Paintless Dent Removal

The owner of this M5 has been storing with us for some time. He had found himself at a junction in the road where his M5 had transitioned from being the daily into more of a collectors asset. The owner had his space in the car park at work and the same colleague would park next to him, then proceeded to open their door and give the M5 another love tap - how kind! The car is very straight, apart from this one panel with a very isolated set of car park dings.

The process is carried out with an extremely skilled hand, a keen eye and some rather peculiar looking tools. The dent is manipulated and worked out of the panel from within; it is pushed, tapped, rubbed and rolled out of the panel. I think the before and after videos speak for themselves - the results are amazing. 

Clients that have signed up for the Care Pack are entitled to our trade discount off of the PDR process. Prices are calculated on a per panel basis, so drop us a line to discuss your individual requirements.

Auction watch

Window shopping is fine right? Sebastian Vettel’s move away from the prancing horses has prompted a bit of a spring clean for the 4 time F1 world champ. Some of the cars have already been snapped up, but you never know there might well be a last minute bargain to be had. 

I’ve got a thing for yellow so I’ll put my name be the Ferrari F12 TDF and the Z8. What are you having?

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Pricing overview

We’ve likely covered a lot during our conversations so here’s a helpful recap of some of our products, services and prices.

Epping & Broxbourne: (Inside)
Long term: (9 months+) £40 per week.
Short term: (under 9 months) £45 per week.

Epping & Broxbourne: (Outside)
£25 per week.

Ware, Bishops Stortford, Buntingford & Braintree:
Long term: (9 months+) £35 per week.
Short term: (under 9 months) £40 per week.

Care Pack: (all locations) Our most popular approach.
£15 per week – an overview can be found here.

The shortest increment supported is 1 calendar month and is charged at £250 regardless of duration or location. If using our services for business use support packages can be agreed on a case by case basis and storage prices are £250.

All prices quoted are + VAT.

If you would like to confirm your space the booking link can be found below:

Any questions in the meantime please don’t hesitate to get back in touch.

Beauty and the Titanic

On the ramp - Beauty and the Titanic

Most cars can be painted and detailed to take on a stunning appearance but on the  underside at the business end it can resemble the Titanic! For the ‘thin edge’ of a panel (and there are many of these) has very little surface area, it’s where two panels are typically spot welded together. 

The shiny new panels when spot welded together at the factory have a protective surface and are then seam sealed and treated with a rubberized protective coating. This is usually more than adequate to see the vehicle past what we term it’s ‘first life’.

Nudge it down the road a little, when these cars are actually becoming a classic and one will find that the virtually non existent surface area on this ‘thin edge’ (which could take very little of the protective material in the first place) has now become separated from the metal causing the road detritus to find a home and with no need to rest, spend 24/7 eating into the seam and causing it to separate.

A cursory inspection might have it all looking safe and sound but with a little prising along these edges one often finds the rubberized protective coating is no longer attached and sitting there hiding rust that can migrate back below its surface undetected.

Left unchecked the metal begins to degrade and will eventually be eaten away leaving a hole. These can be quite localized areas and if caught in time can be either treated before the integrity of the panel is compromised or the area cut out and a new patch welded in. 

Over the next few newsletters we will take you through the stages of how this issue can be processed.  

Thankfully it’s not all doom, gloom and rust holes though. We’ve also come up close and personal with these extremely well maintained examples of an E46 M3 - in for an underside inspection and POR15 permanent rust preventer. Also this stunning MGB GT - in for an underside inspection and enhancements.

Feel free to get in touch in the meantime to discuss anything we’ve raised (get it….raised….Titanic).

Check Availability

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Latest Arrivals

Hello, and welcome to all our new owners this month. Thank you for choosing to store with us. When national guidelines allow; please come along to a Garage Queens Social.

One for you private plate enthusiasts here. This Maserati Coupe was previously owned by a racing driver, that clearly was not a fan of finishing off the podium. The warmest of welcomes to all our new owners.

Gone Girl

After nearly a year storing with us, we said a fond farewell to a 90s icon in this VW Corrado G60 - yes the supercharged one. The owner decided it was time to move on; we personally delivered the car to its new owner in Yeovil.

Underside Wash...

As I type this the snow of Storm Darcy still falling; but is it too early to start thinking about better weather? The short answer is “no”. We are exited to offer a new underside inspection, wash, and restoration service. We have just had a newly installed outdoor 4 post lift at our Broxbourne facility. The best news of all is that we are now including an underside inspection to all of our Care Package clients, so if you’ve already signed up – Book your post winter inspection now! 

If you’ve been using your pride and joy through the winter months you don’t have to worry about the road salt eating away at your brake pipes (That thought certainly keeps me awake at night). We can now take care of that for you with our underside wash service and our usual Garage Queens eye for detail. If you’ve not signed up for the Care Package, worry not. Drop us a line to discuss availability.

M3 - The Rat

In our own news I decided that the interior of the GQ M3 (dubbed “The Rat”) needed a bit of attention. The usual cracking leather and general ‘tired’ feeling needed addressing.

I’d fallen in love with the 20 Jahre material Richard has in his E34 M5. With a few calls to the right people I’d sourced the OE material. I went with one of our own GQ approved craftsmen with the job of the freshen up. Now I was reluctant to mess with the original specification of the car, but I am so happy with the results. Along with the underside wash maybe “The Rat” is a little harsh.

What have you been doing, got a story you want us to share? Get in touch.

ULEZ - it's coming...

Ok so there’s no easy way to cover this one, but we’ll try and make it a bit more digestible than the umpteen different TFL pages that you’ll have to navigate covering the topic. ULEZ for those that don’t know is the Ultra Low Emission Zone covering London. From 25/10/21 it is going to be significantly increased to cover the area within the North and South Circular roads. It’s intention is to keep the air over London less polluted going into the future. You can take your car there still – but it may now cost you. 

The simplest way to find out is by looking here if your car even falls within the emissions criteria. Most modern (post 2005) cars already meet the regulations (Euro 4 emissions if you’re really having trouble sleeping) and won’t have to pay the £12.50. The Mayor’s website say that the scheme is designed to tax “Older, more polluting vehicles”.

The new ULEZ zone will operate 24/7 365 days of the year. Cars, vans, buses, coaches, lorries and motorbikes are all included in the new rules, but the charge will only apply to models that don't meet certain emissions standards.

There are historic exemptions so if your vehicle is 40 or older then you do not have to pay, so if your car/s fall into the “Historic Tax class” then you’re off the hook. If you are a resident in London, you may also be able to apply for discounts/exemptions.

In plain English, if your car is made anywhere between 1981 and 2005 and you’re planning on driving into London after 25/10/21; it’s worth checking to see if you’re going to get stung for another road usage charge. It is a huge expansion and likely to catch the unawares out. There is a journey planner here and further reading here to get yourself up to speed.  

Autocar's view