Dealer Logos

[Father Ted]

 

Dutton Forshaw for Austin Rover.

 

But only because they came with these attached

[simmo]

Picked a car up yesterday (dizzle Corsa for scrap) and next door's had some old motors a Vitesse/Herald Convertible, a I think a Spitfire with a retro fitted GT6 roof/boot (or its a GT6 with a wierd top on it) and finally a Rover 800 with this:

 

 

I've got photos of the cars and will add later with some other spots.

[ProgRocker]

What dealer logo is closest to your heart?

 

My 306 came from the Rootes garage in Maidstone so it felt nice and Hillmany. My Ambassador came from Mann Egerton in Kings Lynn and still has its sticker which is like this one

 

 

The Ber Street dealers was redeveloped in the late 80s or early 90s as an Austin Rover Group showroom and is now a Harley Davidson showroom. Think there are BMW motorcycles there too.

[mk2_craig]

I had a Fiesta with one of these fitted

 

 

Annoyingly, I forgot to remove it before giving the car away.

 

My Sierra had a full complement of La Motte Ford number plates, window sticker, service book wallet and keyring when I bought it last year, though not the tax disc holder which was long gone (road tax was last levied here in 1993). Somewhere I have the one which was still on the windscreen of my original mk3 Fiesta when I bought that in June 1995, must dig that out.

[trigger]

^ I like that, That's the kind of thing I'd like for the Cortina, My dad bought a E reg Escort 1.3L Estate from that garage in 1990ish, I remember walking looking at the cars for sale whilst he done the paperwork, It was called Trimoco by that point, I think it's now called Dovercourt Ford theses days.

[Guest]

460 still has its full complement of Mayfair Volvo numberplates and rear sticker. Sadly the tax disc holder did one many moons ago, along with the child seat that seemingly infuriated every MOT tester that went near it.

 

I'll get a few pictures next time I can prise it out of the pelters man from Castle Point.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I feel slightly grumpy that I didn't get any dealer stickers when I picked up my 500.

It's odd, but if I went with my dad to pick up his last new car and I remember thinking that if it were my car I'd have replaced the dealer plates with blank ones, ditto the tax disc holder, and I'd have peeled the window sticker off. Yet finding original dealer details on an old car is great.

[Skizzer]

Finding original dealer details on an old car is great

 

Yes, was very chuffed to find this on the Dedra - this level of originality is a big part of what made me want to save it:

DSC_5184 by Skizzer, on Flickr

 

(Not the best lit photo ever, I'll grant you)

[cms206]

My Cavalier SRi still carries it's original New Crown Vauxhall number plates and tax disc holder, the Cavalier Classic still sports it's Cowie Redcar number plates, and the new Mondeo (unfortunately) sports a full set of Arnold Clark stickers and plates. Hrmph. Mondeo, if it stays, will be getting a set of either Harpers Ford Aberdeen or Clanford of Paisley registration plates.

 

Some of the dealer stickers I've come across...

 

Rankine for Renault by cms206, on Flickr

Harpers do it better! by cms206, on Flickr

Times past... by cms206, on Flickr

Ingram, Ayr by cms206, on Flickr

Dalblair of Ayr by cms206, on Flickr

First Ford by cms206, on Flickr

Premier Vauxhall, Edinburgh by cms206, on Flickr

 

And some dealer registrations...

 

Premier Vauxhall, Edinburgh by cms206, on Flickr

First Ford by cms206, on Flickr

First Ford by cms206, on Flickr

Clanford of Paisley by cms206, on Flickr

Peoples: Committed to You by cms206, on Flickr

Clark of Kilbirnie by cms206, on Flickr

Strathford by cms206, on Flickr

Serck Plates... by cms206, on Flickr

SMT for Bedford Vans & Trucks. by cms206, on Flickr

Plaxtons... the Great British Coach Builders by cms206, on Flickr

Repowered by Volvo... by cms206, on Flickr

[AndyW201]

Bloody hell, Cowie Redcar, I remember them! They had the Peugeot franchise for Middlesbrough as well.

