On The Ramp - The Independent Automotive Garage Owners Podcast.

This episode is sponsored by Castrol and The Race Group. To learn more about Castrol Service, please visit: https://www.castrol.com/en_gb/united-kingdom/home.html

Sophie Lyden works alongside her dad at Westgate Tyres in Morecambe. Three depots on one street, 40 to 50 cars a day, and no booking system for tyres. She's also better known across the trade as The Tyre Lady, and became the person the BBC called when they wanted a tyre expert. She joins us to talk about how both of those things happened.

If you run a garage or sell tyres, this one's full of practical insight, and a decent argument that safety messaging is the best marketing you're not doing.

In this episode:
- Why Westgate doesn't take bookings for tyres, and how they cope with 40 to 50 cars a day
- The stock strategy behind their biggest tyre month
- TPMS, valve service kits, and the conversation most garages skip
- Why she checks dot codes on every car and advises at 3mm
- The crash outside the garage that started The Tyre Lady
- What road safety conferences never talk about
- How a LinkedIn post about a bad tyre reached 200,000 people
- Getting a tyre onto the BBC Breakfast sofa
- What she'd change about the MOT and the legal tread limit
- ADHD, postnatal depression, and running a business through both

Timestamps:
00:00 - intro
01:04 - how sophie ended up back in the family tyre business
09:11 - inside westgate tyres and their biggest month
18:31 - punctures, stock and what makes a tyre shop busy
24:51 - tyres or servicing, and which one she would keep
29:26 - castrol | the race group partnership
35:55 - the crash outside the garage that started the tyre lady
43:04 - road safety conferences, dot codes and the education gap
52:38 - testing tyres and keeping the tyre lady separate from westgate
60:37 - bbc breakfast and the families behind the campaign
66:46 - what she would change about the mot and the tread limit
75:07 - adhd, postnatal depression and understanding her own brain
83:40 - taking over the business and what comes next
88:05 - outro

Subscribe for more expert insight, honest conversation, and real stories from inside the independent garage sector.

https://beacons.ai/ontheramp

#ontheramp #tyres #tyresafety #garageowners #independentgarage #ukgarages #automotiveindustry #roadsafety #mechaniclife #castrol

This episode is sponsored by Castrol and The Race Group. To learn more about Castrol Service, please visit:

 https://www.castrol.com/en_gb/united-kingdom/home.html

Fleet work divides the trade. Some garages swear by it, others swear at it. In this episode, Alex and Leo are joined by Tim Guidotti, second generation owner of Ferdotti Motor Services and founder of Fleet Guy, to tackle the myths head on. Alex explains why he spent years telling garages to get rid of their fleet work, and why he now admits he was wrong. Tim breaks down good fleet vs bad fleet, the truth about labour rates, how to actually win fleet contracts, and why the data suggests retail-only garages could be facing long term decline.

If you run an independent garage and you've ever dismissed fleet work, this one's full of practical insight.

Timestamps:
00:00 - intro
01:04 - tim's story, growing up in the family business
12:34 - joining the business and doing the deal properly
21:52 - Castrol | The Race Group Partnership
23:05 - why alex was anti-fleet, and admitting he was wrong
29:32 - the coffee test, good fleet vs bad fleet
41:09 - winning fleet work and keeping it
52:25 - should your garage do fleet, and where ownership is heading
1:03:05 - the labour rate myth, utilisation and productivity
1:09:23 - why fleet guy exists, building an industry standard
1:16:36 - fleet guy live, plus tim joins as co-host

Subscribe for more expert insight, honest conversation, and real stories from inside the independent garage sector.

https://beacons.ai/ontheramp

#ontheramp #garageowners #independentgarage #fleetwork #fleetmanagement #ukgarages #automotiveindustry #mechaniclife #castrol

This episode is sponsored by Castrol and The Race Group. To learn more about Castrol Service, please visit: https://www.castrol.com/en_gb/united-kingdom/home.html

This week it's not a story episode, it's a business one. Alex and Leo sit down with business coach Phil Brookes, who has spent his career in the tyre and garage trade, from the workshop floor to training and running parts of a national group, and now coaching independent garages. We get into the stuff most owners never get taught: pricing with confidence, knowing your real numbers, front of house, recruitment and the small marginal gains that quietly add thousands to the bottom line.

