About us

A garage built on straight answers

Ray Calder opened the doors on Kiln Road in 2004 with one ramp and a rule he has not broken since: tell people what it costs before you touch the car.
The workshop at Axle & Co
About
Twenty-two years on the same road
Ray spent eleven years at a main dealer before he opened Axle & Co, and he left because of the way cars were being sold work they did not need. The workshop on Kiln Road runs the other way round: measure it, write it down, show the customer, then quote. Priya joined in 2016 and now runs the MOT bay and the diagnostics, and Marcus has answered the phone since 2019. Nobody here is paid a commission on parts.
How we work

Four rules we run the place by

Quote first
A written price before a spanner comes out. If we find something else while the car is up, we stop and ring you.
Measured, not guessed
Pads, discs, tyres and brake fluid are measured and the numbers written down, so you can see how much life is left.
No commission
Nobody here earns more for selling you a part. It is the reason we can tell you something can wait until next year.
The same three people
You meet the person working on your car. There is no service department to be passed along.
The workshop

The three people who will work on your car

Ray Calder, Owner and lead technician
Ray Calder
Owner and lead technician
Priya Shah, Diagnostics and MOT tester
Priya Shah
Diagnostics and MOT tester
Marcus Ellery, Service advisor
Marcus Ellery
Service advisor
Book in

Book your car in,
with the price agreed first

Tell us the registration and what the car is doing. We will come back with a written price, a date, and a courtesy car if the job needs one.