Formerly Bedfordshire's Oldest Family-Run Garage
- Modern & classic cars
- Town centre location
- Family business established 1932 - Serving Bedford for more than 85 years
Service With A Smile: Eight Decades At Castle Hill Garage
Servicing with a smile is the secret of success at a Bedford garage which has been operating now for eight decades.
Alan Filby invited our video team for a tour of Castle Hill Garage, a family-owned firm which has been based in Castle Lane since 1932.
Alan Filby invited our video team for a tour of Castle Hill Garage, a family-owned firm which has been based in Castle Lane since 1932.
The company was founded by Mr Filby's father Albert, and he has been working there himself since 1956.
He said: "The amount of changes I have seen in that time has been unbelievable. When I first started in the trade the cars were so primitive compared to what you get today. You get so much more for your money today.
"When you relate what people earn, there is far better value for money, and cars are so much more reliable."
The company was first started in 1928 in the stables at the back of The Rose public house in Bedford High Street, before Albert Filby moved the firm to its current premises and converted them from a stables and coal yard.
And six decades on the garage team still do work on a number of classic cars, which Mr Filby enjoys as a way of keeping his hand in with traditional skills.
He said that the job gives him as much satisfaction as it always has.
"What I find most satisfying is getting my hands dirty and repairing something that is broken," he said, "And seeing it back on the road.
"That thrill is there, and it has been there since I was a boy. And it is still there now."
Source: http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/todays-choice/Service-with-a-smile-eight.4542388.jp
He said: "The amount of changes I have seen in that time has been unbelievable. When I first started in the trade the cars were so primitive compared to what you get today. You get so much more for your money today.
"When you relate what people earn, there is far better value for money, and cars are so much more reliable."
The company was first started in 1928 in the stables at the back of The Rose public house in Bedford High Street, before Albert Filby moved the firm to its current premises and converted them from a stables and coal yard.
And six decades on the garage team still do work on a number of classic cars, which Mr Filby enjoys as a way of keeping his hand in with traditional skills.
He said that the job gives him as much satisfaction as it always has.
"What I find most satisfying is getting my hands dirty and repairing something that is broken," he said, "And seeing it back on the road.
"That thrill is there, and it has been there since I was a boy. And it is still there now."
Source: http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/todays-choice/Service-with-a-smile-eight.4542388.jp
