Garage visit 51 www.aftermarketonline.net SEPTEMBER 2025 New-look business reflects Louise’s 20-plus years of auto experience PAGID, who all contributed to ensure that Louise has a workshop which matches her drive and enthusiasm for the aftermarket. Louise told Aftermarket magazine it was a dinner one evening with Schaeffler during which she was “putting the world to rights” chatting to Classic Car star and Top Apprentice competition head judge, Colin Denton, that the makeover offer was put to her. “I didn’t believe it at first. But the next day I had a call asking if I was ready to let them get started.” Louise is over the moon with the result, which truly reflects the expertise and professionalism from her 20-plus years of automotive experience. “I cater for MOTs, which I outsource, and I personally deal with all the other work including repairs and diagnostics.” Booking garage jobs in up to four weeks in advance helps her keep on top of a busy workload. But Louise still finds time to offer support and encouragement to others considering a garage career. “I have a lot of work experience placements and I go into schools to talk about the work and support apprentices too.” Louise is keen to do what she can to help the younger generation interested in getting into the industry, women in particular. “We can do any of the garage jobs as well as men.” Her website also encourages moms and working ladies to set aside any concerns about “walking into a dirty, intimidating, male-led garage” and to pay Womanic a visit. Louise promises no mindboggling technical jargon and she is always happy to talk all customers through any work that needs to be done. Meanwhile, Louise now has a whole new workplace from which to blog, vlog and post her popular everyday tales of life as a female mechanic. Schaeffler said the Womanic project highlights and promotes its latest REPXPERT ‘Millionaire Makeover’ promotion. Marketing manager Jeff Earl said: “Lou is a familiar and inspirational aftermarket figure, and after she supported the REPXPERT conference and Wrenches and Wisdom campaign, we felt it only right that we supported her by helping to deliver an exciting upgrade for her workshop. “As our Millionaire Makeover promotion gathers pace, we also thought it would be a fantastic opportunity to showcase what a makeover can do for a garage, and the before and after pictures really show what can be achieved. “We’re also really pleased that some other fantastic brands also wanted to come on board to help Lou, so a big thank you goes out to our friends at Ring, OSRAM, LKQ ECP, Shell and TMD Friction for their support.” If you would like a shiny new look for your business, garages should enter online — https://www.repxpert. co.uk/en-gb/garage_ makeover — with the next winners to be announced in May 2026. New-look garage ramps up for business Out with the old… Womanic’s pre-makeover look
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