Oldfields encourages students to explore automotive careers

Monday 3rd March 2025

Students at Lady Hawkins School in Kington, Herefordshire gained valuable insight into the diverse career opportunities within the automotive industry, thanks to an engaging talk by Tim Benson.

Addressing Year 10 and 11 pupils, Tim shared his journey in the industry, emphasising that success is not determined by background or academic achievements.

Highlighting the automotive sector’s role in everyday life, Tim challenged misconceptions that careers in the industry are limited to mechanics or car sales. Instead, he showcased a broad range of career paths, including diagnostics, engineering, software development, and business management.

“It was great to engage with such an enthusiastic group of students and shed light on the many career paths available in the automotive aftermarket,” said Tim. “With rapid technological advancements, we need bright, passionate young people to help drive the industry forward.”

Drawing on his experience growing up in a family-run garage and pursuing further education, Tim underscored the value of apprenticeships as a gateway to rewarding careers. He explained how these programs offer hands-on experience and industry-recognised qualifications, paving the way for long-term professional growth.

Tim also highlighted the sector’s significant contribution to the UK economy, which employs over 813,000 people and generates £24.3 billion annually. As the industry evolves, he pointed to emerging technologies such as electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles, artificial intelligence, and advanced diagnostics, all shaping the future of automotive careers.

Encouraging students to explore opportunities in the field, Tim concluded with an open invitation for questions, sparking discussions about the industry’s potential and the exciting prospects it offers.

“It was a fantastic, thought-provoking session on all things automotive,” said Lydia Stevens, Careers Adviser at Lady Hawkins. “Our students and staff truly appreciate employers like Tim who invest in the future of young people.”

MP Ellie Chowns visits Oldfields Garage

Wednesday 15th January 2025

We recently welcomed Herefordshire Green MP Ellie Chowns to our workshop, having won several prestigious industry and local awards over the past year.

Ellie Chowns MP said: “I visited Oldfields as part of Small Business Saturday, a programme of visits to celebrate and support local enterprises. Independent businesses like Oldfields Garage are vital to fostering a thriving community, and I was proud to meet Tim to discuss the achievement of the garage and his concerns for the industry.

“Oldfields Garage has built an excellent reputation in Leominster, and in recent months, they’ve been honoured with several awards, including Apprentice Employer of the Year. They’ve also made headlines for having the youngest EV-qualified apprentice in the country. These are achievements that truly deserve recognition.”

During the visit, Tim raised some key concerns facing the wider automotive industry. One important issue was the outdated MOT test fee, which has remained unchanged since 2010 despite rising costs for garages.

He also highlighted the need for formal industry regulation to improve safety and quality, much like the Gas Safe Register for gas engineers. Currently, anyone with the finances can open a garage and work on vehicles without proper qualifications, leading to inconsistent work and potential safety risks for customers.

Additionally, Mr Benson discussed the ongoing challenge of attracting young talent to the automotive sector, which is hindered by outdated perceptions and a lack of vocational training in schools. He emphasised the importance of reshaping how the industry is viewed and promoting apprenticeships to address the skills gap and ensure the future of high-quality, sustainable automotive services.

“We are proud to be part of this community and grateful to Ellie Chowns for taking the time to listen to the issues that are impacting the automotive sector,” said Tim. “Independent garages like ours are crucial to the local economy, but we face significant challenges that threaten our long-term sustainability. It was great to have the opportunity to highlight these concerns.”

Oldfields Garage pulls out all the stops this Christmas

Friday 13th December 2024

Yesterday was a day to remember here at Oldfields Garage! We took on one of the most unusual and challenging jobs we’ve ever faced, and we’re proud to say it’s all sorted just in time.

From unexpected faults to an epic parts run that took us further than we’ve ever been, this was no ordinary day in the workshop. But thanks to our amazing team and the support of some fantastic partners, we pulled it off!

