CARING FOR
YOUR VEHICLES
SINCE 1993

ABOUT AUTODAN

Danny Maines started Autodan back in March 1993 when he took the gamble of going out on his own. Danny’s career began at REME 43 district workshops, Aldershot, before he moved over to ISIS motors, Farnham, and then honed his skills as a top technician at Swain and Jones, Farnham.

He started his adventures in self-employment by buying a Toyota Hiace van and setting out on the road to build his business by providing a mobile service to his customers. Very quickly he found that he was struggling to cope with the demand and, after a year on the road, he got his first workshop on Passfield Mill Business Park in Hampshire. From there he grew his customer base even further and after a year in this workshop had to move again to larger premises on Passfield Mill.

Danny had by then spent 10 years establishing himself as the most trusted and competent mechanic in the area, which meant that he had a month long waiting list for bookings. This was a testament to his ability and to the loyalty of his customers, but also lead Danny to take the plunge in 2003 and move to a much bigger site. Autodan LTD was born.

Having realised that there was a desperate need in the area for a good honest MOT station that put the customer first, Danny dived in the deep end and found the only workshop that was suitable. It just happened to be 6 1/2 times bigger than his current one! Despite being nervous about this expansion, Danny’s confidence in his abilities won through and Autodan Ltd has never looked back.

We have become the biggest, most trusted, knowledgeable and friendly garage in the area, where the customer’s needs are always put first. We have a team of top quality technicians most of whom have been trained by Danny himself. Danny’s own daughter is now part of the business, working the front desk as the link between the customers and the staff. His longest serving employee, Luke, is his right hand man and now manages the business on a day-to-day basis leaving Danny to oversee the running of a now sizeable company.

Autodan is a garage that prides itself on doing a high quality job at an affordable price. We have all the latest diagnostic software and training, and we are qualified in maintaining the latest generation of hybrid vehicles. We have recently become a dealer for Celtic tuning and now have the ability to re-map any vehicle, no matter how big or small.

Alongside the busy job of running a garage, Danny has become a TV car producer for Endomol Shine North, helping make two series of the show “Supercar Megabuild” for the National Geographic channel. He has also helped on a series for The Discovery Channel (yet to be aired) and is beginning work on a car show for the BBC. Keep a lookout for news of this.

DANNY

Fully Qualified Mechanic and MOT tester

Danny is the founder and Managing Director of Autodan, starting the business back in 1993. He has had a wealth of experience working on many different makes of cars, including serving an apprenticeship with REME and Ford. He became a fuel injection diagnostic technician at Swain and Jones and it is rumoured by his parents that his first words were makes of cars. He loved nothing better as a kid than riding anything with wheels down the steepest hill he could find and spent his childhood taking engines to bits and reassembling them, much to the amazement of his father when they actually restarted!! His passion has always been cars but has now moved on to include boats and motorbikes; in fact anything with an engine. He has founded and organised charity music festivals for Teenage Cancer Trust and frequently taken part in the Dumball car rally, travelling all over Europe and India, always in fancy dress (including the car).

Danny is now also working for a television production company (Endomol Shine North) as a car producer, helping in the production of various car shows for National Geographic, The Discovery Channel and the BBC.

LUKE

Fully Qualified Mechanic and MOT tester

Luke is the General Manager, co-owner of the business and Autodan’s longest serving employee. He started his career working on racecars for a suspension company and had a passion for Minis... oh, and Rugby, both of which he still has.

Luke came to work for us back in 2004 and straightaway fitted into our ethos with his caring and honest attitude, always wanting to do the best job for both the customer and us. He has always been an asset to the company and giving him a share of the company when he took on the role of General Manager rewarded that. Luke is a keen rugby player and has captained Alton Rugby club. He fulfils the role of a rugby Captain perfectly; when we have Autodan get-togethers we all struggle to keep up with his highly polished bar skills.

Luke is a great people’s person and is very popular with our customers, always taking the time to make sure every customer gets the best value for money.

GLENN

Fully Qualified Mechanic and MOT tester

Glenn started as an apprentice with us and always had a passion for cars, particularly 4x4’s (which he later showed us by buying possibly the loudest fire breathing V8 Land Rover in Hampshire).

