Memory dealer?

[Cavcraft]

Today I have mostly been reminiscing over dealers of old, and trying (but failing) to find images of long since disappeared local main staelers on Google.

 

So (without pictures sorry) here's some random memories from back in the day.

 

Going to the annual car show at the local leasuire centre and being utterly mesmorised by a new Princess 'Special 6' (?) in black with silver coachlines. It looked blooming brilliant and really impressed me, think I only ever saw one on the road though.

 

James Edwards Chrylser/Talbot showroom. The salesmen were laughing at some 'special editions' Horizons they were creating. They'd scored some tasteless pinstriping and lettering, had a cheapo glass sunroof fitted and were knocking out these 'specials' to (in their words) 'daft old bats'.

 

More & Gamon (now Kwik Fit) and sitting in a new Maestro with my dad laughing at the talking dashboard thing and bits of trim that weren't fitted properly. Dad was SRSLY going to buy one when in a fit of madness (or maybe it was his last day or something) the salesman told him to 'avoid at all costs'

 

Few more to add when I get the chance, anyone else want to share?

[Lord Sterling]

I tried to find the original supplying dealer of my car, Eddy Grimstead (Austin-Rover) of Longbridge Road, Essex, looking on google maps/images seems that its now a new housing/appartment complex, no images of original dealer can be found though. Eddy Grimstead delaerships do still exist but on newer premisis.

 

Even the original supplying dealer of my Micra doesnt exists anymore (Moving to newer premisis)

 

Trying to find images of old Rover dealers in Telford/Shrewsbury and Eddy Grimstead (Austin-Rover) of Longbridge Road, Essex if anyone can help.

[Mr Lobster]

I've spent a bit of time trying to find old dealers on Google but there seems to be very few pictures about sadly.

 

Fatha_Lobsta used to buy a new car every three years so I remember going around quite a few now long since vanished dealers. In no particular order then -

 

Looking at a green Princess at Kennings (i think) in Burnley circa 1980, Orion at Seed Ford in Colne, assorted Vauxhalls at JS Leavers in Blackburn. Others from around my area long since gone that I recall from my youth include - Seed Ford at Nelson and Colne, Ratcliffe & Tattersall (later Churchills) (Austin Rover) in Nelson, Nightingales Renault in Gt Harwood plus many others that have long since vanished.

[trigger]

Spottedlaurel is the best one for this, he has lots of old dealer photos on flickr.

[Station]

I loved going in car dealers when I was younger, esp with my dad, just to sit in 'new' cars.

 

Riding all round the Wirral on my bike with my mate getting all the brochures from every dealer. Cubbin and North was down the road from my folk's, it was a Citroen dealer (now 'luxury apartments'). Even cycled to Two Mills, a Honda dealer (on the Welsh Road/A550), but had some ace cars in - a Detomaso Pantera in blue (they also had that Honda Civic scrappage car outside from recent months).

 

I got a fairly valuable TinTin Citroen 2CV brochures from C&N, and also a load of 80's style 'future world' "we'll be driving these in ten years" brochures from Mitsubishi. Considering the pile was 1 foot high and my pride and joy at the time, I was dismayed to go up into my folk's attic recently and found they had chucked the lot.

Also a big box of diskettes from when I started working in games - all my old work from 15+ years ago - gone.

[Cavcraft]

I tried to find the original supplying dealer of my car, Eddy Grimstead (Austin-Rover) of Longbridge Road, Essex, looking on google maps/images seems that its now a new housing/appartment complex, no images of original dealer can be found though. Eddy Grimstead delaerships do still exist but on newer premisis.

 

Even the original supplying dealer of my Micra doesnt exists anymore (Moving to newer premisis)

 

Trying to find images of old Rover dealers in Telford/Shrewsbury and Eddy Grimstead (Austin-Rover) of Longbridge Road, Essex if anyone can help.

I think Charles Clarke had Rover in (Stafford Park) Telford then switched to Carnelian Rover.

Shrewsbury was covered by Wadham Kenning and then also switched (new owners, new site) to Carnelian.

