Local Experiences

Looking for an excuse to head on out in the car? Here’s another local recommendation that’s helped get us through many a lunchtime “what shall we have” conversation.

Ermines Cafe & Stores

Good For: Locally sourced produce, sandwiches, cakes, coffee, a quaint place to stop for lunch. They also have an extensive selection of grocery staples - certainly more picturesque than Tesco!

Distance: Broxbourne Site - 15 mins (11 miles)/ Ware Site - 5 mins (3 miles)/ Buntingford Site 15 mins (12 miles).

Address: 39 Ermine Street, Thundridge, Ware, SG12 0SY

Contact: 01920 745042

Welcome Graeme! #TeamGQ

It’s been in the oven for a while but I’m thrilled to announce that we’ve made our first hire! We met Graeme on the car club scene some 10 years ago and what struck me right away was how immaculate he kept his car! The connection quickly developed and it seems there wasn’t much this guy couldn’t do – he writes, he’s an automotive photographer, knows his way around a Mac and a socket set alike and has an eye for detail like you’ve never seen! However, above all else, he’s a simple car fan like you and I.

Graeme joins us as our Operations Manager (check us out!) and along with Richard and I will be on tap to support your every need. Do please join me in welcoming him to the gang as I look forward to introducing you to him on your next visit.

Here’s a note from the man himself:

So this is my platform to write something about me. We’ll start with the basics, I’m Graeme, I live in St Albans, I love cars, cameras, and planes. I’m not one for long winded introductions so we’ll keep this short and sweet.

I’m a lifelong petrohead and spent many a Sunday stood on Paddock Hill Bend at Brands Hatch watching Joachim Winkelhock slide his E36 around in the BTCC. I’ve always loved BMWs but the E39 M5 is the first I’ve ever owned. I came close to owning a Techno Violet M3 a decade ago, but didn’t take the plunge into BMW ownership ‘til the E39 came along in 2011.

I’m a big fan of naturally aspirated engines - ideally if it could be a V8 I’d be that bit happier. Due to a certain "anatomical deficiency" and the need to compensate for it; I prefer larger cars so hatchbacks aren't really my thing. I think i’m a bit of a closet American too. late 60s muscle cars really are my bag, but anything from across the pond will spike my interest.

As much as I might try to deny it I’ve also got a bit of a detailing habit. I do like my cars to be as spotless as I can get them even if it’s the ‘daily’ Mondeo.

When we meet in person prepare your answer to this question ‘Have you ever been to Le Mans?’ I’m a huge motorsport fan and have travelled the world watching it: from NASCAR at Talladega, to V8 Supercars at Bathurst. But not much beats the GTs at the Le Mans 24hrs in my eyes. Seemingly we’re back to the naturally aspirated V8 thing again. Maybe I’m GQ’s resident Hillbilly?

I’m looking forward to supporting you and your cars adventures,

Graeme.

Help us grow

Help us grow

Earning a new owners trust takes time but one aspect we’re keen to build on is our Google reviews.

If you’re happy with our service we’d love you to leave us a positive message. If you have time please do post on them all – these little big things really do help:

Epping: Review here.
Broxbourne: Review here.
Ware: Review here.
Buntingford: Review here.
Bishops Stortford: Review here.
Braintree: Review here.

Of course, if there’s some broader feedback you’d like to share please email us directly: Tim@GQCarStorage.co.uk

Thank you once again for working with us.

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Half Board

For those of you looking to guarantee your space in advance, considering taking a hiatus or simply want peace of mind that you have ad hock space reserved for holiday’s or your winter return or some extended project work then you’ll be pleased to know we have you covered.

In short, you get to keep your garage space and access to the wider GQ world while your car is out in the wild. Yep, you guest it, for half the price.

What’s included:

1. Your garage space guaranteed for your arrival, return, annual vacations etc. 24/7.

2. Exit notice period waved when downgrading.

3. Current care preferences maintained.

4. Ongoing access to the GQ team diagnostics and advice.

5. Event invites and newsletters.

6. Coffee/lounge access.

7. Ramp access.

8. Local lifts to and from stations, service garages etc.

9. Part storage.

10. Continued access to our insurance discounts.

11. Continued MOT and service reminders.

12. 10% off GQ time.

For more info and to continue the GQ support give us a call or email 24/7.

Shall we meet?

The time has come to try and arrange a GQ member’s social. It has been far too long, but hopefully you can all understand why.

We’re going to start the ball rolling with a fairly stress free easing back into things with a cars and coffee style Sunday morning meet. The date we’ve come up with is Sunday 27th June, 9am until mid-day. If you’d like to come along please submit your interest below and further details will follow when we have an idea of numbers.

We look forward to hearing from you!

A Day in the Bay

Following on from last month’s detailing packages breakdown we can bring you some info of a car that has had a day in the bay with us.

This E46 M3 CS is in nice condition with great mileage and is currently going through the workshop for some underside preventative work with Richard. However, rightly so the owner wanted business side on point, too. Fortunately there was nothing too catastrophic to deal with - the usual age related swirls and marks.

