I did my apprenticeship at a Mazda dealership in which Peter Lovett purchased, so I officially started working for Dick Lovett in 1991 at Lovett Mazda. From there, I transferred to Dick Lovett Mercedes as a Vehicle Technician where I took on several extra responsibilities which included Apprentice training and assessing them, which meant I undertook a NVQ D32 Assessors’ qualification. During my time there, I also did the Mercedes 24hr breakdown service in the evenings on a rota and found myself in charge of two Technicians running the new and used preparation department.
In 2002 I left Dick Lovett when the Mercedes dealership changed hands, and returned in 2014 when a new opportunity arose at Ferrari. I jumped at the chance to return to my old employer. In 2020 I was offered the chance to be Peter’s Personal Technician, and look after his personal collection of cars.
Currently my job involves maintaining and restoring Peter’s cars, who I report to directly. I also oversee the 5 Apprentices at Ferrari and make sure their coursework is of excellent quality. I still get to work on Ferraris too manly doing MOT’s and some quality control when needed and a few other bits and bobs.
I also have a responsibility for training our Apprentices from around the group which involves teaching them some classic car fundamentals which are now being forgotten. This includes various systems and some basic skills like cutting, grinding, rethreading, and welding. Peter purchased a Ferrari 308gt4 as a project car for the Apprentices to work on. I have 16 Apprentices each year from around our group for 2 weeks each.
It was an honour to be selected to do this and work on Peter’s collection. Also, Peter mentioned he wanted his Apprentices to be involved and gain some experience of the things that are slowly disappearing from our garages. I have had lots of Apprentices in the past, many of whom are still in the trade and have gone on to do amazing things. In fact, I wouldn’t be where I am today without an old Apprentice telling me about the Ferrari job. I also like classic cars and don’t mind rolling my sleeves up and getting dirty.
I must admit I absolutely love my job the variation is fantastic one day I’m working on 1929 Bentley next day I could be driving a brand-new Ferrari or teaching an apprentice something new. Pardon the pun but I love it. I’m the person who loves coming to work rain or shine.
Although I mainly work alone and with the apprentices my team is far and wide, I feel that the whole of the Dick Lovett Group is my team. From Peter at the top to all the individual teams at Dick Lovett. The Personnel, IT, and Accounts departments, and all the individual dealerships, everyone is here to help any way they can. (Hope I haven’t missed anyone!).
I’ve worked for a couple of different employers in the past and wouldn’t want to work for anyone else. Everyone I’ve met is helpful and friendly even the ones that look grumpy. Management is approachable and it feels very family orientated, which I like.
I wouldn’t say I’ve had any challenges during my time here. Everything can be fixed eventually when you put your mind to it, have the right attitude and the right people around you. It’s only nuts and bolts!
And when it comes to highlights, where do I start? I’ve been sailing in the Solent on a massive round the world Yacht. I’ve had 3 days in Italy touring the Ferrari factory. I get to attend various race circuits helping to prepare customers cars to go on track. We also recently went to the British F1 Grand Prix. I’ve also had the pleasure working on a few famous people’s cars too…
I always look forward to teaching new things to Apprentices and learning new things myself. I’d like to think I will continue doing this job well into retirement too.