 

Martin's was a big name around here in the 70's and 80's. Their huge Vauxhall dealership in Middlesbrough is now a Stoneacre Kia site. I remember Blue Bell garage too, the other local Vauxhall dealer, now a Tesco petrol station...

 

TBH I'd be glad if I never saw a Reg Vardy logo again! I was at the Stockton Rover dealership when I left school as a trainee mechanic. The other trainees and me were treated like shite for two years and then left high and dry when they got the next lot in. (Still, that was Maggie's YTS scheme fail for you). Fortunately they are no more, their dealerships around here are under the Evans Halshaw banner now.

 

Nesham Teesside were a big name around here years ago. Their stickers (like the one on my Dad's mk4 Escort back in 1987) proclaimed 'Ford made us their no 1', as they were the first Ford dealer in the North. Sadly also long gone, they were really good epeople to deal with, our family had a few cars from them.

 

Our Octavia comes from the unfortunately named Derek Slack motors. A good old fashioned family firm, still run by Derek since the early 70s, joined by his son a few years ago. Started off as a Reliant dealer, and got a lot of stick when he became one of the country's first Skoda dealers. He's done pretty well out of it though... Still one of the top Skoda dealers in the country, and now does Isuzu and Subaru.

 

Down the road we had South Cleveland Garages ('Your Nissan super dealer'.) Then when Vardy took over Nissan, it became 'Your Rover super dealer. Vardy's also sold Rover, but most people round here preferred to buy from SCG. Sadly they expanded to a second, then third dealership (Hyundai, then Suzuki), and did too much, too soon, and they folded too.

 

Not many of my cars have had the dealer stickers in. When I bought new cars, I always made a point of opening the hatch, ripping off the sticker and scrunching it up into a gluey little ball in sight of the salesman, before driving away! But when I bought the Allegro, I was delighted to see a yellowing, cracking slightly, but still readable sticker from 'Station garage, Queensferry', it's supplying dealer with 5 digit phone number and BL plughole logo. My Fiesta 1.4 S was 5 years old and 3 owners up when I got it but still had it's dealer sticker and number plates from Stan Palmer in Wigton. I kept them on though, Christ I loved that car. F260 FHH are you still out there? Unlikely probably...

 

Sadly nearly all the local dealerships round here are becoming part of national dealer chains, none of which I've found are any good whatsoever.

[eddyramrod]

In the 70s a neighbour worked at Woodward's of Formby, big BL place on the By-Pass. It was demolished years ago and a big new Tesco flung up. I worked there 95-97... If anyone has a snap of a Woodward's sticker or number plate, I'd love to see it. Just for nostalgia, you understand.

[Ross_K]

Times past... by cms206, on Flickr

 

Wow, I lived in Lylesland Court. Must have been where that dealership was in a previous life...

 

Is Clanford still in Lonend?

[Mash]

Crystal Ford of Hull and Beverley where a prominent local dealer when I was a kid, sometimes still see the odd 80s and early 90s car with their logo on the window sticker. It was the same as on the sign of the Beverley branch (though the red hexagons were joined together) and in the late 80s they started putting some little chromed plastic badges on bootlids in the same style which was a nice touch. I have a new one somewhere which I annoyingly can't find at this moment!

 

[Andrew353w]

Currie Motors - I still remember the radio adverts for Mk 4 Escorts.

They were nice people to do business with.

 

[Pedant mode ON]

One of the most famous grammatical errors on radio: "Currie motors, nice people to do business with"; anyone with a modicum of English grammar knows it SHOULD have been "Currie motors, nice people WITH WHOM to do business", which, of course, sounds much better, doesn't it.......(?)

[Pedant mode OFF]

[Wilko220]

I have no images, sadly, but our local Renault dealer Waters was always a common old fashioned sticker site around here, as was Vauxhall's Marlboro Motors, which had an interesting design. Our Ford dealers was Godfrey Davis - I don't remember their stickers particularly, but they had a big white building in the town with a big clock which had the 12 letters of "GODFREY DAVIS" in place of the numbers. All three dealerships are posh flats now.

