OESAA launches garage forum profile series – first up, Oldfields Garage Services!

Date: Friday 18 March 2022

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The OESAA Garage Forum profile series kicks off with Tim Benson, Oldfields Garage Services director. An independent garage in Leominster, a rural town in Herefordshire, Tim reveals his journey from beginning his automotive education with a work experience post at Volkswagen to running the family business.

Like many garages, Oldfields runs in the family, with Tim’s father beginning his own automotive career as a mechanic at just 16-years-old and would always be found in or around cars, whether it be repairing or rallying!

In 1991, Tim’s parents assumed control of a petrol station, with a built-in workshop, and so began the Oldfields adventure; however, Tim’s own career path took a different direction, before returning to the family business years later.

He revealed:

“When I left school, I wasn’t keen on staying in education, so my stay at sixth-form college was brief. Keen for me to experience a job elsewhere, Dad fixed up a work experience placement in the parts department at the local Volkswagen dealer, and part way through the week they offered me an apprenticeship – it was an old-school trial!

“I stayed there for three years until I decided I was ready to go back to learning, and I completed a HND and, subsequently, a degree in business management. After several years outside of the automotive Industry – IT companies, university administration and a cosmetic surgery company – I moved back to Leominster and returned to the family business to take care of the customer and management side of the company.”

“We aim to be the best independent garage in the area”
Twelve miles north of Hereford and seven miles south of Shropshire, Leominster has a population of just shy of 12,000, and Oldfields is an active part of a tight-knit community by supporting local causes, schools and clubs. That community spirit has helped elevate the garage over the years, with most new business generated through word of mouth.

Tim said:

“Over our 30-plus years of trading, we have built a reputation for providing an excellent customer experience. Our niche is that we deliver a service that feels familiar to a main dealer but with a more personalised service.

“We don’t rest on our laurels, though, and continue to invest in our facilities, systems, technology, information and tooling.”

OESAA Garage Forum membership has helped “understand OE suppliers better”
When invited to join the OESAA Garage Forum, along with several other of his garage colleagues around the UK, Tim’s main objective was to strengthen the relationship between his business and the OE suppliers that make up the OESAA membership. He also wanted to share his experience by offering and discussing ideas, industry topics and suggestions from a garage perspective.

He added:

“We don’t fit customer-supplied parts, as we feel it’s important to be able to trace the source, and notwithstanding the profit we need from parts to help run the business. We prefer to spend a bit more on original equipment (OE) quality brands and pass the cost onto our customers because we can fit and forget them.

“Whilst offering a warranty is important, our take on it is that we don’t want to use poor quality parts, have the customer re-visiting and us having the hassle of dealing with it.

“It’s a much better customer experience to not have the fitted part failing, than it is to save a little at the beginning of the job, and in our experience, if you have the right customers, they trust your judgement, so I feel it’s an obligation to look for a quality solution to their issue.”

OESAA Chairman, Nigel Morgan, paid tribute to Tim, who continues to be an excellent asset to the membership:

“His willingness to host members, so they can produce collaborative articles and videos, as well as his business savviness and enthusiasm during important network meetings, is the commitment and information we need. It’s vital we have professionals, like Tim, that can help shape our strategy which will support garages both in the short and long-term.”

Away from the workshop, most weekends Tim can be found on a football pitch or spending time with his young family. He also fantasises of owning one of his dream cars one day, either a Ford GT40, Lancia Delta Integrale or Metro 6R4!

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