This would have been about 12 years or so ago now, don't know if that helps but hope so.

 

I'll grab pictures of former dealers round here but they're all blooming poncey flats etc now I think.

[Station]

There was a Lada dealer in Claughton. I was surprised to see it still open over 10 years ago, but long shut now!

[M'coli]

I loved going in car dealers when I was younger, esp with my dad, just to sit in 'new' cars.

I much preferred going to scrapyards in the late 70s with my dad and sitting in old cars - it also didn't matter if you broke a switch or something! We didn't go to dealers, we were too tight.

[trigger]

I grew up from the age of 2 to 10 (1982-1990) living opposite a Renault main dealer called Eary and Jones in Feering, Essex and my bedroom faced it so i use to see all the new cars arrive, I remember when the 21 and 25 both came out and the writing on the front windows.

 

I also remember seeing my first Renault 19 in March 1989 when the garage owner, Jock, ran me over in the demonstrator the day they got it, I bet I'm one of the first people in the country to get a broken leg from a R19!.

 

I did have ap hoto of the garage from about 1988 i took of a rainbow behind it but I'm buggered if i can find it anywhere, Wish i could as it's a great photo.

[chaseracer]

I grew up in Malvern in the 70s and early 80s; given the prevailing demographics, there was a fairly wide range of interesting motors (and 'motor dealers...)

 

* Chevron Motors - Citroen - apartments there now

* Rothwell & Milbourne - Rover ("not Orstin-Morris, old boy...") - proper old-fashioned setup with hand-operated petrol pump on the roadside, now an interior design shop (but the pump survives)

* Three Counties Garages - BMC/Leyland, then South Hereford Garages - VW/Audi - now Lidl

* Scrivens Garage - Volvo - now a filling station for some obscure brand

* AD Davies - Renault - still there!

* Brooklyn - Ford - can't remember the original name, but the showroom building was the original Morgan factory, now all gone for retirement apartments

 

There were dealers for Vauxhall/Opel, Peugeot and Fiat too, but I'd need to look those up - the memory ain't what it was!

[MK5 Escort]

I only know of a couple of local dealers which I know have long gone. One was Rover’s Offley Brothers in Ellesmere Port. I remember going there when my granddad was looking for a new car and he was looking at some very fetching nearly new 100 Kensington's on the forecourt. I remember him talking one look at the 'bubble' 200 (which had been out for about a year or so at the time) and it was "far too big" for him . He never did bother buying anything from there in the end. The building itself is still there and hasn’t altered too much, but it's now a HSS Hire shop.

 

Another was Ben Whitehouse Vauxhall on the A540 in Chester. It closed about ten years ago. At the time, there were two Vauxhall dealers in Chester. I remember going in there (tiny place) as my father was looking at an Astra at the time - which he eventually got from our local dealer instead. We went into Ben Whitehouse to see what they had to offer, but they were extremely pushy and we didn't hang around too long. It turned out they were desperate for sales as they closed about three months later. The building (also on the site of a petrol station) was empty for a while and then become your typical used car place selling all sorts of your typical two to five year old cars. Over the last few years it appears to have become a Citroen dealer.

 

The other Vauxhall dealer in Chester was located on Hoole Lane, backing onto the canal. It was larger, but was always crammed inside and out with cars. The dealers (Lookers) is still very much open and moved a few miles away to the boarders of Blacon on the A548 Seland Road. The old dealer was quickly levelled and now has holiday apartments on it of some sort. That's been gone a fair few years now, too.

 

The old Quicks of Chester (Ford dealer) was situated on the corner of Lower Bridge Street / Duke Street. What made it rather unusual is that you drove your car inside the building up a ridiculously tight, steep, curved ramp into what can only be best described as a miniature multi-storey car park. I took a couple of our company cars there for servicing. The building is still there but was boarded up the last time I passed about six months ago. I'd say it's been closed for about five years, roughly.

