Below are the contact details of a handful of companies that specialise in smart repairs, along with a brief description of the services they offer.
Manheim: www.manheim.co.uk
Tel: 0870 252 0430
AUCTION house Manheim has a number of smart repair subsidiaries that have grown their businesses by focusing on reducing the time and costs associated with smaller repairs.
Dent Wizard specialises in the removal of dents, creases, hail damage, and other flaws from bodywork.
Its partner Flying Colours provides cost-effective solutions to bumper scuffs, paint scratches, damaged windscreens and interior damage. Even cigarette burns can be repaired.
Dent Wizard and Flying Colours pride themselves in undertaking in a matter of a few hours work that would take days in a bodyshop.
Its prices are also generally in the tens of pounds, rather than hundreds or thousands. Wheel Wizard adds a third string to the bow, offering a fully mobile wheel repair service that can strip, spray and refit a full set of wheels within a day.
BCA: www.british-car-auctions.co.uk
Tel: 0845 600 66 44
VEHICLE auction giant BCA smart repairs almost half the vehicles it receives for sale.
It offers an inspection and appraisal service via its online customer interaction – MyBCA – which lets vendors view recommendations and authorise work, from alloy wheel refurbishment to interior trim repair and stone chip removal.
The firm also provides vendors with a concise valeting specification guide, which details the range of preparation services it delivers at the point of sale, including the premier Smart Retail Clean and Machine Operated Polish (MOP) services.
The aim is to demystify the process and provide what amounts to a menu of techniques and costs. Smart Retail Clean offers a 26-point preparation that includes degreasing the engine compartment, spot cleaning carpets and upholstery, polishing all the paintwork and dressing the tyres and exterior trim.
A Smart Retail MOP can be added to this specification, which includes a four-stage machine polish process. These processes have one aim – to make used cars look like new.
First Fleet: www.firstfleet.co.uk
Tel: 01295 662000
FIRST Fleet is a division of automotive logistics supplier AutoLogic.
As part of a range of fleet services, it offers smart repair and broader bodyshop facilities at two sites in the UK.
The first, in Doncaster, can hold 3,500 while the second, in Chipping Warden, Oxfordshire, has space for 7,000.
A third site is planned for the Midlands in the near future, creating a spine of facilities down the centre of the Britain.
Each site offers alloy wheel repair and refurbishment, as well as the removal of stone chips and bumper scrapes, fabric repair and dashboard restoration. As well as carrying out such work, First Fleet also offers a comprehensive inspection and appraisal service.
An inspector visits a client to view the vehicles on site before offering suggestions on what can be fixed.
Fleet Auction Group: www.fleetauctiongroup.com
Tel: 01530 833535
THE Fleet Auction Group, or FLAG, is the only UK auction group that operates on a trade-only basis.
The range of smart offerings from FLAG covers both internal and external repair.
External bodywork is one of the largest areas of demand, with stone chip and key scratch removal topping the list. Colour coded bumper and wing mirror repairs also feature as high on the list for smart treatment at de-fleeting time.
For minor dents, FLAG uses cost-effective paintless dent removal techniques.
Alloy wheels are also catered for, as are small windscreen glass chips which can easily be plugged, saving the costs of whole screen replacement.
Inside the car, FLAG finds that vinyl and velour tears and burns are the most popular treatment on defleeted cars, while older and more heavily used vehicles can benefit from leather rejuvenation on the upholstery.
Repair Magic: www.repairmagic.co.uk
Email: corp.dept @repairmagic.co.uk
REPAIRMAGIC launched in 2004 to provide customers of parent company Swap-a-Lease with easy access to mobile smart repair.
It now caters for both retail and fleet customers, offering access to a network of more than 650 repairers across the UK.
An online booking service covers glass, body, bumper, trim, air conditioning repair and regassing, scratches and scuffs, stone chips, alloy wheels and dents, as well as mechanical repairs.
Repairs can be carried out at a drivers home or at a place of work, meaning minimal transportation costs or vehicle downtime.
Prices for the repair of stone chips to paintwork or glass start at £35, while individual alloy wheel repair starts at £65.
AC Smart: www.acsmart.co.uk
Tel: 08707 510410
AC Smart has over the years built up a growing base of operating sites throughout the UK and works with some of the biggest names in motor sales, leasing and fleet management.
The firm can take care of all the minor repairs that lead to improved residual values for fleets. From painting and repair of bumpers to alloy wheel repair, windscreen repairs and bumper scuffs, AC Smart offers a cost-effective way to keep vehicles in pristine condition.
The company offers both a mobile service or a full-time site based team, with fully trained technicians able to carry out all smart repairs on site, supply all equipment and materials and take care of waste disposal and health and safety issues.
AC Smart is offering a free demonstration of its services to Fleet News readers. For further details contact Peter Degg on 07860 680638 or Samantha Barks on 08707 510415.
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