Season opener – shall we meet?

Perhaps not the best timing for a bright and shiny newsletter during another cold weather snap but in my defence, March does signify the beginning of meteorological spring, and, I’ll bet my 8 Series that this is the last one before you know what! 🌸

Taking to the keyboard once again, there is so much to update you on, all while not actually knowing where to start. Part of me wants to begin with the media again who seem hell bent on economic scare mugering. I recall someone wise (probably Richard) saying; “back in the day, every time Trevor Mcdonald used the ‘R’ word the phone wouldn’t ring the next day”… So, as ever the optimist here, I’m only interested in positivity, please!

Moving onto more domestic and exciting matters I am thrilled to confirm we will be hosting our Season Opener on Saturday 18th March from 9AM until 12. It’s a drop in cars and coffee type gig which we’ll be hosting at our Bishops Stortford location as pictured above.

The event is complementary to all Care Pack and Half Board owners and their +1. All other owners are of course welcome but we encourage you to take the Care Pack from the following month and join the rest of the years exciting events.

Spaces are limited and by RSVP only so, hit that button below and grab your e-ticket or call us for more info.

In other headline news the above event will give you a great opportunity to meet our newest member of the team, Sam. She joins us as our Owner Experience Lead and you can read all about her and how the role will be supporting you right here.

On from there, you can check out what Adam has been up to in our latest Day in the Bay piece around headlamp restoration while also offering complementary paint inspections and test panels ahead of your summer adventures.

Meanwhile, Richard is currently working on (you guest it) another owners M Car! This time in the shape of an M3 CSL from our Ware facility so dive right into our latest instalment of What’s on the ramp?

Next up, I’ve shared an advanced peek at a few examples that will be coming to market soon from fellow owners in store. Perhaps the most exciting part is they are currently listed here and available off market – some of which will be on display at the upcoming meet.

Last but not least, check out where we’re been spending far too much time recently via our Local Experiences piece – why not come and grab your car and test it out?

Tell a lie, there’s more! We are also hiring. If you fancy a new challenge or know someone who might be suitable, take a peek at our careers page. There’s a current focus around the Storage Executive role which would suit an early career type person but tbh, talent is talent so simply get in touch.

That’s all for now – get clicking, gang, and I look forward to seeing you on the 18th!

Tim

Meet Sam – Owner Experience Lead

I know I know, 2 in 2 is getting a little crazy but it’s not our fault, it’s yours!

Some of you may have already heard from Sam, already proving quicker than I she has seemingly beaten me to announcing her arrival.

However, no introduction needed as Sam joins us with a wealth of experience in the corporate administration space having spent the majority of her career and family life whipping people into shape!

She joins GQ at a time where your requests have created a back log which wasn’t sitting comfortably with me managing so slowly.

So, what can you expect from Sam? Well, she’ll kindly be reminding you of your annual MOT’s and services and offering Adam and my time to carry them out via our little black book of tried and tested specialists. She will also be facilitating your repairs and personalisation requests – she is currently working on producing a lovely set of Neodyme finished alloys for a 991 911 Turbo S as seen below.

I’m sure that you are also all very aware that the bald, middle aged white guy is hardly an endangered species! So, the icing on the cake is that our D&I creds aren’t looking too shabby now either!

I’m still pinching myself that she has agreed to join GQ to be honest and have a feeling she’ll be telling us what do in no time.

Please join me in welcoming her to the gang, perhaps at our season opener on the 18th or if you’d like to get ahead of the curve feel free to email her directly via the link below. However, no poaching, we found her first!

What's on the ramp?

“Apologies, that part is NLA.”

Know the feeling?

An increasing experience I’m sure some of you will be all too familiar with. No longer is simply calling your local dealer or setting up a keyword notification for a used one cutting it.

The start of the year has seen us reaching out further and wider in our networks to find your holy grails (not sure I’m pluralising that correctly).

However, the advances in 3D printing is really coming on – areas such as interior door handle and dash surrounds, speaker covers, various clips, blanking plates etc. are all a spot the difference exercise now.

This growing technology coupled with restoration I’m certain will start to play a huge part in our quests for perfection.

