Ref. 30963-30Garages in Swindon have the unenviable distinction of being the country's most expensive when it comes to servicing. ANDY TATE reports

SWINDON is one of the most expensive places in the UK to have a car serviced.

A survey claims garages in the Thames Valley belt including Wiltshire are the priciest in the country, charging an average hourly labour rate of £68.61.

This contrasts wildly with the cheapest area, Scotland, where garages charge an average of just £43.12.

Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Porsche and Audi dealers charged the five most expensive rates.

At the other end of the scale, Mazda delivered an average of £44 an hour, yet the dearest franchised Mazda dealer charged double that figure.

The survey, by Warranty Direct, found some car dealerships were imposing labour charges almost three times the national average.

A BMW franchised dealer in central London charged as much as £152.75 an hour for labour.

One Swindon garage owner who charges just £32 an hour said smaller garages often charged less.

"Most of the smaller garages have similar charges, but it all depends on the overheads," said John Dunn, of JWD Autorite in Old Town, who has been in the business for 25 years.

Mr Dunn said motorists choose a garage on personal recommendation.

"It's better if you know the person," he said. "Most of my customers have come to me for years. If one of them wants a bulb fitting I'll do it for the cost of the bulb.

"A lot of the job is about trust, availability and reliability, and getting the job done."

Mr Dunn, who is preparing to move his garage to Elgin Industrial Estate in Bramble Road next month, said the main dealers the official manufacturers' garages often added on more for labour than their smaller counterparts.

Keith Butler, finance director for Fish Brothers' nine main dealers in Swindon, said their garages had higher overheads and generally offered a more comprehensive service than the smaller garages.

"When someone comes to a main dealer they expect to have use of a courtesy car, a car wash and vacuum, collection and delivery, and it all has to be paid for," he said.

"We also have to invest heavily in training. As soon as a new model rolls off the production line our mechanics have to know how to maintain it.

"We are spending more and more on training to make sure skill levels are appropriate.

"Motorists can expect more up-to-date expertise in main dealers than they can in the smaller garages."

Mr Butler said he believed the average hourly labour rates charged by Fish Brothers garages about £54 were reasonable.

More specialist dealers like the Fish Brothers' Lexus garage charged more, but they required additional expertise, he said.

This was echoed by Julian Wraight, general manager at Dick Lovett Ferrari Maserati, who charges £85 per hour for labour.

He said premium cars like Ferrari and Maserati required premium technicians, which added to the costs.

Dick Lovett's Swindon BMW garage charges its customers £81 per hour for labour.

This is higher than the national average for BMW garages recorded by the survey (£68) but less than the rate BMW UK claims as its official average (£82).

The reason garages in the Thames Valley charged more than others in the north or south of the country were because of the higher overheads, according to Swindon dealers.

"We have higher costs, wages, land prices and commercial rates than Cornwall does," said Mr Wraight.

Mr Butler from Fish Brothers added: "The Thames Valley is one of the highest priced areas because of its proximity to London.

"The further away you get from the capital the cheaper the charges are."

Hourly labour rates

REGION HIGHEST AVGE

Thames Valley £117.31 £68.61

North London £115.62 £65.36

Anglia £102.67 £64.87

South London £152.75 £62.97

North West £108.63 £60.71

Northern Ireland £81.66 £58.67

South Coast £119.85 £55.21

Midlands £111.63 £54.45

North East £101.50 £53.24

Wales £96.31 £51.60

South West £101.52 £50.35

Yorkshire £98.70 £48.12

Scotland £70.50 £43.12

Andy Tate