC.
Three new Fix Auto UK sites were
added in East Anglia: Bressingham
Car Bodyshop became Fix Auto
Diss; Autodoc joins as Fix Auto West
Norwich, and Red Rocket ARC is
now Fix Auto Great Yarmouth.
The Vella Group has acquired two
Axiom Accident Repair Centres
(Peterborough and Daventry) taking
the Vella Group to 14 bodyshops.
The Vella Group is the 11th largest
independent bodyshop group,
according to ABP Yearbook 昀椀gures.
And Komoo opened the
Group’s16th bodyshop. The new
Rugby site is the 昀椀rst location in the
Midlands for Komoo.
Kudos Bodyworks opened a second
bodyshop, a new site in Biggin Hill,
Bromley.
www.iaea-online.org/news/the-assessor | SPRING 2024 | THE ASSESSORS JOURNAL
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