 

A sticker I also remember seeing a lot on BL chod at one time read "GRAYS - A NAME AS OLD AS THE MOTOR INDUSTRY ITSELF".

[cms206]

Times past... by cms206, on Flickr

 

Wow, I lived in Lylesland Court. Must have been where that dealership was in a previous life...

 

Is Clanford still in Lonend?

 

 

It was, more or less; no longer there anyway.

 

 

Clanford closed around ten years ago, maybe more; there is no trace of the dealership now other than the used car centre which was across the road. It became First Ford then sold out to Arnold Clark, the staff (well, the motability bod anyway) moved to Arnold Clark Ford at the Phoenix.

[Wilko220]

A few years ago my grandad gave me this metal tax disc holder, which came out of an Anglia he had back in the day. It advertises a garage in Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, where he bought the car - I've no idea if it's still in existence (I don't live near there).

 

 

I just need to get myself a classic Ford to do it justice now!

[stormee]

http://www.wheresbest.co.uk/business/81 ... or-Co-Ltd/

[eddyramrod]

I have a few old number plates that got used as garage decoration after I stripped them off various cars; I brought them to Cyprus with me and they will be making the trip back too.

G529 SND was my parents' last car, a navy blue Sierra (2.0!) with the dealer plate still on the back: Graham Ford, Manchester. RTB 52Y was their third Lada estate, plated from Savoy Motors, long-time Lada dealership. Four branches are listed, but I couldn't tell you which one supplied the car new.

Appleyard of Edinburgh must have been BL, as the plate is E721 LSG, my Mini Mayfair. This plate, unusually, wasn't taken off at scrapping time: I decided to replace both plates on the car with American-sized versions.

J433 SOP was a Midlands combination: no surprise that it was on a Montego. SGL was Station Garage Leyland, which was a BL dealer I used to pass often. This must have passed though their used-car department at some point, as they saw fit to apply their sticker. I've never tried to peel it off to see where the car came from originally. P178 MMA was Mrs R's Hyundai Lantra, plated for Henly's Renault, Chester. I only replaced this plate because I thought it looked shabby compared to the rest of the car. That was a good car, I'd have another.

YFR 716 was a private plate that came with my Chrysler leBaron. A pair of matching (fake) Florida plates came too. I kept these on it until I sold it, without the number, whereupon it was re-issued G427 FKC which was original to it. The dealership, Thorntrees, was at Leyland, just off J27 of the M6, but I'm pretty sure it's gone now.

We're back at Savoy Motors for another Lada estate, this one being CFY 153X. This one claims to be from St Helens; as their cars would likely be registered in Liverpool, which would have issued FY, I'm happy to believe it.

John Wallwork was the main Volvo dealer in Liverpool, and PLV 28T was a 244, so this plate was probably on the car all it's life.

Now we're drifting a bit, as we come to a few from over here. DL 555 was another Volvo, scrapped in Andreas's Great Cull of 2010. I kept several of the plates, and thought I'd post this one as it does at least have a Volvo logo.

Ditto this one, PA 65 being the Mk3 Escort Ghia from which I scrounged the front seats for my A40. Even without seeing them, I think you can agree that was a good upgrade!

Who knows Patchway Autoparts? I'm guessing Skizzer might, E820 TWN being more or less Welsh. It's the UK reg of our X1/9.

And finally John Borthwick. A dealership? An owner? It's a plate I found, believed left behind by the previous tenant of this house: M prefix, with a BBP combination. I have no idea what it was on.

[fotorabia]

Off the official dealer brand..sorry!..but saw this in Adelaide...pity the signwriter who got the job ...

[Father Ted]

SGL was Station Garage Leyland, which was a BL dealer I used to pass often.

 

 

The dealership, Thorntrees, was at Leyland, just off J27 of the M6, but I'm pretty sure it's gone now.