 

When it comes to scrapyards, I remember visiting one in Elton, just off Ince Lane down a narrow gap between two buildings (which are still there). It’s been gone for about eleven/twelve years now and gave way to yet another match-box sized housing estate. A proper old fashioned place it was too. Cars strewn everywhere in no particular order and unless you went in decent boots, expect to get very muddy feet. We went in there once to get a rear seatbelt from an Austin Metro as we knew the one in my brother’s would fail it’s MOT on it. We also helped ourselves to a parcel shelf and it’s side mounts whilst we were there too. He only had a D reg ‘City’ model, so behind the back seats was just a big gaping gap!

[Guest]

Few gone in Leicestershire too

 

Lathams of Leicester and Loughborough which later became Mann Egerton British Leyland / Austin Rover. Loughborough is now offices Leicester is an exebition centre.

 

Mountsorrel service station - Lada Dealers. Now flats for rich people.

 

Cooper BMW Rothley - now a library.

 

Allthough the funny one was Nelsons of Leicester - a shot lived Lonsdale dealer (remember those)

[Station]

I loved going in car dealers when I was younger, esp with my dad, just to sit in 'new' cars.

I much preferred going to scrapyards in the late 70s with my dad and sitting in old cars - it also didn't matter if you broke a switch or something! We didn't go to dealers, we were too tight.

I was going to add I preferred scrapyards, as they had older, more interesting cars. The only dealers my dad went to where back street ones, never amassing more than 200 quid per car. Don't think my dad owned a newer car than 15 years old!

[Pillock]

Locally to me....

 

Kirkby Motor Services used to be an FSO and Lada dealer. I remember seeing brand new Polonez's outside, gently oxidising. Lasted till the early 90s I imagine, I think the site just started to sell more and more trade-ins, started buying "trade-ins" in as the FSO sales dried up, then lost/gave up the franchise. It's still there but purely secondhand cars now.

 

Wheatleys was the major Renault dealer for the area, there was also GT Cars in Nottingham but Wheatleys got all the trade north of the city. It was at the bottom of the street I grew up in, remember 5s and 19s being new in the showroom including a 5 Turbo Raider which I had a sit in. My mum went in looking at 19s for her first company car, it was quite a run-down place really but friendly enough. She skipped the 19 but got a Megane later, they serviced it a couple of times before closing down. A couple of weeks before they shut up I witnessed the sales guys standing on the wall outside picking which cars they were going to race home in!

 

We also had an Austin Rover dealer in town, the name of which escapes me. Proper high-street glass-fronted affair with an oily workshop out back and an aged gentleman in a suit to gently guide you towards your new car purchase. Again, gone in favour of secondhand car sales.

 

Had a Seat dealer as part of a Jet garage, which then turned into a Kia dealer. To give you an idea of the size of the dealership, it's now a Londis store and the forecourt is their parking area. In a twist of fate this was built on the site of a used car dealer, trying to reverse the later trend? I remember my mum going there to look at a Strada! She eventually bottled it in favour of a new Polo.

 

Not bad really for a town of about 25,000 people - five different marques represented for new cars.

[Cavcraft]

I only know of a couple of local dealers which I know have long gone. One was Rover’s Offley Brothers in Ellesmere Port. I remember going there when my granddad was looking for a new car and he was looking at some very fetching nearly new 100 Kensington's on the forecourt. I remember him talking one look at the 'bubble' 200 (which had been out for about a year or so at the time) and it was "far too big" for him . He never did bother buying anything from there in the end. The building itself is still there and hasn’t altered too much, but it's now a HSS Hire shop.

 

Another was Ben Whitehouse Vauxhall on the A540 in Chester. It closed about ten years ago. At the time, there were two Vauxhall dealers in Chester. I remember going in there (tiny place) as my father was looking at an Astra at the time - which he eventually got from our local dealer instead. We went into Ben Whitehouse to see what they had to offer, but they were extremely pushy and we didn't hang around too long. It turned out they were desperate for sales as they closed about three months later. The building (also on the site of a petrol station) was empty for a while and then become your typical used car place selling all sorts of your typical two to five year old cars. Over the last few years it appears to have become a Citroen dealer.

