Tony Sophocli opened his first garage back in 1984, offering vehicle repairs, services, diagnostics and MOTs. The father of two runs the busy Highview Garage in Finchley, and, aside from his 11-strong team of employees, has worked with the same agents in the car industry for more than 30 years.
It’s these trusted supply chains with whom he has been discussing the end of the transition period, the related new legal duties and any necessary preparations for Highview. Sophocli buys chemicals for use in the garage, as well as car parts, from Europe – BMW components from Germany, for example – through their agents who are therefore responsible for ensuring that they comply with the new regulations from 1 January.
“I think the biggest way the transition is going to affect the car industry is data transfer,” says Sophocli.
Currently, when faulty cars arrive at the garage, Sophocli and his mechanics go online to consult EOBD (European on-board diagnostics) systems, which release the information necessary to solve problems. They are built into European cars’ technology.
Sophocli currently purchases time, costing £160 an hour, from the manufacturers to enable his team to access the necessary vehicle data. “If I have a BMW in, I’ll have to download the information. But obviously that comes from Europe. We have to take action because we need to carry on working [after 1 January], through software companies who we pay every month for information that is linked to the equipment.”
