Arnold gets another one

[HendryG]

bigvanfan said:

I can confirm that the other Renault branch moving is pollokshaws road, vw Kilmarnock road is moving to the pollokshaws site and used mini is moving to the old vw site.

Interesting, I really hoped it was Bearsden however, I was past that site earlier today and its tiny, outdated and falling apart.

Also I was past South Street and Royston Road Nissan sites earlier today and both still had Nissan signage up, I wouldve thought if they were no longer Nissan dealers from 1st March as ive heard is the case then that signage would've been taken down already as 1st March falls on Sunday so can't see anyone being in taking it down tomorrow or Sunday.

Bit strange making Kilmarnock Road VW into used Mini as is the Burnfield Road site not a solus Mini sales dealership anyway (I know its also BMW aftersales, as Fenwick Road HF is BMW sales only) but surely enough space on Burnfield Road for used Mini sales which they currently run from there

Also we had a work car in for service at Douglas Park BMW Service Centre on Pinkston Road and I noticed its also a sales dealership but only for BMW M models (accoreinf to the board on the wall saying what servicew the branch offers and the opening times) this despite them having a solus BMW/Mini sales premises round the corner on Kyle Street which you'd think would be a more sensible place to sell the M cars than have the flagship of the range being sold from a small showroom at the front of your workshop premises. Very Odd.

[cas20]

HendryG said:

Interesting, I really hoped it was Bearsden however, I was past that site earlier today and its tiny, outdated and falling apart.

Also I was past South Street and Royston Road Nissan sites earlier today and both still had Nissan signage up, I wouldve thought if they were no longer Nissan dealers from 1st March as ive heard is the case then that signage would've been taken down already as 1st March falls on Sunday so can't see anyone being in taking it down tomorrow or Sunday.

Bit strange making Kilmarnock Road VW into used Mini as is the Burnfield Road site not a solus Mini sales dealership anyway (I know its also BMW aftersales, as Fenwick Road HF is BMW sales only) but surely enough space on Burnfield Road for used Mini sales which they currently run from there

Also we had a work car in for service at Douglas Park BMW Service Centre on Pinkston Road and I noticed its also a sales dealership but only for BMW M models (accoreinf to the board on the wall saying what servicew the branch offers and the opening times) this despite them having a solus BMW/Mini sales premises round the corner on Kyle Street which you'd think would be a more sensible place to sell the M cars than have the flagship of the range being sold from a small showroom at the front of your workshop premises. Very Odd.

They have from 6pm sat night to 11am sun morning to get the signage covered up. I have saw a bin bag used to cover signage before after a franchise has been lost. The signage may be owned by Nissan- not sure how they operate their signage etc.
I think that the M signage is on the Kyle St site and that Pinkston Rd is used sales only. I imagine that HF will be putting pressure on Park's now that it is well and truly AC- lots of newspaper and radio adverts

Edited by cas20 on Friday 27th February 23:30

[HendryG]

cas20 said:

They have from 6pm sat night to 11am sun morning to get the signage covered up. I have saw a bin bag used to cover signage before after a franchise has been lost. The signage may be owned by Nissan- not sure how they operate their signage etc.
I think that the M signage is on the Kyle St site and that Pinkston Rd is used sales only. I imagine that HF will be putting pressure on Park's now that it is well and truly AC- lots of newspaper and radio adverts

Edited by cas20 on Friday 27th February 23:30

Re Douglas Park at Pinkston Road I thought exactly the same as you that it was used sales and aftersales only and Kyle Street was new and used but no aftersales, however Pinkston Road has M signage and a sign at the door which says:
Douglas Park
BMW M Sales
BMW Service
BMW Parts and Accessories
BMW Financial Services
MINI Service
MINI Parts and Accessories

opening hours
BMW M Sales Only
Mon - Fri 9am - 7pm
Sat 9am - 6pm
Sun 11am - 5pm

Aftersales
Mon - Fri 8am - 6pm
Sat 8am - 12pm
Sun Closed"

Which suggests it sells BMW M new cars but not ordinary new BMW and MINI Cars. However like you say I know Kyld Street does M New cars as well, this is how I find it odd.

[bigvanfan]

Yeah I thought it would be bearsden moving too as its a terrible site,he could be wrong I suppose but he did tell me about Nissan 8 months ago,

[HendryG]

bigvanfan said:

Yeah I thought it would be bearsden moving too as its a terrible site,he could be wrong I suppose but he did tell me about Nissan 8 months ago,

Only reason I thought it'd be Bearsden was that there was talk amongst the staff when I first started at Arnold's in 2006 about them closing Bearsden, Mosspark Boulevard Nissan and Peat Road Renault and since then Mosspark and Peat Road have both closed.

It probably makes the most sense that its East Lane and Polly Road closing to go to Hillington as they are both close to Hillington, so probably wouldn't make sense to have Renault in Hillington and Pollokshaws.