 

The other Vauxhall dealer in Chester was located on Hoole Lane, backing onto the canal. It was larger, but was always crammed inside and out with cars. The dealers (Lookers) is still very much open and moved a few miles away to the boarders of Blacon on the A548 Seland Road. The old dealer was quickly levelled and now has holiday apartments on it of some sort. That's been gone a fair few years now, too.

 

The old Quicks of Chester (Ford dealer) was situated on the corner of Lower Bridge Street / Duke Street. What made it rather unusual is that you drove your car inside the building up a ridiculously tight, steep, curved ramp into what can only be best described as a miniature multi-storey car park. I took a couple of our company cars there for servicing. The building is still there but was boarded up the last time I passed about six months ago. I'd say it's been closed for about five years, roughly.

 

When it comes to scrapyards, I remember visiting one in Elton, just off Ince Lane down a narrow gap between two buildings (which are still there). It’s been gone for about eleven/twelve years now and gave way to yet another match-box sized housing estate. A proper old fashioned place it was too. Cars strewn everywhere in no particular order and unless you went in decent boots, expect to get very muddy feet. We went in there once to get a rear seatbelt from an Austin Metro as we knew the one in my brother’s would fail it’s MOT on it. We also helped ourselves to a parcel shelf and it’s side mounts whilst we were there too. He only had a D reg ‘City’ model, so behind the back seats was just a big gaping gap!

All well remembered here, Mk5.

 

There was actually three Vauxhall dealers in Chester at one time! GBE/Chester Engineering (aka Lookers) on Hoole Lane, Ben Whitehouse (fantastic people) and also Loves Of Chester, just off Garden Lane underneath the flyover in town.

 

Lookers now a monstrosity on Sealand Rd, Ben Whitehouse now (mostly) closed, what's left is a subsiduary of one the 'big players' who use it as a trade centre. Loves now a service garage who also sell used cars. Had a fantastic p/x bargain out of there a few years back, Orion Ghia with ten months MOT and 6 weeks tax, drive away £100.

 

Scrap yard in Elton now long gone, some horrible poncey housing estate built on it. He was bloody cheap and had loads of rusted out old Farinas, Montegos and shit in.

 

Offleys (E.Port) used to be across the road from HSS too I think, now a supermarket.

 

James Edwards old place on Victoria Rd (near the Northgate Arena) was magic. Huge place all in, moved from Talbot to Rover and had a Land Rover place at the far end. The buildings were old fashioned, the workshop was huge and some of the staff would have made ace porters and the like in the dark days of British Rail, as they were as miserable as shit but had that sort of funny likeability about them at the same time.

[pogweasel]

When I were a lad, there was only one place in our village where you could buy a new car, at F.C.Dawes garage, which had a 'showroom' that could fit two cars in. They were dealers for Simca / Talbot / Peugeot and then later Renault (Mmm, brown Monaco 25's!) though I think that they only sold about 3 cars a year. Think they gave up in the end, but you can still buy your pez there from 70's pumps with an attended service. Class!

[Lord Sterling]

I think Charles Clarke had Rover in (Stafford Park) Telford then switched to Carnelian Rover.

Shrewsbury was covered by Wadham Kenning and then also switched (new owners, new site) to Carnelian.

I remember Charles Clark in Stafford Park, my Dad and I used to frequent there alot.

 

I also remember the outside of Wadham Kenning in Shrewsbury. First time I saw a mk1 Rover 800 with rear DIY windows rather than electric.

 

here is a Pic of a former Rover dealer in Halesowen, never saw it when it was open, in fact I never knew it was a Rover dealer until I passed the roundabout and saw the sign as its on a Dual Carriageway and the sign facing the road is Suzuki:

 

[red5]

Isn't that the old All-Electric site? Just off the ring road?

[Lord Sterling]

I beleive so, its the one on Earlsway, Halesowen. It became a Suzuki dealership after the collapse of MG-Rover, but they never took the old Rover sign down from the otherside.

