PMM is celebrating 25 years in the trade by visiting as many fantastic garages across the UK as possible. We’re kicking things off with a garage quite close to home…
Name: VW Doctor
Location: Watford, near PMM HQ
Meet the team
Ian Fowler – Owner
Ian Parry – Senior Technician (not pictured)
Cheyanne Emmerson – Apprentice 2nd Year
Bina Kantaria – Office Administrator
How many bays?
Two ramps
MOT offered?
We don’t have enough space to do them here, but we’ll arrange for them to be done off site
How many technicians?
2 and an apprentice
Makes covered?
The clue’s in the name
Year established?
Five years ago, January 2020. Probably the worst time ever to start a business… I remember one month that Summer we only took £250
Customer supplied parts?
It’s a grey area. When things go wrong with a part, who covers the warranty? I had a customer last year whose dealer-bought brakes distorted after three months. I had to tell him he had to go to Mercedes himself to complain, as we had nothing to do with buying them. It’s not something I like doing but I will accommodate certain customers
Owner’s background?
VW dealership gave me (Ian) an apprenticeship right out of school. We had a really good careers department at my school and the head of careers pushed me to get a job, rather than stay on at school. I became a Volkswagen master tech and eventually became disillusioned with it all… you have to do things a certain way and I wasn’t allowed to deal directly with the customers
Favourite motorsport?
I’ve been very lucky to be involved in British touring racing for a few years with one of the teams and I actually used to race myself a very long time ago. At the moment there’s a race series we’re involved in which races classic Volkswagens
Best moment in the garage?
The times when a mess comes in caused by another garage and we sort it out
Job/car/customer that makes you groan?
There are certain VW engines which are less than pleasant to work on in a small garage. They require a lot of physical work and they inevitably end up costing the customer a lot
Tea or coffee?
(points to a cup of tea the size of a small aquarium)
EVs – yay or nay?
As a concept, EVs are a very good idea
What’s playing on the radio on a Friday afternoon?
Bad 90s dance music, and that’s not just on a Friday
What diagnostic equipment do you own?
VCDS, ODIS… We’ve recently discovered that VW is locking out the handbrake modules on new cars, so you can’t use an aftermarket tool to do it anymore. Manufacturers legally have to provide access, but they don’t half charge for it!
If you could choose one celebrity to drive into the garage with their engine management lamp on right now, who would it be?
Jenson Button!