The other thing is although Bearsden is an awful site, Arnold's seem to like having a presence in rural, out of town and small town locations as well as their big sites, they've in the past few years opened up or taken over sites just as bad as Bearsden anyway, Woods West Calder only a few weeks ago is an example, as are their acquisitions of Halley's of Milngavie (which is a shocking site, in the middle of s Home base Car Park) and Townpark Ford in Strathaven (small site in the arse end of nowhere)

Have you heard anything about Paisley Renfrew Road Fiat being relocated to Hillington too? I've seen architects drawings showing Makro as a Renault, Dacia, Fiat, Abarth, Motor store and used Prestige site, but everything I've heard since then suggests its going to just be Renault/Dacia.

[S2red]

In fairness to Halleys they were there long before the Homebase

Edited by S2red on Saturday 28th February 18:29

Edited by S2red on Sunday 1st March 15:38

[HendryG]

S2red said:

In fairness to Halleys they were ther long before the Hombaase

Yeah I know, in fact I think Halley's actually owned Homebase land and sold it to them as they weren't going to use it all. The thing is you now need to drive through the Home base carpark to access Arnolds Ford showroom and service department and their used car display is parked all in Home base car park parking spaces. Its a bit unprofessional.

[cas20]

HendryG said:

The other thing is although Bearsden is an awful site, Arnold's seem to like having a presence in rural, out of town and small town locations as well as their big sites, they've in the past few years opened up or taken over sites just as bad as Bearsden anyway, Woods West Calder only a few weeks ago is an example, as are their acquisitions of Halley's of Milngavie (which is a shocking site, in the middle of s Home base Car Park) and Townpark Ford in Strathaven (small site in the arse end of nowhere)

The Strathaven site is minutes away from huge population areas of Hamilton/EK plus the money in an around Strathaven. I would imagine Bearsden has a huge population nearby. The internet is the means of finding a car theses days. These sites are easy reach for 100,000s people

[S2red]

Don't forget all those "Crap Sites" are all main road sites and passed by 1000s of cars daily

[HendryG]

Yeah I agree with what you're all saying, my point was just that it was a bit of a strange decision to close a large, modernised, smart looking up to date Renault dealerships (Pollokshaws) but keep open a tiny, outdated, falling apart ugly Renault dealership (Bearsden) open. That and the fact of the Renault dealership cull a couple of years ago due to their falling market share, you'd think a site like that would close as Bishopbriggs Renault isn't that far away and a bigger branch.

[HendryG]

Yeah I agree with what you're all saying, my point was just that it was a bit of a strange decision to close a large, modernised, smart looking up to date Renault dealerships (Pollokshaws) but keep open a tiny, outdated, falling apart ugly Renault dealership (Bearsden) open.

PS I took a wee detour on the way home from the Fort earlier and passed by Royston Road Nissan, it was dark but all the Nissan signage was still there on the building and illuminated/lit up but the 2 "Arnold Clark" signs weren't lit up almost like a deliberate attempt to make them not visible in the darkness, now obviously this could be a failure of the lighting/wiring whatever to the Arnold Clark writing but the fact both weren't lit but everything else was seemed a little odd.

[S2red]

Who owns the Pollockshaws site?

Just realised the one you mean bought a Renault from there when Scenic first came out Cant for life of me remember name of dealership Caledonia?

That site was one of the custom built Datsun/Nissan ones for the Octav Botnar AFG expansion in 1986? friend was involved in marketing tells some amazing stories about it

Edited by S2red on Saturday 28th February 21:15

[HendryG]

S2red said:

Who owns the Pollockshaws site?

Arnolds

[bigvanfan]

HendryG said:

S2red said:

Who owns the Pollockshaws site?

Arnolds

That site is quoted as mega profitable!, just think what it will turnover as vw

[HendryG]

S2red said:

Who owns the Pollockshaws site?

Just realised the one you mean bought a Renault from there when Scenic first came out Cant for life of me remember name of dealership Caledonia?

That site was one of the custom built Datsun/Nissan ones for the Octav Botnar AFG expansion in 1986? friend was involved in marketing tells some amazing stories about it

Edited by S2red on Saturday 28th February 21:15

Yes it was Caledonia Renault before Reg Vardy bought Caledonia's Scottish sites in 1998, so that plus Renault in East Kilbride (now Arnold's EK Motorstore), Paisley Fiat, Springburn Fiat, (both also now Arnold's) and Vauxhall in Kilmarnock and Ardrossan (now Halshaws)

You are right Pollokshaws Renault was originally an AFG Nissan, think it was called AFG Drivers, East Kilbride Renault was originally AFG Roundabout EK, Paisley Fiat and Springburn Fiat were also both originally AFG sites, think Paisley was simply AFG Paisley, Springburn was called AFG Leaders Nissan. Kilmarnock Vauxhall when it was based at Dean Street started off as Drew Dodds Renault, then it was briefly an Arnold's Renault branch, then it too was an AFG site, AFG Kershaws Cars, before becoming Caledonia Vauxhall, it eventually moved to Queens Drivce retail park and Dean Street was later reopened by Robert Wyper and is now Ingram Seat, I think Caledonia's only site in Scotland which wasn't originally an AFG site was Ardrossan Vauxhall which was owned by AT Mays Motors (they who owned the massive travel agents chain) and only acquired by Caledonia a year or 2 before Vardy took over them in Scotland.