 

I wonder if the Rover sign will fit into the back of a Transit van...........?

[Pete-M]

My dad worked for Cubbin and North for a while, and also for Booths of Ditton (Who're still going in the same place, although my dad worked in their short-lived Warrington branch).

 

Dealerships I remember fondly;

 

Blakes on Hardman Street. I damaged a Rover P5B my dad wasn't going to buy there, so he ended up with it anyway.

 

Blakes on Prescot St. I used to buy all my Ford bits there. Gutted it's gone.

 

Martindale & Carlisle on Allerton Rd. Was a big Datsun dealership in the 70's. Remember sitting in a new 260Z there, and then a couple of years later not being at all impressed by the fat 280ZX.

 

Ian Skelly's. I worked there for a while. Put me off car sales for a long time. VW / Audi / Nissan / Fiat all in one site. Close to 50 sales staff on a site that sold maybe 80 cars a month. Closed about two months after I left in '98. Burnt down shortly after that. Lots of it still standing.

 

B&K on Prescot Rd. Rover main agents. McDonalds now. They had a row of Targa Red SD1 Vitesses right at the front of the pitch in 1984. I eventually owned one of that very row.

 

Hepburns of Crosby. Executive flats now, but was a Rover dealership for about 50 years, and then a Rover specialist. Still had a mint XJ12C in the showroom until just before they closed up for good.

 

Tom Englands VW in Crosby. There forever, now flats I think. Were bought out by Corkills, and Corkhills then moved and became Liverpool Volkswagen. The Crosby showroom was a proper 60s job. I remember the original Audi 100LS looking really 'right' there.

 

Stanley Motors. Fiat dealership in Knotty Ash. Small site but they seemed to shift loads of small Fiats to local pensioners. Went splat when Skelly's got a Fiat franchise. It's a shoe shop now.

[Angrydicky]

Quicks of Chester! I remember that one, my Aunt's Fiesta K738 LLG came from there. She lived in Meadowsway, Chester. My gran had hers (N492 DMA) serviced there as well, this was in the late 90's. Lived in Oakfield Avenue, Upton. Lathams of Leicester is another familiar one, our old Triumph Acclaim (VRY 972X) had that name on the rear number plate.

 

Around here, we've got Perrys Ford at Kent Elms Corner in Southend, changed to Essex Ford a few years ago now Essex Autogroup, selling Fiats and Fords. Perrys were going for years though (all Perrys cars had the distinctive "Go Perrys" stickers in the back window.

 

SMAC Group (BL/Austin-Rover - stickers read "SMAC Group - London & Essex") were located in Southend until the early 90's, when it became Lookers Rover. Now Lookers Renault/Land Rover/ Vauxhall/ Chevrolet!

 

Kennings were located in London Road, Leigh-on-Sea until the Seventies at least.

 

Godfrey Davis Renault were in Hadleigh.

 

Essex Park (Toyota) were in Wickford.

 

Westleigh Mazda are still in Leigh-on-Sea - my dad's old 626 came from there.

 

Bridge Garage (Ford) in Shoeburyness are still there, they've been in business on the same site since the 60's.

 

Currie Motors were in London Road, Westcliff-on-Sea (Peugeot/Chrysler/Talbot)

 

Geoff Bray (Vauxhall) were in Southend. Not sure if they're still going.

 

Foster Cars (Toyota) in Southend are long gone.

[CreepingJesus]

There was Strathford in Paisley, when I was just little. My dad had a long string of company 'Tinas, and I used to tag along to the dealers when they were in for service. I remember Strathford having a massive (or so it seemed) cardboard cutout of Supervan I, which is why it's my avi.

I remember trying to persuade him to rent a Capri from them, when one of the 'Tinas needed to be in the dealers over a weekend, and relatives had to be visited. No such luck, we ended up with another 'Tina!

[warren t claim]

I remember Skelley's Ford World on Hawthorne Rd Bootle. In fact when they removed an advertising board off the railway bridge on Rice Lane last year the old advert was still painted on the bridge proclaiming that Europe's largest Ford dealer was here in Liverpool.! Sadly painted over now.