If you run a garage and you have ever felt busy but not as profitable as you should be, this one is full of practical insight.

Timestamps:
00:00 - intro and why business training is undervalued
01:20 - phil's journey into the trade
07:38 - growing and selling a national tyre group
13:37 - why tyre pricing is so sensitive
17:25 - pricing with confidence and the three prices
18:50 - front of house and the restaurant lesson
26:39 - why training fails without follow-up
29:11 - marginal gains and the 1% rule
33:00 - the wheel alignment opportunity
38:27 - how much profit is really in a tyre
47:56 - leading, retention and recruitment
51:09 - knowing your numbers and the benchmarks that matter
57:29 - marketing and the garage that isn't busy enough
1:04:23 - hiq, wholesale and the real tyre margins
1:06:47 - how to get in touch with Phil

Subscribe for more expert insight, honest conversation, and real stories from inside the independent garage sector.

#ontheramp #garageowners #independentgarage #automotiveindustry #mechaniclife #automotive #castrol #businesscoaching

This episode is sponsored by Castrol and The Race Group. To learn more about Castrol Service, please visit:

https://www.castrol.com/en_gb/united-...

Joanne Knowles is the Event Director for Automechanika Birmingham and the UK Garage and Body Shop event, the two biggest trade shows in the UK independent garage calendar.

She joins Alex and Dawn on this episode to talk about what actually goes into running them, why attending matters more than ever, and how Motivate is starting to change the way new talent is brought into the industry.
If you're a garage owner, technician, college tutor or student, this one's worth your time.
Timestamps:

00:00 - intro
01:14 - automechanika vs uk garage and body shop
03:00 - why garage owners should attend
07:31 - feedback, parking and the autonomous bus
09:20 - introducing motivate
12:20 - women, the ignite arena and engaging colleges
18:16 - computer science, adas and the future
21:34 - the case for cpd accreditation
25:22 - castrol | the race group partnership
26:37 - industry community, the blend and ben charity
33:15 - takeaways and how to get involved
41:13 - uk garage and body shop 2026
44:00 - outro
Subscribe for more expert insight, honest conversation, and real stories from inside the independent garage sector.
#automotiveindustry #podcast #interview #ontheramp #independentgarage

This episode is sponsored by Castrol and The Race Group. To learn more about Castrol Service, please visit: https://www.castrol.com/en_gb/united-kingdom/home.html

Joanne Knowles is the Event Director for Automechanika Birmingham and the UK Garage and Body Shop event, the two biggest trade shows in the UK independent garage calendar. She joins Alex and Dawn on this episode to talk about what actually goes into running them, why attending matters more than ever, and how Motivate is starting to change the way new talent is brought into the industry.

If you're a garage owner, technician, college tutor or student, this one's worth your time.

Timestamps:
00:00 - intro
01:14 - automechanika vs uk garage and body shop
03:00 - why garage owners should attend
07:31 - feedback, parking and the autonomous bus
09:20 - introducing motivate
12:20 - women, the ignite arena and engaging colleges
18:16 - computer science, adas and the future
21:34 - the case for cpd accreditation
25:22 - castrol | the race group partnership
26:37 - industry community, the blend and ben charity
33:15 - takeaways and how to get involved
41:13 - uk garage and body shop 2026
44:00 - outro

Subscribe for more expert insight, honest conversation, and real stories from inside the independent garage sector.

https://beacons.ai/ontheramp

#ontheramp #mobilemechanic #garageowners #automotiveindustry #castrol #automechanika #ukgaragebodyshop #motivate #independentgarage #automotiveevents