Glenn has a great attitude towards work and takes everything he does seriously and passionately. (Well, he is half French, so we know where he gets his passion from.) He fast showed us his ability, willingness to learn and hunger for knowledge, and was rewarded by winning top apprentice honours when he qualified at college.

We have sent him on many training courses ranging from modern diagnostics, hybrid vehicles and re-mapping so that he is now our leading diagnostic expert and chief technician, organising the workshop and looking after the other mechanics. Obviously, being part French, Glenn also has a passion for good food and good living.

ANDY

Fully Qualified Mechanic and MOT tester

Andy is the second longest serving member of our team and came to us with a wealth of experience. Andy has worked in dealerships as well as independent garages and bodyshops. He also has a passion for cars (an understatement in anyones language!!) and is a RS ford fanatic. He currently owns a Ford RS2000, which is a testament to his knowledge of cars as it is quite possibly the best example of this car to be seen. He also has a mud slinging, heavily modified Land Rover which he is always taking on some off road adventure, testing it and his skills to the limit.

He loves the big jobs where he will remove an engine or a gearbox in the time it takes the rest of us to make a cup of tea. Yet every nut and bolt is always carefully put in its place, ready to go back, and his bay and tools are immaculate. Nothing ever fazes Andy; he just gets on with it. He loves to rib the other guys and can be a bit of a wind up merchant but always in good nature. He is the comedian of the workshop (in a Jack Dee kinda way) so we rarely have a dull moment.

We are lucky and proud to have Andy here and he is a vital part of making Autodan what it is today. We were unable to find any pictures of Andy not attached to a car, so here is one of those.

TALOR

Receptionist

Talor is Danny’s youngest daughter but is, quite possibly, the most grown up of all of us. She is exceptionally dedicated and ensures that we all do our upmost to give each and every customer the best possible service we can. Danny is proud and lucky to have his daughter here in the business, working alongside him, but she is here on her own merit, not because she is a family member. Quite simply, she is the best person we could have to deal with our customers on a day-to-day basis.

Talor has also always had a passion for anything with wheels. Danny remembers her racing kids much bigger than her on a coin-operated bike. Although she could hardly reach the handlebars at the time, she gave it her all and was most displeased when her battery slowed and she lost a place to another rider.

Talor has ridden horses and now owns a Mini cooper so she can still whizz around but this time without any battery issues! Talor cares about everything, especially anything animal related, and loves nothing more than chilling out with the family dog. It is Talor who will take your call when you phone us and make sure that you are looked after.

LUKE

AKA Little Luke

Luke (yes, we really do seem to be cornering the name Luke here) is our apprentice. He came to us asking for a chance and we decided that he had the enthusiasm for both cars and customer service to join our team, despite not being able to actually drive yet. We have already rewarded Luke by giving him that most important of roles “Chief Tea Maker”, the value of which was demonstrated at the battle of Trafalgar by Nelson who realised the necessity of keeping his troops well fed and watered!

Luke is already an asset to us here and has fully embraced the ethos at Autodan: that the customer always comes first and each and every one of us should work to the best of their ability and strive to continually improve themselves.

Luke is a bit of a daredevil and loves nothing more than to Freestyle on his BMX or scooter.

ALFIE

The Host

Alfie has been with us for 9 years and is an essential member of the team. He loves nothing more than greeting customers when they first enter the office. His method of doing this is usually by running towards them tail wagging so hard he can hardly keep straight and then jumping repeatedly to try and lick their face (which is very hard as he’s a Jack Russell). He is not scared of anything. Well, when we say “anything” we actually mean everything, particularly the noise that tyres make when being blown onto a rim. When this happens he quickly runs away trying to find sanctuary behind a desk, a computer or even a coffee machine. He loves lunchtimes and his favourite game: chasing an un-burstable football round and round the field frantically trying to puncture it

INDIA

Co-host

This is India Tiger Lily. She is Alfie’s new little sister and Co-host. India loves to fuss everybody that steps through the door and is fast working on the size of her back leg muscles by repeatedly bouncing up and down behind Talor’s desk to say hello to anyone that enters. She is a lovely natured dog and as Alfie another Parsons Jack Russell but unlike Alfie has a Gruff coat. She is full of character and brightens up our every day with her comical behaviour.