The Garage 277
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Welcome with Dave Gregory<br />
Hello<br />
Welcome to this issue of <strong>The</strong> <strong>Garage</strong>.<br />
Welcome to this issue of <strong>The</strong> <strong>Garage</strong><br />
We’re getting underneath cars<br />
in this issue and looking at<br />
steering and suspension and,<br />
in a separate feature, shock<br />
absorbers.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re’s no getting away from the parlous<br />
state of the roads, and after the winter that<br />
just didn’t seem to go away, they’re in an<br />
even worse state than ever: You know it’s<br />
getting bad when the outside lane of a motorway<br />
has potholes. But it’s not just motorways<br />
and trunk roads.<br />
Roads of all types are throwing their worst<br />
at every car’s steering and suspension and<br />
as the AA has recently shown, the number of<br />
insurance claims for road-related damage<br />
were greater in the first four months of this<br />
year than in all of 2017! It’s a terrible figure,<br />
and it also means there are too many cars<br />
out there with worn – and in some cases<br />
dangerous – steering and suspension components.<br />
Yes, they come under the watchful eye of<br />
the MoT test inspector, but between tests<br />
how much steering and suspension work do<br />
you do? And how much do you do to promote<br />
it to your customers? <strong>The</strong>re’s a safety<br />
aspect to these parts of the car and it’s impossible<br />
to over-estimate their importance.<br />
When talking about steering and suspension,<br />
it’s all too easy to focus on shock<br />
absorbers, to the detriment of coils, top<br />
mounts, ball joints and track rod ends.<br />
Yes, shock absorbers are vitally important,<br />
but they work with the other parts of the<br />
steering and suspension to keep a car firmly<br />
planted on the road, and responsive to<br />
steering and acceleration.<br />
<strong>The</strong> problem is, of course, the gradual<br />
wear that occurs with shock absorbers.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re’s no sudden, lightbulb-style it works/<br />
it doesn’t work, so carrying out regular<br />
shock absorber checks is something you<br />
should be doing every time a car’s in for a<br />
major or intermediate service.<br />
Carrying out checks on the steering and<br />
suspension components doesn’t take long,<br />
and it makes the roads that little bit safer.<br />
But, on top of that, it might just make some<br />
more money for your business.<br />
Enjoy the issue!<br />
Dave Gregory<br />
Editor<br />
PS. If you agree, disagree or have anything to<br />
add to my comments please email me at:<br />
dave.gregory@ppmedia.co.uk<br />
Editorial<br />
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