Free car maintenance!

Free car maintenance for ladies!

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Kwik-Fit Ladies Evening

Sarah at a Kwik-Fit ladies evening

OK it’s not food. But they did have free sandwiches, crisps and cake, does that count? I am just back from one of Kwik-Fit’s FREE “ladies evenings”. They are holding these events at branches across the country in response to a survey they carried out. They found that nearly two thirds of female motorists (64%) don’t feel comfortable about visiting a garage for repairs, servicing or car checks, with a quarter (25%) saying they avoid going to a garage on their own. So they’re holding ‘Ladies In The Driving Seat’ evenings, primarily aimed at women who want to learn a bit more about cars and feel more comfortable going into a garage. I went to the one in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. To find your nearest ladies night, click here.

Kwik-Fit Ladies Evening, photo: Kwik-Fit

First up, we were issued with Kwik-Fit boiler suits – check mine out! There were about 20 women there, including the lady mayoress (of Borehamwood?) and we were aged from about 20 to about 60, I’d guess. We did tyres (as you’d expect), the basics of the MoT test, basics of what’s under the bonnet, and practical demo of how to change a wheel (not as bad as you’d think). The guys were great – some were a bit shy of us, but hey, I was shy going into the session! We learnt that we shouldn’t put washing up liquid in our screen wash because it goes “like a snotty egg” (the detergent coagulates at the bottom). Instead, buy proper screen wash! We should check our oil once a week (mine gets done once a YEAR at my annual servicing), and your car will tell you what pressure to put in your tyres (it’ll be written somewhere, like on the inside of the fuel cap cover, or one one of the door rims). Having said that, we couldn’t find it on my Toyota Corolla Verso, so anyone know?

Kwik-Fit Ladies Evening, photo: Kwik-Fit

It was a really useful, informative and enjoyable session and as well as learning about your car you also get a free car maintenance (even if you did it yourself!). I would say: get a friend and head over to one of these FREE evenings, or take a gaggle of women from work. To book, send your name and address (including post code) to [email protected]. The company are also holding other FREE soirees e.g.”Get to grips with performance – Pirelli workshop” (provisionally 30th Sept at Borehamwood) but that might be for the more advanced motorist. Performance-wise, I am happy if my car starts in the morning and doesn’t have any punctures. Easily pleased.