[Vin]

Like others on here my Dad never bought 'new' cars so we rarely went near dealers when it came to replacing the family car.

 

He bought his dross from places like 'Harvey Bloom's Car Corner' in Hull (some local shiters may remember it) The Rover SD1 he bought from Harvey promptly grenaded it's engine on the M62

 

He did once buy a S/H Volvo 760 GLT wagon from a main dealer though - Harveys (BMW) in Grimsby.

 

Main dealer experiences were normally just to buy spare parts for what the folks had at the time...such as;

 

John Morris (Volvo) - Grimsby

South Humberside Motor Company (Saab) - Grimsby

Linpac Motors (Renault) - Grimsby

Baden Powell Renault - Scunthorpe

Campions (Peugeot) - Lincoln

Crompton & Holt (Fiat) - Lincoln

Burtons (Fiat) - Grimsby

Jordans (Fiat) - Hull

 

Brigg once sported Spencers Citroen which used to be a branch of Kenning in BL days, and Smith Parkinson, a Ford dealer which lasted until quite recently

[saabhappy]

Here's a few oldies to give you a smile:

 

 

 

 

 

[brammy777]

Not too familiar with the old Dealerships around Basingstoke, but I know J Davy has been there a while, its near the Leisure Park and some of the old MKII Astras still going round here have the dealer badges and stickers still on them. So thats 20+ years already. Some old MKIII Fiestas (launch ones) have the J Davy badge on them as well....

There was an Austin Rover dealer called Hadleys, Im not sure when it closed but the one remaining Montego in Basingstoke was sold there.

Im fairly certain that Gowerings has been there a long time as well.

Next to the Texaco garage in Odiham there was a Mitsubushi dealer, but it was shut in early 2003 I think, to make way for flats. The BMW Wood dealership used to be something else, possibly Ford or a mixed carlot, the old owner still comes in the shop I work in. Top bloke. There is also a tiny Ford dealership called Oast, I think they sell a car once every blue moon, god knows how its still there.

And there was a Subaru dealer in Aberfeldy, as Ive mentioned alot, where we got our Legacy and Impreza hatchback from. They had a massive impact on the area when they were open, at one point Id say 70% of the cars in the village were either Subarus or Isuzus.

[Pete-M]

Not too familiar with the old Dealerships around Basingstoke, but I know J Davy has been there a while,

Heh. J Davy used to have a branch in Speke (not far from the old Triumph works). Quite a successful little branch it was, until one night in the late '80s the workshops were burgled. All the tools, gone.

 

Now, this wouldn't normally be an issue, but J Davy's used to insure the mechanics tools for them. Needless to say, every mechanic in the place, and there were about 30 of 'em, threw a claim in for £25k worth of Snap-On type stuff. Then it turned out Davys weren't insured for tools, so they had to foot the bill themselves. They paid for the tools, then shut up shop, never to return.

 

How true this is, I don't know. The mechanics I know who used to work there all have a metric fuckload of Snap-On gear though..

[warren t claim]

Wasn't J Davy in Speke closed down in mysterious circumstances?

[Charlie Croker]

When i was 13 (i'm 43 now) i used to go up to the local Ford main dealers wich was Seed Ford in Colne in Lancashire at the weekend and after a little while when all the salesmen got to know me they allowed me to stay as long as i liked when i liked. They were a great bunch of guys who even gave me a lift home at the end of the day. I got to ride in all of the new Fords of the day (1979/80). The one of the best memories i have is getting took out in a Esort mk3 1.3GL ( EHG 60W where are you now?) about 3 weeks before it was launched. Nobody new what it was and the looks we got were amazing.lol. Has anyone any photos or memories of Seeds?

[warren t claim]

Do any of these still exist?

 

Route One Ford

Dees of Croydon

Gordon Ford

Cubbleys of Ainsdale

Pickmere Volvo

Kirbys of Wrexham

Greenhouse Vauxhall

A+B Motors (Volvo and Lada)