 

.

 

SGL's original site is now a Perrys Vauxhall, the Super Site they built up the road on Golden Hill Lane is now an Arnold Clarke.

Thorntrees is still there and still opperating, but sells converted Berlingo/Kangoo type stuff now for wheelchair users at hugely inflated ££££ IMHO. I remember when it sold American chod though as I used to pass every day on my way to C&DGH.

[shaun1706]

Kirbys of Wrexham. The small circular stickers they used to put in the rear window of every Ford they sold brings a nostalgic tear to my eye.

 

Kirbys of Wrexham also. Not forgetting Dickens for Datsun (Wrexham) and Slaters of Abergele

[Tonka]

My Fiesta proudly wears the remains of it's CRYSTAL sticker and the Micra we have just bought has it's orginal number plates and dealer sticker...

 

[345DL]

Here are a few of mine.

From my 1979 Volvo 343:

SG Smith at this location is an Audi dealership now.

 

My 1980 Volvo 345:

I have tried to find LTL Motors, but I can't find any trace on the internet. I think the address is now an Ancaster Nissan dealership.

 

My 1985 Volvo 340:

I think it still exists as a garage, but not selling Volvos.

 

My friend Oliver's 1989 Volvo 240 has this rather interesting sticker:

The car was registered in Luton, then immediately exported to Gibraltar, before coming back to the UK sometime in the mid '90s.

 

And finally these were on my old 1996 Volvo 440, although it wasn't the original dealership (it came at 6-months old from Volvo central stock but supplied to my mother at our local Anglesey dealership):

[andrew e]

And 'Dan Dan the Nissan Man' they had a sevice workshop in Hillingdon

 

1990 Nissan Bluebird 2.0i GSX Auto in Hopton on Sea by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

 

All that's left of the Slough branch; Dan became/sold out to WLMG, then Datsun went for Kia. However if you can't sell Kia at the moment, christ your knackered! The ashes of a 1000 bumper stickers (99% in Southall I'd guess).

 

 

I was seconds from framing this Sunny in shot!!!

 

 

As it is now. DEAD.

 

[Station]

'Furrows for Ford' logo that came on most Shropshire-registered new Ford in the late 80s and early 90s. One used to adorn my Mums old Mk3 Fiesta.

 

Possibly something to do when I worked at Budget. We used to buy about 150-200 new Fords a year from there as they did a great fleet deal. Pretty much every Ford I rented out between 99-01 had Furrows reg plates.

 

My favourite dealership was the legendary J.Blake & Co, later Blakes. Then they purpose built a huge great site in Prescot and imploded after 150 years. My dad worked for them in the '50s.

 

 

Don't they still have a site in Birkenhead?

[beko1987]

My ZX has the front plate, tax disc holder and assorted paperwork from Whichford Citroen:

 

[Pillock]

Aside from the window stickers and the exterior decals, I remember Hooleys used to put a little (inch-high) H between the two groups of letters on the reg plate. I imagine they'd be hauled over the coal for that now but it was certainly recognisable, and unlike stickers they couldn't be easily removed - my grandfather used to take GREAT EXCEPTION to "free advertising" and used to remove dealer stickers whilst still on the forecourt!

[Richard]

'Reg Vardy' - Alot of small cars produced in the late 90s early 00s had these dealer stickers slapped on the back window. Dark Red background with a big Gold 'V' sign with 'Reg Vardy' next to it. Makes me smile when I see one on the back of a 98+ Micra. To be honest I am looking for a Reg Vardy sticker to replace the one peeling off the Micra if anyone knows where I can get one. Reg Vardy is no more as I understand.

 

Reg Vardy was taken over by Pendragon a few years ago, although Reg's grandson launched the remarkably similar Peter Vardy soon after. My friend works in the stores of a former Vardy dealership, I'll ask him if he has any stickers lying around.

[Guest Tony Hayers]

^^^ I remember a different Blakes logo, the one with the key.

 

So do I, but I can't find a pic of that one.