Cradle Hill Motors, Seaford, East Sussex
On a bright February morning, I visited Mark Turton and Mick Evans at the independently-owned and run Cradle Hill Motors in Seaford, East Sussex, which is in CM’S Good Garage Guide. This is not the first time that CM has visited Cradle Hill Motors: they featured in the mag in 2006, where they carried out a repair for a Ferodo brakes feature. As well as repairs and servicing, the workshop carries out MOTS and is open from 8.30am-5.30pm during the week, with one of the partners covering 8.30am-12noon on Saturdays.
While I was there, a steady flow of private and small fleet vehicles were in attendance, with Cradle Hill Motors also carrying out tests for a trader close by that doesn’t have MOT facilities. This is an encouraging sign. Running an independent garage in today’s market is getting much tougher given the competition from the main dealers, with many smaller workshops getting tarred with a bad reputation.
Mark and Mick have both been in the trade since leaving school, but were both interested in the motor trade before that time. They’re dedicated petrolheads, with Mick owning a Porsche 911 and Mark a Triumph TR4A, although their daily drives are a Land Rover Discovery and Fiat Punto. There’s also a Vauxhall Mokka and an MGB in their personal fleets.
Long relationship
Mark and Mick met in 1979 when they worked together at the same garage. Mark had been working for Freddie Laker until the Laker empire collapsed. In 1982, they decided to branch out on their own and got a small unit on a Seaford business estate. After four years and with the business growing, they moved into the larger unit they now occupy.
As well as Mark and Mick, Cradle Hill Motors also employs another qualified mechanic, Malcolm Barber, and an apprentice, Joshua Simmons; the reception area is filled with framed certificates from the product training undertaken by Malcolm. Between the four of them they manage to fill the two workshop bays and the MOT test bay. The unit has a four-post and a two-post ramp in the repair side of the building and a four-post ramp and brake tester on the MOT side.
MOTS are carried out in a dedicated building and, on the day I visited, they were fully booked with nine vehicles lined up to be tested. They also had a full diary of work, including a cambelt change and anti-roll bar links for a Toyota Hiace, a service on a Ford Focus, a replacement inlet manifold for a Volkswagen Polo, anti-roll bar links for a Citroën C3 and welding work on a Vauxhall Zafira.
Cradle Hill Motors is a member of the RMI and FSB, but isn’t affiliated with any of the groups that charge a finder’s fee for work. Having been in business for 39 years, there is a longstanding and regular customer base. The company doesn’t advertise except for placing an advert in the local post office, but they do sponsor a local football club.
Like many garages, Cradle Hill Motors gets two types of customer: those who have their vehicles regularly serviced and those who only come in when there’s a serious problem. Although the company still uses a handwritten invoice system, the HMRC are insisting on using an electronic filing system for VAT, which entails more time and expense for small businesses.
Out of the vast array of tools available to them, I asked them which was their favourite. Mick chose his dinky screwdriver and Malcolm was undecided between his power probe and the impact gun. Having both Snap-on and Autel diagnostic equipment, Malcolm finds the Autel unit the most versatile – one of his favourite jobs is cracking an unsolved diagnostics problem that has been looked at by another garage. When it comes to difficult jobs, they have a motto: ‘Keep taking parts off and you’ll get there eventually!’
I also asked them which was their least favourite vehicle was to work on. They had to think long and hard, before deciding that it would probably be French and most likely the Renault Modus. Their favourite vehicles were listed as Vauxhall, Toyota and Hyundai.
Summing up
Cradle Hill Motors is a garage that will give you good old-fashioned service, but can cope with the modern changes in the motor industry. However, Mick and Malcolm are not fans of the longer service intervals that some manufacturers are recommending. Although they feel the new Iridium spark plugs can go the extra mileage, they don’t think even modern oils can happily be left for extended periods.
With parts sourced from main dealers and local factors, Cradle Hill Motors has a good delivery service from local sources. One of the changing faces of the motor trade is that some owners are asking if they can supply their own parts. Mick and Mark have no problem with this, but it comes with a warning: if the parts are wrong or faulty, it will take a lot longer to turn the job around. It really is best to leave the whole job to them.