Has your car suffered in the snow? Help is at hand in Okehampton

There's nothing like a bit of ice and snow to expose any faults in your car - so if ever there was a time to keep up with servicing and repairs, it's now!

Offering advice as to who or where you should take your car is always problematic - everyone has their favourite who they trust... unless you've got a nearly-new motor and are tied into a main dealer.

So this week I'll pass this over to you, the motorists of Okehampton. Who would you recommend to help you out  when the beast won't start/won't stop or is making one of those expensive-sounding rattling noises? Tell us below, and/or rate them in the Okehampton People business directory.

I'll start you off with three I trust, where you'll get a proper job done at a fair price - but I can't emphasise enough that there are many more just as good...

First, Steve Bolt at FJ Glass & Co (find the workshop up the lane near the entrance to the College). He recently helped me out with a minor MOT problem... fitted me in at short notice, did a good job - which included sourcing cheaper-than-Volvo parts -  and charged a fair price for a day's labour.

Only a hundred yards or so away in Mill Road is Nelson Voaden at NV Motors. I presented him with one of those intermittent undefined electrical faults... he said he didn't really know what it was: suffice to say it never happened again, so he must have that magic touch!

Third on my list is father-and-son team of Dave and Andy Holland at Owlsfoot Garage, Sticklepath. They make the ideal pairing of experience and recently-trained, and will tackle any problem on any age or make of vehicle. The only problem? They're often booked up days/weeks in advance... which says it all!

If you like to do-it-yourself, Kevin Cooper's new premises on the Exeter Road Industrial Estate is the place for parts. The staff are really helpful, and to my layman's ear they seem to know what they're talking about. (Mind you, changing a bulb is about my limit!)

What sets these above the main dealers and chain outfits is the personal service. They'll often pick the car up and drop it back - and not carry out major work without warning you of the cost consequences.

So... who do recommend...?