What was the job? Who was the customer? You’ll have to watch the video to find out…

The four-minute production, titled “Customer Needs It Fixing Before Christmas”, tells the story of a mystery vehicle arriving at Oldfields Garage in urgent need of repairs. The team faces a series of unusual faults, including a ‘chimney clog warning light,’ while garage owner Tim Benson embarks on a humorous quest through traffic jams, roadworks, and even a helicopter ride to source rare parts.

The big reveal at the end shows the customer to be none other than Santa Claus himself, delighted to have his vehicle fully repaired and ready for Christmas Eve deliveries.

“We had so much fun making this video,” said Tim Benson, Managing Director of Oldfields Garage. “It’s a light-hearted way to demonstrate the extraordinary lengths we go to for our customers, whether they’re local residents or the big man in red himself.”

The production featured the support of Herefordshire-based Tiger Helicopters, which provided the helicopter for Tim’s dramatic parts collection, and Hereford Young Farmers, who lent the sleigh and tractor seen in key scenes.

“We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who helped make this festive video a reality,” said Tim. “The support from our partners has been outstanding, and this was our way of showing our appreciation. From Tiger Helicopters and RCA Bowen with the sleigh to the many other contributors featured throughout the video, it was a true team effort. Their involvement made this project both possible and unforgettable, and we can’t thank them enough for their enthusiasm and backing throughout 2024.”

It’s certainly been a milestone year for us, having earned five prestigious awards in 2024, including the Outstanding Garage Achievement Award at the Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) Pride of the Aftermarket Awards earlier this month.

Thank you to all of our customers for their support. From all the team here at Oldfields, have a very Merry Christmas!

Oldfields Renews Vixens Sponsorship for 2024!

Thursday 8th August 2024

We’re pleased to announce the renewal of our title sponsorship for the Luctonians Vixens rugby team!

It comes as the Vixens prepare to compete in the Women’s NC 3 Midlands (West) division for a second year. Their opening game of the season will see them come up against the Stone Ladies during a clash on Sunday 15th September.

Tim Benson, managing director at Oldfields Garage said: “Seeing the Vixens grow into a strong and cohesive team of players, from all walks of life, has been nothing short of amazing. We are incredibly proud to support a local club that focuses on inspiring young people and nurturing home-grown talent. We look forward to witnessing their continued success on and off the field.”

As one of the fastest growing female sports in the country, the Luctonians established the women’s contact side in 2023.

Charlotte Brown, commercial and events manager at the Luctonians Sports Club, said: “The backing of Oldfields Garage spurred us on last season to successfully achieve our main aim of fielding a full team, plus subs, for every fixture and we were thrilled with a fourth-place finish. Now, the focus for the Vixens is on the upcoming season and the continued support of Oldfields is appreciated by all the team.”

The Luctonians club has strong connections with England women’s national rugby union hooker, Lark Atkin-Davies who recently visited the club to see the legacy that’s continuing to inspire more women into the game.

Lark said: “There is a huge opportunity to engage and grow the girls’ game, especially as we lead up to hosting the Rugby World Cup 2025. Rugby has given me so much, and I’m excited to see more girls giving rugby a go as we build towards next year’s Rugby World Cup.”

2023, what a year it’s been!

Wednesday 27th December 2023

As we head towards 2024, I’m really not sure where to start with my review of 2023, because it’s been one of our best yet!

I’d like to say a huge thank you to our customers for entrusting us with their vehicles, year after year. Our team try really hard to provide the best experience possible and this is shown through our customer satisfaction NPS score again being 94 for the entire year from 664 customer surveys – a staggering number in NPS terms because it goes from -100 to 100. While 95.8% of our 664 customers are “Very Satisfied” with us overall, we don’t get everything right and we’ll all be working hard to continue to develop, improve where we can and most importantly maintain the high levels of service we aim for.