Take a look at the following before and after photos and videos to see if you can spot the difference.

Have you seen something you like? Drop us an email

If I could turn back time...Our automotive mistakes.

One evening whilst driving back from the Ware unit I was listening to Absolute 80s, and ‘If I could turn back time’ came on. I’m not usually one for looking back on my past ruefully remembering all of my cock ups and mistakes – but on this occasion I was doing just that. I’ll keep it automotive for the sake of the newsletter; but if you ply enough intoxicating liquor my way at one of our socials I might just tearfully share some more!

The car we should have bought, the modification we shouldn’t have made, the car we shouldn’t have sold. Whether it’s a financial misjudgement, circumstance, or just plain poor decision making. We all share these experiences in our automotive pasts they shape our passion for the hobby and help us learn from our mistakes.

We all have that one car we look back on wishing we’d never sold. They just suited your life perfectly at the time you had them, and for whatever reason we had to part ways – in my case it was a Honda Accord Type R. I was in my early 20s and it was just perfect for me, fast enough without being lethal, reliable enough – hey it was a Honda, affordable enough to run on my wages at the time, and different enough to stand out. I then met my now wife, relocated to London and the painful decision was made that I had to sell the car. It was the right decision at the time, but it was by no means an easy one to make. The money from the sale then furnished out first place together and the rest is now history. But what if I’d not sold, what if I’d kept it somehow – these are the questions we ask ourselves but will never be able to answer, it really was a fantastic car.

Modification wise, there is one that stands out. I’m normally one for keeping things quite OE. But shortly after the purchase of my M5 (there is a lot of embarrassment in even typing this one) I decided it might be a good idea to put a Pistonheads “V8” slogan on the rear screen. In my defence it was on there just about long enough to realise what a pillock it made me look – fortunately I didn’t even leave the driveway. But it was on there, I spent money on buying it. If I could wind the clocks back and set that one straight I would. I mean with the Honda sale, there is an upside to that story.

The cars we should have bought, well where do we start. About the time I bought the Honda, there was a moment I considered a Sapphire Cosworth, or an ST205 Celica GT-Four (in yellow with black wheels – I came very close to this one). Being from the Sega Rally era (or in my case Didier Auriol/ Juha Kankkunen era) the Celica was a strong candidate. Now whether the market would have favoured my choices we’ll never know. But there are always those cars that were about when we started to earn a bit more money, we’d got a few years no claims under our tyres and suddenly the ‘hot’ cars are within reach. We can’t buy them all, but if you buy at the right time then you’re laughing. Now does anyone know where I can find a crystal ball to help in trying to buy the right car at the right time?

We all have them, none of us are perfect, what would you do differently, any questionable modifications you’ve made that you’d like to share – think of us as a therapist. I certainly hope to sleep better at night now I’ve shared my awful sticker story.

E10 fuel explained

I find myself again sifting through various government webpages trying to decode the impending shift to “E10” petrol. It is the latest green initiative to reduce CO2 emissions, the ‘new fuel’ is going to contain 10% Bio Ethanol – hence the 10 in “E10”. We should see an increase in fuel economy and seemingly quite a few cars are not going to be able to run on it. Those I’ve asked don’t seem to have any clue about the impending shift, so here’s our attempt to decode it for you.

 Reading the Government information the switch should happen with very little noticeable change for us motorists. Most cars made from 1990 have already been approved as being able to run with no issues, but classic cars, scooters, some cars made in the early 00’s are also going to run into problems. There is a compatibility checker on the government site which doesn’t seem to be especially through – targeted more to the everyday motorist than the enthusiast. Scanning through briefly, it’s not even obscure high performance machines that could have problems, 1.8l MK.3 Mondeos, 2.2l Vauxhall Vectras/Zafiras/Signams, a lot of early VAG TSI engines are a very select few I could find that have not been cleared for use with E10 fuel.

 So what do you do if you find yourself in the 5% of motorists that can’t run on E10? Well you’ll have to run on E5 – what we currently know as premium fuels (Shell V-Power, BP Ultimate etc, etc), so the cost rise will be noticeable for those affected. The RAC estimate the 5% is approximately 600,000 vehicles which in my mind is no small number! The expected issues are engine “pinking”, poor starting, and rough running.

The shift is supposed to happen in September of this year. Initially there is going to be some resistance to the change - because, well, people don’t like change. But I can remember when 4 star fuel used to be a thing, people adapt and overcome. There is no doubt though that in the here and now if you are worried your best bet is to speak to your manufacturer to confirm compatibility. If that is not an option then assume you’re going to have to run on premium fuel. This is not a change that is going to disappear so once again the individual motorist is going to have to find a way of muddling through.

However, the vast majority of owners here will already be used to running high octane fuels. For anyone else we are currently in the process of checking vehicles and offering our guidance.

In the meantime if you’d like to discuss you and yours in more detail do please drop us a line.

Further reading can be done with the RAC and with WhatCar?