In 2002 Reg Vardy sold the Pollokshaws and East Kilbride Renault branches to Arnold, EK became a Motor store and Parks massive site at the Whirlies dropped the Mazda franchise to put Renault into that showroom.

Edited by HendryG on Sunday 1st March 00:20

[cas20]

Subtle change on the AC website, still listing their Nissan branches and Nissan page but they are the only marque without a New Cars link. Only nearly new and used listed.

[HendryG]

cas20 said:

Subtle change on the AC website, still listing their Nissan branches and Nissan page but they are the only marque without a New Cars link. Only nearly new and used listed.

I wonder if they will remain as Nissan authorised repairers, I.e. dealers in every other way except not selling new cars, a bit like they did when they lost the Alfa Romeo franchise a few years back.

The Dumbarton Renault/Nissan branch stopped being a Nissan sales dealer about 3 years ago but since then its remained a Nissan service centre, still has (at least until now) Nissan signs and can do manufacturer servicing, carry out warranty work and recalls, genuine parts etc, in fact a guy I work with his mum got a new Note in 2012 on motability supplied by them despite the fact they'd stopped being a sale dealer by then, wonder if this will happen at all the ex Nissan sites or if they are binning the whole franchise completely.

[cas20]

I guess they can source cars by other means so could have plenty of Nissan approved used. They have loads of nearly new Mitsuibishi ASX in their motorstores despite not having the franchise. I imagine they will bring in new franchises as and where they can. They will now doubt be delivering 15plate Nissan to customers today so may ditch some/all signage tomorrow

[cas20]

In Stirling Hyundai is moving in. The only Franchise I see them fancying in Stirling is the Skoda one. Not sure the existing Newmarket Skoda will be acceptable to Skoda's new corporate image- it looks pretty tired.

In Dundee, John Clark have just picked up Seat. Not sure if anything else could be added here.

In Paisley, they already have one showroom next to Vauxhall and Nissan that could have been used for something so not sure what could be added to Phoenix retail park. They might have franchises in Paisley they could move in and sell off the land.

In Glasgow, think they have everything lol

[HendryG]

cas20 said:

In Stirling Hyundai is moving in. The only Franchise I see them fancying in Stirling is the Skoda one. Not sure the existing Newmarket Skoda will be acceptable to Skoda's new corporate image- it looks pretty tired.

In Dundee, John Clark have just picked up Seat. Not sure if anything else could be added here.

In Paisley, they already have one showroom next to Vauxhall and Nissan that could have been used for something so not sure what could be added to Phoenix retail park. They might have franchises in Paisley they could move in and sell off the land.

In Glasgow, think they have everything lol

At the Phoenix they could maybe move in Fiat from Renfrew Road Paisley, if it ends up not going to Hillington along with Paisley East Lane and Pollokshaws Road Renault branches, as per the architects drawings ive seen for Hillington showing a Fiat/Abarth franchise. Failing that, and its a long shot, but they could maybe pinch the Mazda franchise from Phoenix who've moved it from its own showroom into a corner of the Mitsubishi showroom and moved Hyundai from there into the Mazda showroom but I'd doubt this since Arnold had a Mazda dealership in Paisley years ago until 2005 and closed it down allowing Phoenix to get Mazda in the first place. Other option is they could move Seat from its pokey wee ex valet bay converted showroom hidden between Vauxhall and Skoda showrooms.

Not sure what they plan in Perth as the Perth Chevrolet showroom is now also without a franchise, rumour had it that Alfa Romeo was going into the Chevrolet one, but there's also the possibility they may move Fiat from its current site to a more prominent one on the motor mile, then there's their Kia/Jeep/Chrysler ex John Weir site, Arnold seems to like pairing Fiat and Kia together on the same site (Springburn, Dundee, Aberdeen, Edinburgh Seafield for example are all Fiat and Kia) but also likes pairing Fiat with Chrysler and Jeep (Ayr, Elgin, Ashton, Oldbury and Leeds to name a few are all Fiat and Jeep)

A customer returning a hire car to my work a few weeks ago mentioned in conversation he was buying an Audi A1 from the Alexandra Parade Seat/Hyundai dealership as he'd had good service from them when he'd owned a new Ibiza purchased from them, he wasn't sure what the garages location was as he wasn't from the area he just said Arnold Clark Seat so I asked if it was the one at the Parade or Linwood and he said the Parade but not for long because the salesman had said they were moving to new premises near to Evans Halshaw Ford, putting 2 and 2 together Royston Road Nissan isn't far from Halshaws, so possibility that's what they are doing there.

Edited by HendryG on Sunday 1st March 18:43