1 whole year! 1 whole year of owning and running The Birkin Service Centre and what a year it has been!

We wanted to let you into our journey so far and what we have changed and had the opportunity and pleasure of doing the last twelve months.

From the moment we knew we were buying The Birkin Service Centre  we wanted to keep it a friendly, honest, family run business whilst also starting to bring it into the next generation so that it can still be here in another 30 years time!

Firstly we didn’t hesitate to employ our good friend and old apprentice of The Birkin, Kye Bromiley. We have known Kye since he was 15 years old and he is one of the nicest, kindest and loyal guys you will have the pleasure of meeting and we are so proud and excited he became an addition to the garage along with Darrell who has been at The Birkin for the last 13 years (I am sure everyone has had the pleasure of meeting Darrell and will know just how honest and thorough he is with your MOT’s keeping you safe on the roads).

Next we got to work installing and setting up our diagnostics and re-mapping station to allow us to work on diagnosing certain problems with your car in a much more thorough manner and to enable us to do remaps for power and fuel economy.

We painted and gave the office a revamp with new carpet and a move around so that we could welcome you better and make a comfortable space to wait for your MOT or just to be able to pop in and have a brew and chat with us, which we are always up for!

One of the main things we are super proud of this last year is being able to host our learner driver workshops with Stan Brown and the young ladies and students in the Knutsford area who are about to do their test or have passed recently and want to learn more about their cars and also who are a bit afraid of going to local garages as unfortunately there can be a lack of respect towards women and young people in the industry. We show them all the basics, such as opening the bonnet, checking tyre tread depths, checking and topping up oil, when they should visit a garage and that they have nothing to be afraid of, especially here at The Birkin, we pride ourselves on treating everyone fairly and to explain what we are doing with your car so that you understand and feel confident.

We also decided to start giving the garage a more modern spruce up (it is yet to be completed but we are happy with the cool vibe it is giving) what do you think?

We sadly lost our little Pippa this last year which was hard on all at the garage and more as she was such a strong character, always welcoming everyone who came through the door with cuddles and she is missed every single day, however we do have 2 new recruits who you may have met! Coco and Tilly our 2 working cocker spaniels are here to welcome you with a little bark and a hug (be warned they love to give kisses).

We have done many services, MOTs, tyres, welding jobs and so much more in our first year and we enjoy welcoming all our customers and friends into the garage, we have been so blessed and lucky to have so many incredible customers that continue to come and support us and we honestly would not be here or where we are without YOU!

So THANK YOU, we hope you continue to come, even if it is just for advice and a shoulder or a chat!

What is in store for the future you may ask? We are excited to be offering car modifications including lowering, back box deletes, remapping and more. We are also looking into electric cars and how we can move the garage into the new age of cars (don’t worry we will still always look after your old reliable ones too) and keep your eyes peeled for an exciting car renovation project coming up!

This is just the beginning, we hope you continue on this journey with us at The Birkin Service Centre Ltd.

Why should you service your car?

A short term outlay that means long-term gains for your car

We all know there are loads of other things you think are more important to spend your money on, but you always have to think of the long term gains when it comes to car maintenance and servicing.

It’s the most obvious thing you could do for all-round benefit to keeping your wheels performing and running at their best.

Always use the same service centre

One of the huge choices you need to make first of all, is getting your car serviced each year with the same service centre.

Why, you ask?

It may not be totally apparent to a lot of people, but not just any mechanic can do a service on your car and maintain it to the best standards.

Taking your car to the same service centre every time not only looks good on the service history, but it also means that each time you go your car is being looked at by the same people, who may have changed a bulb or a tyre the last time you went in and know about the health of your car.

You don’t take your dog to just any old vet do you?

So why would you take your car to any old service centre?

Having the same service centre on your service history documents also means that the overall value of your vehicle will be retained much better over the years.

The second hand car market is so competitive and so saturated that you have to keep on top of maintaining your car to attract the best buyers if you do come to sell it in the future.

Save yourself time

Servicing means your oil levels, engine maintenance and all the little fiddly jobs you definitely don’t have time for are taken care of for you.

Who has time to check their oil levels, seriously?

As well as that, it’s a great opportunity to get a check up done, anything that needs repairing updating or tweaking can all be done during a service.

It’s a great opportunity for any small problems or issues to be spotted before they become big ones.

It’s a total no-brainer.

The most obvious reason for a service – increased performance.

Regular servicing is vital for smooth-running, reliability and ultimately the longevity of your car’s power unit.

