Mobile repair - Investing in the convenience factor
Publish date: 01/09/2025
From new site announcements and advanced technological installations to technicians performing on the World Skills stage, it’s been an exciting few months for FMG Repair Services. Yet when it comes to exciting news for customers, it has to be the investment in a brand-new fleet of mobile repair vans to boost their existing provision.
We caught up with Managing Director Paul Wrigglesworth and Operations Director Kris Hurd to find out what’s powered this latest investment, and weigh-up the pros and cons of mobile repair services within our industry.
1. You’ve offered a mobile repair provision for some time, what’s driven this significant investment in your fleet?
Paul: Like any other industry, vehicle repair has seen a huge shift in consumer demand, largely based on convenience, speed and efficiency. Mobile repair is proving to be a game-changer for those looking for a hassle-free vehicle repair solution, zero inconvenience in any capacity but with a 100% effective result.
Today we see around 8-10% penetration across our insurer book of business, with the advancement in mobile repair capability, driven by significant enhancements in technology and tooling, our trajectory suggests it wouldn’t be long before demand would outweigh supply.
The arrival of our first batch of new state-of-the-art vans, part of a 5-phase project, marks a milestone in the growth of our mobile repair service, increasing to 41 vans, and this has been driven by customer demand and a huge appetite for more access to full Bodyshop quality vehicle repair at their own home or workplace. The full project will see us double our vans on the road, providing full UK-coverage.
Since key-to-key time is less than a day, there’s rarely any need for a replacement vehicle and that is music to the ears of insurers and drivers alike, particularly of those who drive adapted vehicles which can’t easily be replaced.
As a market leader, we recognise our responsibility to build a business that is fit for the future and continues to fulfil our customers’ needs and expectations, and so we’re expanding our mobile repair provision to meet exactly that.
2. Tell us about your mobile repair provision and how it differs from the many SMART repair solutions available.
Kris: This a full Bodyshop-standard mobile repair facility, offering the highest quality repair equipment, advanced technology and industry leading capability. This is not a smart repair solution, we’re in an entirely different league and there are very few solutions in the market to compare to ours.
Our mobile repair vans transform into 18ft long, 9ft high, dynamic repair capsules, which can be set-up on driveways or workplaces which have the required space. The capsule accommodates standard cars, EVs and hybrids, right up to high-top long-wheelbase LCVs, and technicians address damage up to four panels, with repair time averaging 3-4 hours.
Onboard equipment compares with any market-leading fixed bodyshop site, with the latest repair solutions including glue-pull repair, plastic repair, weld-on pin pulling, and ADAS recalibrations.
3. How does repair quality compare to a bodyshop repair?
Kris: Our mobile repair vans are extensively equipped to our very exacting standards, with premium kit and instant access to full technical repair methods onboard. Take a paint job, our mobile repair technicians use a spectrometer linked to advanced colour match paint technology with 99.6% colour match accuracy. They use premium UV cured primers and fillers, and eco-friendly air-dry clear coats. All our mobile repairs come with a lifetime guarantee.
With full HSE compliance, mobile repair technicians must operate within the same rigorous Bodyshop standards, and have the additional steps for air quality testing and extraction.
Our mobile repair technicians are multi-skilled and vastly qualified in all areas of vehicle repair, with an average 20 years’ experience. Training is ongoing, with full and regular recertifications across all required disciplines conducted at the FMGRS Technical Training Centre.
4. You’ve restructured your mobile repair provision. Can you tell us about this? What benefits will customers see?
Paul: The investment in the new van fleet was just the tip of the iceberg within a much broader, new, mobile repair strategy which will play-out over the next 18-months. The strategy focuses on capability, capacity and logistical convenience, enhancing our way of working to provide more customers with the convenience of mobile repair.
Previously, we operated mobile repair as a separate, centralised division. Whilst analysing efficiency, marketplace trends, customer demands and operational performance, this prompted new thinking, whereby we’ve restructured the solution to see every mobile repair van based within our fixed Bodyshop sites, with multiple vans at sites with high demand.
This is a huge advantage in terms of proximity to customer, reduced downtime and a well-engineered safety net, giving mobile repair technicians full access to all the specialist equipment, services and expertise at the site, should they need it.
5.What’s the key to getting the right vehicle down the right repair route?
Kris: A very thorough triage process is our key to seamless right-first-time mobile repairs. Every vehicle incident is subject to a full set of diagnostic questions, and this triggers an additional second stage, where Bodyshop VDA’s review every case and visit the vehicle in-situ if required, to take additional images to ensure mobile repair is the most suitable repair route.
6. Even the most apparent standard repair can come with unrealised challenges - what happens when a mobile repair technician runs into a challenge?
Kris: Each mobile repair unit has the full support of its Bodyshop site base which unlocks a new level of flexibility. Mobile repair technicians can switch from van to site to access specialist equipment, such as 4-wheel alignment or static ADAS resets. A scenario which can crop up regularly is where the vehicle has been positively identified for the mobile repair route, but the customer may have underestimated the space requirements for the mobile repair pod to be accommodated at their chosen location. In these scenarios, mobile repair remains accessible to those customers through conducting their ‘mobile repair’ in the grounds of our Bodyshop site so to not delay the repair process.
7. Customer demand is a great reason to invest, but what about customer satisfaction in this area? What feedback do you get from customers?
Paul: We’re proud to boast great NPS results within the broader FMG Repair Services business, with the Mobile Repair solution averaging 9-points higher than fixed sites (average over the last 12 months). Overall customer satisfaction sits at 9.1/10 with professionalism of our technicians and the overall service sat at an outstanding 9.6/10. The biggest indicator of success is the repair quality itself, for which we achieve a score of 9.4/10. The results really speak for themselves, and added weight to the investment we’re making.
8. What are your plans for mobile repair moving forward?
Paul: With downtime reduced to hours rather than days, and customer satisfaction scoring 9 points higher than traditional bodyshop repair, it’s no surprise that customer demand for mobile repair remains on an upward trajectory, and so do our growth and investment plans. We’ll increase our mobile van fleet significantly over the next 18 months as we believe the industry needs this level of provision.
We’ll continue looking for ways to enhance the customer experience, making mobile repairs faster and more seamless whilst ensuring our mobile repair vans, like our Bodyshops, remain at the forefront of today’s fast-changing vehicle repair market.