Cuthberts Auto Repairs, Carlisle

Tucked away behind the Spar shop / BP filling station on the A69 at Corby Hill, a few miles east of Carlisle centre, this thriving garage has been our family's trusted 'friend in the motor industry' for over a decade. No, it doesn't have a posh mezzanine with exotic coffee machine, just a tiny reception office. What it does have is a superb reputation for honesty and fair dealing, a small family-owned enterprise that seems to have all the same engineers working there today as way back when it started -- and that kind of continuity is beyond price, for it's almost like having your own 'personal' motor engineer to hand, because he's worked on and serviced and repaired your car all the time you've had it (in the case of my son's Mondeo, Antony has looked after it for eight years: amazing.) What perhaps best sums up the flavour of this garage is that it somehow manages to combine engineering excellence with incredibly competitive pricing and a genuine and friendly informality. It's the kind of garage your parents or even grandparents may have told you about from an England of long ago, yet here it is -- with a young and cheerful team -- still going strong, always ready to help and advise and provide the best service possible.