Our team have done brilliantly in terms of industry recognition again this year, as Oldfields were shortlisted for 3 national awards finals. Automechanika “Garage of the Year”, Independent Garage Association “Community Engagement” and for the second year running “Top Garage.” This year we WON Top Garage 2023. Reaching any final in a national competition is an amazing achievement for the team and for us to actually win the most prestigious award in the country for our category is fantastic recognition. We’ve just been told we’ve reached another shortlist for February next year, so we’ll be looking to continue this progress into 2024.

We’ve continued to develop our Team with Chris gaining EV & Hybrid Level 3, Sam becoming an MOT tester and Katie attending The Road to Technical Service Advisor training at Tech Topics. We’ve also introduced two team staples to our month, BBQ Friday and Chippy Friday – it’s been so well received, it happens even when I’m not there.

We continue to contribute to the local community sponsoring Leominster in Bloom again, supporting the Food Bank and St Michaels Hospice as our Christmas Donation in lieu of cards and we’ve continued to support Luctonians Rugby Club, this time by agreeing to be Main Sponsors of the Female Team, Luctonians Vixens for the next 3 year years as they entered their first competitive league season. I’ve really enjoyed going down to support them, they are a great bunch and are developing and improving quickly!

It’s not all been positive though, Andy who has been our main MOT tester for nearly 10 years retired, a little earlier than expected and primarily due to health concerns. I hope he is able to enjoy his retirement; spend time on his hobbies and with family when he can.

Personally, I’ve had a lot of opportunities this year. I’ve been able to support some brilliant charities with some amazing friends. Five of us hiked a Marathon in the Wye Valley for Macmillan, raising nearly £5500 and over 50 of us hiked a challenging route through the Peak District for BEN – The Automotive Charity raising over £12,000. I’ve also Run as Santa with my family and friends for St Michaels Hospice. Next year will be interesting because I’ve agreed to do another hike and I will also be able to complete an ambition of mine to run the London Marathon with my friend Gareth, receiving a place through BEN – The Automotive Charity. We’ve already started fundraising and are sitting at just over £7000 between us, just in case here’s a blatant plug for sponsorship > Tim’s London Marathon Sponsorship

I’ve been invited to speak at several Automotive Industry event’s through the year The Blend Conference, Schaeffler RepXpert Academy Live and Automechanika to name a few along with visiting and working with some brilliant companies and organisations in the Automotive Aftermarket to help provide a garage perspective on the industry. I was able to attend the F1 British Grand Prix in possibly the best seats on the circuit and a Palmersport Racing Day thanks to the LKQ Euro Car Parts and I had the opportunity to visit the HQ and some production facilities of Original Equipment supplier Schaeffler, finding out about their history, quality processes and production scale in Germany, along with Sinatec in the Netherlands to understand their concept for consumables and how this will work in the UK.

I want to finish by thanking our suppliers who have been integral to our business development and of course our amazing team, without them none of this would have been possible. Let’s look forward to 2024 and the opportunities it will bring – we’ll see you on the 2nd January!

Best wishes, Tim

#NotYourAverageGarage

Oldfields Agree 3 Year Sponsorship for Luctonians Vixons

Monday 24th April 2023

We’re delighted to announce that we are continuing with our Sponsorship at Luctonians Sports Club, but even more exciting is that we have agreed to be the main sponsors for the Luctonians Vixens for the next three years.

John Amos, Luctonians Sport Club President commented “We are delighted that Oldfields have taken main sponsorship for the Vixens , the number of ladies participating in rugby at the club has trebled in 12 months from 24 to 75 and will continue to grow . With continued support they will no doubt continue to improve as a team and we can look forward to another formidable presence at the club in the future.”

Tim said “It’s been great being part of the LUCS family, we’ve got a real feel for it over the last few years. It’s amazing how much goes on at Mortimer Park and beyond, there is so much more than first team Rugby! We’ve been lucky as a sponsor to see what goes on first hand and being able to support this amazing local community club is a real privilege.”

