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ADVANCED
MECHANICAL S E R V I C E S
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NOT LONG AFTER MOVING TO COFFS HARBOUR, CRAIG MARKWORT AND CHRIS RANFORD STRUCK UP A FRIENDSHIP, MAINLY OVER THEIR COMMON INTERESTS AND BACKGROUNDS.
hey were discussing their previous business experience one day and realised that with the knowledge they both have, they could open their own business, Advanced Mechanical Services. And, so they did! FOCUS caught up with the pair, to find out
more … When did your business open, and who was involved? We opened our business in January 2015 with a bang! We are both fully trained automotive technicians in a broad range of areas, who have lived on the stunning Coffs Coast for years. Chris actually started an automotive business back in the UK in 1990 and was lucky enough to work closely with industry leaders in ABS development and fuel injection! He has extensive knowledge with all European cars, while Craig actually started out at Toyota and BMW dealerships! His knowledge extends to all Australian models, including all-wheel drive and 4x4 cars. What services do you offer and provide? If you own a car, we can help! Think of us as your OneStop-Shop for all your vehicle’s needs. We pride ourselves on our great service, and we provide free job estimates. Some of our services include air-conditioning repair and regas, brakes, timing belts, suspension, pink and blue slips, clutches, batteries, auto-electrical, radiators, and even historic registrations for cars over 30 years old! We also offer services, from basic right through to manufacturers’ log book. Phew!
52 Coffs Coast focus
We keep all repairs in house, which ultimately saves the customer time in their busy work/life schedule, and at all times the customer is able to speak to us both directly in respect to their vehicle. We are also happy to quote on any jobs that might be a bit outside the box. We love a challenge, so if you have a request that’s unusual or unique, bring it on! How have you adapted as time/ technology changes? Many people don’t realise that even in our industry, you have to adapt to technology changes! We keep abreast of new technology and ensure we have the latest in snapon diagnostic equipment and keep ourselves up to speed with training. While some may find this training to be a bit boring, we really enjoy it, and it keeps us ahead of the competition. What do you like best about your job/business? Considering we both love everything to do with cars, there’s not a lot we don’t love about our business! Working on cars rates very highly (of course!) along with meeting the wonderful people who entrust us with their vehicles. Troubleshooting and fixing technical problems, along with repairing cars gives us great satisfaction! And who wouldn’t feel awesome seeing a client walk away smiling and knowing their car is in tip-top condition! What is the secret to your success? Well, we don’t like to give away our secret to success (!); however, one of the driving forces behind our success is that we care. And we’re not just saying that! We really care about our customers, and we care about their needs. We want them to be safe while driving out on the roads,
so we go above and beyond to make sure our customers’ cars are maintained to a safe standard. And you have a family ... How do you juggle it all? Both of us have families, and it can be difficult to juggle both at times. There are weeks on end where we are busy at work, but we always try to make time to spend with our families and friends. We are incredibly lucky that we both have wives who fully support us and for that, we are incredibly thankful. We are also passionate about charity work and ensure we dedicate enough time for that as well. In fact, a lot of our weekends are spent raising funds for local charities. Tell us about your community involvement. A few years ago, we decided to start a not-for-profit car club with Stuart Copeland from Shannon’s Insurance, as we all love vintage cars (admiring them, restoring them, driving them!) From there, it grew to a club with over 400 members and we donate to various local charities in Coffs Harbour, including the Uniting Church soup kitchen, Banardos Australia, Cancer Council, Wesley Mission, Camp Quality, and many more. Nothing brings us more joy than helping raise much-needed funds for these charities. We admire and applaud the work they do and want to give back as much as we can. What do you enjoy most about living on the Coffs Coast? What’s not to love! The Coffs Coast is just an amazing place to live and work. We enjoy the beautiful weather, the stunning coastline and above all, the people. Thanks guys.