On from there and despite the long winter period, many of you have remained active and have been asking us to support you in many different ways. From simple MOT’s and servicing into preventative maintenance like the CSL we have here on our outside cleaning and inspection ramp.

Purchased in June 2004 with a mere 1,700 miles on her by a lovely local owner who’s M Car ownership list spans multiple generations ending with this #NeverSell example.

A conversation that originally started from what we think was a slightly keen MOT tester, flagging corrosion on the brake lines. This turned into a thankful reason for the owner to get her up in the air. The opportunity netting out with some some light restoration and mainly preventive maintenance. First up was to preserve her pass rate (it was due imminently) so we did a pre MOT check which you can see below.

That then gave us the working list from which to cherry pick from with the owner. This process was carried out with the owner seeing for himself first hand (while I made coffee and pretended I knew what I was talking about!)

My hope is that when I next write to you I’ll be sharing some lovely before and afters which include some restored parts along with some ‘NLA’s!

For more info, to take a look under your own or for help sorting that annoying part you need feel free to reach out as you wish.

As a parting gift I give you some further candid headaches, sorry I mean pics of what else has been keeping us up at night!

We're in Epping!

We weren’t looking – honest! However, I think it was May time and we took a call from the new owner of some land we had been looking at some years before.

It was/is a killer location but at the time was too complicated for us to navigate. Fast forward 3 years and we were presented with an opportunity too good to turn down – enter GQ Epping!

Now, this was our biggest challenge to date, not good enough to move straight in but not bad enough to knock down and purpose build new like we did at Ware.

Most testing moment? Having to sync the whole front wall coming off (company a) with the roller shutter door going in (company b). All while lining up the re cladding of the surrounding wall – you guessed it, (company c!). Long story short we/they failed and it was open faced to the elements for almost a week, post decorating! *facepalm*. Best moment? Hiring the marshmallow man to come in and spray insulation on the ceiling.

Sid played his part providing not only vast load lugging but also a much needed reclining seat for the odd KitKat! Not to mention keeping the drinks chilled under the arm rest.

I still remain anxious but my nerves are easing with each new owners call, and it now really feels like another GQ. As a thank you to everyone for their trust or for our owners in other facilities wanting to view we’ll be hosting a breakfast meet there super soon.

For more info or just to coffee give me a call anytime.

Meet Sid

Perhaps I bent the truth. I have actually bought a new car but technically it’s not mine, this one belongs to GQ.

I’d been looking for some time at the E53 generation X5, particularly at the 4.8iS variant but they all seem either very leggy and unloved or over priced.

It wasn’t until I saw the MPG on the OBC from a local example that I thought the 3.0D Sport might be the wiser choice for GQ duties. (For the record – I still want one).

Now, it’s not like I’ve fallen out of love with the E36, it’s just carting around all the storage equipment while adding 20k a year was loosing its appeal. (She lives on btw, currently at the Buntingford facility).

So, I rolled the dice on the example you see pictured here. 80k, pan roof, wide screen nav, etc. etc. But the best bit? The Nokia 6110 under the arm rest (on top of the cool box!)

First up was a service and tow bar and while being under him I was able to confirm it’s not an X1! So, for now he’s got the job. Another nice touch is the 93 litre tank which is achieving a 500+ mile range.

Oh and of course, I didn't cover the name. My Mum has a quad up at her home in Aberystwyth which is their work horse. Somehow it just felt right. Or technically Sid the 2nd I guess.

So, as he rolls into winter he’s all set to drop you home or rescue you from the road side – hopefully the former!

Day in the bay – paint thickness

Remember the name valeter? Well it seems more are now calling themselves a detailer. There is of course a little more to it than that…

Some of you will have spotted the trend some time ago, but, in my view at least, part of the challenge is that detailing is more scientific.

What’s even more interesting is that owners are wising up, too. You can’t just take a polisher to a panel, there’s multiple stages of decontamination before any machine work should take place. This is in part the reason for the post as the last few jobs we’ve take on have actually been where the owner or previous has tried to remove swirls and scratches elsewhere and hasn't been happy with the result.