It all comes back to the future value of your vehicle, so if those potential buyers can see the care and ultimately the few issues the car has probably had, then it’ll all add up on that selling price.

If you’re not looking to sell it, then it will definitely add extra years of use onto the life of your car.

Servicing at Birkin Service Centre

The dedicated service team at Birkin have a fantastic range of knowledge when it comes to inspecting and servicing your car.

Dealing with all sorts of specialist vehicles on a daily basis such a Maclarens, Bentleys and BMWs, they will certainly be able to recommend and carry out the best service plans and regular check-ups for your vehicle.

• From just £54.00 Birkin Service Centre offers full servicing with easy access to a huge range of quality parts either equivalent to, or are the standard manufacturer parts and a range of engine oils suitable for your car
• Birkin technicians can also do diagnostics checks on your vehicle to assess performance and anything that could be tweaked including vehicle safety checks
• All of our Birkin technicians are fully qualified to use the most up-to-date servicing equipment
• Appointments for your service are available [5/6] days a week, and we even offer elderly person drop offs & pick-ups in the local area
• All our services & MOTs are approved by and regularly inspected by the DVSA for your piece of mind
• Need a few jobs doing while you’re here? Chat to our team about package prices for multiple jobs such as an MOT to go along with your service

To book your service, simply call 01565 750 153 or visit the car servicing section on the website to book online direct.

For more information on other facilities at Birkin Service Centre, such as re-mapping, diagnostics servicing and tyre changes, hit the links and book your free consultation online today.

Thinking of re-mapping your car?

The pros and cons explained by Birkin Service Centre. It can take as little as 2 hours to do the whole job and could get you up to 50hp more from your powertrain. It’s definitely worth looking into.

So what is re-mapping?

Remapping or “chipping” is the process of adjusting the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in your car to overwrite the manufacturer’s factory settings.

It’s like resetting your phone back to factory settings and then over-riding the factory settings for faster, more economical ones.

Manufacturers set limits on a car’s performance and capabilities to maximise the life out of their cars.

They assess what these limits should be based on the climate of the country the car will be sold in, the quality of the fuel available and the type of terrain the car is expected to use and adapt the software accordingly.

When you re-map your car’s performance software, you’re essentially maximising it’s functions to perform at their full potential, with the limits removed.

What re-mapping could do for your car

There are a few reasons for getting your car enhanced by re-mapping the chip, but maybe the increased power and fuel economy are the most popular reasons. Your car could end up gaining a healthy amount of both, which is a huge double win.

But the end result of exactly what gains you could get all depend on the type of car you have and how much horsepower your car has lost since being rolled off the forecourt.

Yeah, that’s a thing. If you didn’t already know, as your car gets older and does more miles, the engine gradually loses its horsepower, meaning it won’t be as powerful now as it was when new.

Check out our article looking at why cars lose their horsepower and how much power your car might have lost since new.

In general though, your car’s power output in terms of hoursepower & torque could be increased by up to 35%, according to www.comparethemarket.com.

Reasons for re-mapping

Some quick tips on re-mapping your car

We always recommend you do the following before & after getting your car re-mapped:

• Chat to your preferred service centre to see if there are any extra things you’ll need to do on your car once it’s been remapped & check if you can afford them (see below)
• Make sure your car is suitable for a re-map before booking it in, i.e. it doesn’t need work doing to it & it meets the criteria we listed above
• Once remapped your car will likely need a service and new tyres more frequently, so make sure these are things you can afford to get. Take a look at our Why you should have a regular service article for more info on the benefits
• Your car may need a higher octane fuel type once re-mapped, again a more costly option, so check with your service centre first if this will be necessary
• Check if your insurance company need to know about the changes to your car and how to contact them
• Do your homework on your chosen service centre – are they legit and are they well recommended by their customers? If you choose a dodgy garage then not only could your car get damage to the engine, it could also invalidate your car warranty
• Make sure you can handle the extra poke! Your car will be more powerful, which means a higher risk of breaking those speed limits, so make sure your driving ability is up to it.

To get started on fine-tuning your speed demon, or to ask any questions about the process and expected results based on your car, chat to Birkin Service Centre by calling 01565 750 153, emailing birkinservicecentre@gmail.com or if you’re in the local area, simply down with your car for a chat.

Birkin Service Centre not only offer expert advice on re-mapping, but are also specialists in MOTs, detailed car services and tyre maintenance services, check out their website at the link above to find out the latest deals and location.