Tim added “When the opportunity to sponsor the Vixens came up it seemed like a natural progression for us to enhance our support at the club and the Oldfields brand. Women’s Rugby is growing nationally and the ladies have done brilliantly in 2022/23. It’s a real up and coming part of the club and we’re pleased to be able to be part of their journey.”

The Luctonians Vixens compete in the Allianz IWS Midlands Group and you can follow their progress on England Rugby here

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Another year of Oldfields in the Community

Tuesday 20th September 2022

Over the last 12 months, we’re fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to contribute and support the local community of Leominster and surrounding villages along with other worthwhile causes. We thought we’d use this blog as a chance to highlight some of the things we’ve been doing this year as a little round up post! We’ve provided links where possible so you can find out more and also support some of these causes if you are able.

Let’s start with Leominster in Bloom. We’ve supported Leominster in bloom for many years and this year we’ve extended what we do by increasing our support this year to represent both Oldfields and Oldfields Hire. The Leominster in Bloom team do an amazing job in helping the local town look fantastic. You’ll see we have two planters in Corn Square and Broad street. Leominster in Bloom is a voluntary organisation and you can find out more about their Gold Medal awards and activities here…

At Christmas we always chose to support a local cause with a donation. Leominster Family Christmas event “Through the Wardrobe” is a much loved free event for local people that is funded by the Town Council. They needed to get equipment to enable the event to be even more magical for Leominster families at Christmas and we were able to contribute to the event by donating a van for two days to collect and return the specialist lighting equipment.

There are Food Banks throughout the whole of the UK and Leominster Food Bank provides a vital service to the local community and this is likely to increase in the current climate. We’ve been delighted to help them by providing vans to collect goods when needed along with some food donations. This year we also provided a fuel contribution when aid was taken to the people of the Ukraine.

We continue to support Luctonians Rugby Club again this year. Whilst the first XV take all the glory in National League 2 West, it was the work in the community that convinced Tim, Oldfields should be aligned. LUCS run multiple sports teams and programmes where they go into schools in the local area to provide coaching and various other activities. Luctonians is a real community club and it fits well with how we feel about the area. You can see the local community coaching and charity work they do here.

For as long as we can remember we have taken care of the both Leominster Primary and High School Minibus.’ Keeping Leominster children’ safe on the road when being transported to and from school, activities and events is significant in their development. We also contribute prises for local school PTA fundraising events on a regular bases. Tim is also a member of Kingsland Primary PTA, where his youngest two go to school.

Finally, the Macmillan Wye Valley Mighty Hike. Unfortunately Macmillan need no introduction, nearly everybody has some connection or link with the support they provide. Whilst the official 26 mile event from Chepstow to Monmouth was cancelled this year following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Tim and his group of friends decided to walk the marathon distance anyway. Walking a circular route from Chepstow racecourse and back, they clocked 26.35 miles and collectively raised over £2600 for Macmillan (as of todays date), which they are really proud of. Macmillan is such a great cause that they’ve all agreed to leave our sponsorship pages open and do the official event in 2023! You can find our more or even support Tim’s fundraising cause here…

That’s a quick snapshot of the last twelve months, there is probably a bit more that didn’t make it into this! Remember though, none of this would be possible if it wasn’t for our amazing customers! A huge Thank You for your continued support!

Oldfields to Sponsor Luctonians

Friday 25th June 2021

We are delighted to have chosen to Sponsor Luctonians Sports Club for the 2021/2022 Season.

Established in 1948, locally, “LUCS” are known for bringing a high standard of National League Rugby to North Herefordshire, but it was scratching beneath the surface of the First XV that cemented our interest. It’s much more than a Rugby club. We’ve been fortunate enough to get a better understanding of the work that the club does for the local community, local schools, which made us realise how aligned the club is with our ethos and values.

We’re looking forward to helping support this year with our contribution to this great local club.

For more information on LUCS visit Luctonians Rugby and Sports Club