Once the surface is prepared one can begin the scientific part – measuring the paint depth. This gives you an idea of what you have to work with ie the remaining lacquer or clear coat. From that number you can begin to give yourself and more importantly the owner an idea of the percentage correction available. There is no such thing as a full or 100% correction. Typically a 60% correction is achievable with an enhancement detail and you can often get into the 70’s, 80’s and even 90’s if you’re lucky with a two or three stage.

Often a good place to take an original reading from is just inside the door. From there you move around the car noting down and comparing the measurements – increments in the paint world are measured in microns.

Top consumer tip, you get more bang for your buck the less you spend. For example, when machining it’s natural for a detailer to want to remove the scratch and often we take a second or third pass simply because we enjoy it! Unless it’s perfection you’re after or money is no object my advice is take our enhancement detail and then add say, a wheels off arch clean and ceramic the barrels at the same time – much more therapeutic!

Up next is this rather lovely Estoril Blue E36 M3 (no it’s not mine!:) followed by a family owned Jaguar S-Type which I believe was his late fathers car. After helping see to the mechanicals via our local Jag Specialist the fun part can now begin!

For anyone interested in finding out a little more about our work feel free to give me a shout – would love to show you some in-store examples of what’s achievable.

New everything!*

*OK, so, maybe not everything – I’ve not bought a new car (this month), the media continue to report apocalyptic times, Richard still has the dream man cave and my girlfriend’s not left me!

First up I must start with an apology for not writing sooner, getting you lovely lot out to all the Summer parties looking your best kept all my attention on the cars. I must also thank Brett for everything he did, too – you’ll still see him around, he’s just in his Cab a little more.

While on the people note, please join me in extending a huge welcome to Adam who joined us last week and will be bolstering our detailing, photography and general car concierge abilities. You can read more about him here.

On from there we thought it was about time Standon got some love so we re roofed it over Summer adding not only the obvious protection but a layer of insulation, too – and if that wasn’t enough we installed some ramps along the back wall at the same time!

Ware also got its fare share of improvements this Summer with the concrete finally going down outside. We have also been able to complete the internal self service to support the Care Pack owners which some of you will have experienced by now.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, we also opened in Epping, too! There’s lots more on that here.

Oh, and of course – you need to meet Sid, our new load lugger. After a real dice throw in the classifieds we might have just rolled a 6. Click here to read all about him.

Digitally we also started working on a booking app which we aim to go into beta testing around Christmas time, look out for more info coming soon on that.

On reflection, sat here writing to you I’ve surprised myself what was achieved. Yet somehow, among all of it I managed to move house and have a baby! (Ettie, pictured above with my partner at the Standon facility:).

This little lot leaves me with some pretty big thank yous to be honest, and there are many. But the two no wait, three big ones are as follows; As mentioned above, thank you to Brett for running our busiest Friday on record while Tassie went into labour. I will never forget having to remove my iWatch going into theatre with all the notifications blowing up! The second? It’s you. Thank you for your continued trust, believe, referrals, Google reviews, feedback, baby gifts, etc. you name it. The GQ ‘no dick head’ policy really paid dividends this year! I have of course saved the biggest until last – thank you to my partner Tassie for a). not leaving me and b). for bringing Ettie into the world.

As the clocks now go back and the season turns again, my favourite time of year is upon us. There’s something very special about a sunny autumnal day and a clean car – where will you go? Perhaps to Fred & Dougs, or perhaps your own favourite location, we’d love to know. Whatever you do, Adam and I look forward to supporting you.

See you next time.

Local experience – Epping

Given it’s our first newsletter since GQ Epping it would be rude not to show everyone who’s been fuelling us while we’ve been working late.

Fred & Doug's is a cool little coffee shop right on the high street not far from Epping tube station.

It’s named in memory of cousins, James & Max Berndes, grandparents. With a passion for artisan coffee and fresh quality produce Fred and Doug's mission is to bring the best coffee and brunch experience to Epping High Street. Offering everything from fresh juices, coffee and cakes to their brunch menu.

So, come grab your car, head down the leafy high street and nab a lucky spot outside the door. Or alternatively get me to pick you up from the tube, I’ll take us both!

Fred and Dougs
148 High Street
Epping
Essex
CM16 4AG

P.S. Thanks to fellow owner Harry for the tip off!