Garages and motor trade
What every service page on your garage website has to say.
Symptoms, what gets checked, how long it takes, what guarantee it carries and which makes you work on. What customers ask over the phone, written once and written well.
Every specialty in the workshop gets its own page, and every page answers what people ask over the phone: how do I know I need it, what do you do, how long does it take, roughly what does it cost, what guarantee comes with it and do you work on my make.
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A service page is not a tile with an icon
Which searches deserve a page of their own, and in which areas, is covered on the neighbourhood SEO page. This page is about what goes inside each one: what makes somebody arriving from Google read it to the end and call, instead of going back and trying the next garage.
The test is simple: if after reading it the customer still has to ring to ask the basics, the page is missing something.
The anatomy of a good service page
Take a timing belt replacement as the example, though the same outline works for brakes, clutch, air conditioning or a pre-MOT check:
| Section | What it answers | Example: timing belt |
|---|---|---|
| Symptoms or when it is due | Is this my problem? | The mileage or age the manufacturer sets, and why it is not worth pushing it. |
| What we do | What will you do to my car? | Belt, tensioner and idlers; the water pump too if the engine drives it off the same belt. |
| What is not included | Will there be surprises? | What gets quoted separately if something else turns up once it is open. |
| Timescale | How long am I without the car? | Whether it is a morning or a full day, and whether it depends on ordering the part. |
| Indicative price | Can I afford it? | A range by engine, with a firm quote before work starts. |
| Guarantee | And if it fails? | The legal guarantee on the repair and the one on the parts. |
| Makes and engines | Do you do it on mine? | Which engines there is experience and tooling for, and which get referred. |
| How to ask for it | What now? | Booking, a quote with a photo or WhatsApp, whichever that service calls for. |
Not every page needs all eight sections with the same weight: for a tyre change the timescale takes one line, and for an electrical fault the diagnosis takes half the text. But if one is missing, it should be on purpose.
The repair guarantee, in writing
Spain’s Royal Decree 1457/1986 sets a minimum guarantee on workshop repairs — for cars, three months or 2,000 kilometres, whichever comes first — and organises the relationship with the customer around a prior written quote, which only the customer can waive. Hardly any garage says so on its website, and it is exactly what reassures somebody who arrives suspicious.
Explaining it well is not pasting the article: it is saying what the guarantee covers on that particular service, what happens if the same noise comes back and whether the parts carry a guarantee of their own. Some regions add their own consumer rules for workshops; each garage’s page cites the ones that apply to it.
Independent garages and the manufacturer’s warranty
The doubt that loses an independent garage most customers is «if I do not take it to the dealer, I lose the warranty». Regulation (EU) 461/2010 and the Commission guidelines that go with it protect servicing outside the official network: the manufacturer cannot make the warranty conditional on servicing being done within its network, provided its specifications are followed and parts of matching quality are used.
Explaining that on the servicing page, in plain words and with a link to the source, removes the objection before it reaches the phone. And it forces clarity about parts: whether original, original-equipment or matching-quality parts are fitted, and why.
The makes, and what you do not do
Saying which makes you work on is useful when it says something specific: which makes you have diagnostic equipment and technical information for, whether you work on hybrids or electric cars and with what training, which engines the workshop foreman knows well. A row of logos says none of that.
What you do not do goes in writing too. «Not automatic gearboxes, but here is who does» earns more trust than promising everything, and it keeps cars off your forecourt that you cannot handle.
The same thing, explained in general: Neighbourhood SEO · Quote with a photo
What we do about it
Part of the maintenance: you never have to ask, and it is never billed apart.
- A page per specialty Mechanics, bodywork, tyres, pre-MOT, electrics or air conditioning.
- Symptoms before jargon How the customer knows they need it, in their own words.
- What is included and what is not The job step by step and what gets quoted separately.
- Timescale and indicative price An honest range and a firm quote before anything is touched.
- Guarantee and parts The legal repair guarantee and the kind of part that gets fitted.
- Makes, systems and limits What there is equipment and experience for, and what gets referred.
And this you change with one sentence
You write what you want changed and we publish it.
We have started doing pre-MOT checks
A new service page, with what gets checked, how long it takes and what happens if something turns up.
We now have hybrid diagnostics
Added to makes and systems, with a page of its own for the service.
We no longer do bodywork
Page withdrawn and replaced with who we refer people to.
Frequently asked questions
Does publishing prices tie me down?
Not if they are presented as indicative with a firm quote ahead. What ties you down is quoting a figure over the phone without seeing the car.
Do I need to mention the legal guarantee?
It is not compulsory on the website, but it is what most reassures somebody who does not know you. You say what it covers for that service and link the regulation.
Can I say servicing here does not void the manufacturer’s warranty?
Yes, explaining the condition: the manufacturer’s specifications are followed and parts of matching quality are used. And linking the regulation.
How many service pages do I need?
The ones for what you genuinely do and want more of. Five complete pages pay better than fifteen half done.
Where all this comes from
Every figure and every rule quoted above, linked to the official text.
The rest of what a website for garages and motor trade includes
Online booking
The customer picks a day and a time from the phone and you see it in your schedule. Fewer calls mid-repair.
Quotes with a photo
The customer describes the fault and attaches a photo. It reaches your inbox ready to price.
Google profile
Opening hours, photos of the workshop and directions. Where people with a breakdown look.
Reviews worked on
We ask for the review when you hand the car back, and warn you about bad ones so you can call before replying in writing.
WhatsApp for questions
A photo of the warning light, answered without anyone picking up the phone.
Neighbourhood SEO
Optimised for garage plus your town, and for every service you offer.
Legal and backups
Legal notice, privacy and cookies reviewed, and a daily copy of the site and of the bookings people have made.
Do your service pages answer what people ask you over the phone?
If customers still have to ring to find out the basics, there is text missing. We will tell you what each page lacks.
Write to us