Arnold gets another one
Discussion
Oops, of course.
Plus Dicksons for that matter (Forres and Inverness). The garage on the roundabout in Forres was a bit of a landmark with Fiat for years then Honda chucked into the mix and latterly Nissan and Kia when they moved Nissan in from down the road. It was always meant to move to the rounabout at the western end of the bypass but never did. That site is flats now and i think only the body shop remains in Forres.
Inverness Dicksons too has seen a few franchises come and go with Nissan the constant since it opened and Honda, Hyundai, Subaru, Daihatsu coming and going leaving Kia and Suzuki the succesful ones. Im surprised they managed to keep Kia in particular this long given its popularity with Arnold but then i think they got Kia dealer of the year in 2016 so the manufacturer must be happy with the job they are doing.
Plus Dicksons for that matter (Forres and Inverness). The garage on the roundabout in Forres was a bit of a landmark with Fiat for years then Honda chucked into the mix and latterly Nissan and Kia when they moved Nissan in from down the road. It was always meant to move to the rounabout at the western end of the bypass but never did. That site is flats now and i think only the body shop remains in Forres.
Inverness Dicksons too has seen a few franchises come and go with Nissan the constant since it opened and Honda, Hyundai, Subaru, Daihatsu coming and going leaving Kia and Suzuki the succesful ones. Im surprised they managed to keep Kia in particular this long given its popularity with Arnold but then i think they got Kia dealer of the year in 2016 so the manufacturer must be happy with the job they are doing.
Edited by Shandiness on Sunday 26th November 09:42
Dickson's of Perth ...although from Glasgow have bought a couple of cars from Dickson's
A Saab and a Merc way back in the 70/80s. Meet Tommy Dickson years later after he retired a real gent .Also bought a Jag from Rossleigh Motors in the 80/90s salesman was called Richard .
Now all salesman are called Sales Executives.
A Saab and a Merc way back in the 70/80s. Meet Tommy Dickson years later after he retired a real gent .Also bought a Jag from Rossleigh Motors in the 80/90s salesman was called Richard .
Now all salesman are called Sales Executives.
Shandiness said:
Firstly, I am loving this forum. Growing up in Perth in the 80s/90s and with an interest in cars i spent a lot of time dragging my dad to the "Motor Mile" so from there developed a real interest in the comings and goings of the dealerships.
I picked up my current car, a used Seat, from the Perth Motorstore (the ex Chevvy dealership) and was told by the salesman that, when the new Fiat/ Abarth/ Motorstore opens on The Triangle (opposite Merc on the other side of the A9), the ex Nissan Motorstore showroom will become Dacia and the ex Chevvy Motorstore showroom will become Renault.
As for the current Renault showroom (ex Ness Motors and Inveralmond Renault prior to that) I'm not sure. When it was Inveralmond it was part of the Cameron Group (Audi/ VW in Perth) as is Strathmore Volvo which sits alongside it. Given that the buildings are joined to each other, I don't know if Camerons still owns the Renault site or not. If they do, I wonder if they'd look at bulldozing the whole lot and building a new Volvo showroom on the site. They look to be refurbishing the Audi showroom again so they seem to have some sort of refurbishment programme.
If not, I've always been surprised by the lack of a Hyundai dealership in Perth since Belmont closed around 2006 at the bottom of Newhouse Road. I'd have thought Arnold would have been keen to get them into Perth given how their market share has grown.
I can help with a couple of things.
1) I saw a comment about Norman Fairweather Motors in Dundee and asking if he had an outpost in Peterhead. Yes indeed. In the mid-early 90s he decided to look at expanding from Dundee (Proton/ Lada and later Skoda) and opened a Proton dealership in Craigshaw Drive,Aberdeen and a Nissan dealership in Dales Industrial Estate, Peterhead. At the time he had a business partner who would run the existing Dundee operation to let Norman grow the new businesses. However, I believe that they struggled with the upscaling and both the Peterhead and Aberdeen branches ended up being closed, allowing Norman to go back and focus on Dundee. John Clark group used the Proton showroom in Aberdeen as their Skoda dealership for many years, and still use it for used car overspill, and Arnold took over Peterhead and put Ford in.
Norman initially started in the late 80s as a Yugo dealer on Tannadice St, Dundee when he left Barnetts and moved to the Kingsway in the 90s to sell Proton, Lada and Yugo. Yugo obviously had their problems and then when Lada pulled out of the UK Norman got the Skoda franchise around 1997 and it quickly became the mainstay of the business. He added Mitsubishi around 2000 when they did a big dealership expansion programme and built them a new showroom beside the main one. This lasted until around 2004 when Mitsubishi was terminated and he took the opportunity to move Proton out of the main showroom and there instead, giving Skoda its own showroom. I ended up working for Norman for 2.5 years in Dundee as a salesman around then and really enjoyed my time there. He was a fair man so fitting of the name! When I left he was looking to put another franchise into the Proton showroom and boot Proton outside and he then took on Suzuki. However, this was gone by 2010 and he decided to turn it into a prestige car showroom. I believe, when buying the stock for this, he became the victim of a horrible scam and this was what led to the financial troubles and the subsequent collapse of the business. A real shame for what was otherwise a really good going Skoda dealership. The thing I always remember from working there is that the dealership still had a Yugo umbrella, which was used regularly and had successfully outlived all their cars!
2) There was a comment asking what John Clark's Specialist Cars Nissan showroom in Perth has been used for before as it looked like an old car showroom. It was indeed.
When i was a child it was A.C. Munro Hyundai around 1990 and then opened up as an independent called "Perth 4x4 Centre" which dealt in used 4x4s, run by a guy called James Dalgleish who I think was ex-Grassicks. He then took on the Subaru and Isuzu franchises there around 1996ish and was later bought out by Anderson Cars of Aberdeen who hit financial problems in 2000. Another Aberdeen group, Town and County then took the site over, continued with Subaru and Isuzu but then added Daihatsu (around 2001) and later also Seat (around 2003) to the mix. The dealership closed unexpectedly a few years later and traded briefly as a furniture shop so it's good to see motor trade back in there.
I wonder if Mitsubishi is where we are going to see a bit of change soon. The Outlander PHEV has been their saviour in a lot of ways, especially for the business sales market, and I think some of the bigger dealer groups are taking note again. Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire (Station Garage), Inverness (Seafield Motors), Dundee and Tayside (Richard Lawson), Cupar and Kirkcaldy (Fife Mitsubishi) are all served by smaller operations so if a larger company with a bit of financial clout wanted to, I'm sure they could make a bit of an impact. Especially now that Arnold has gained one franchise and has a few places in Glasgow (Shields Road for example) where he could probably put another.
Oh and I have to say that, after all the internet stories and arnoldsucks.com, I had real reservations about buying from Arnold. However, they actually gave me a really good deal, a decent part exchange (allbeit one that required a bit of haggling), and were totally communicative throughout the buying process. Plus I have had a couple of follow up e-mails. Really enjoying the new car too.Not had to use them for servicing though right enough!
I’d heard that about Arnold’s too, although I was told it was Renault going into the main Motorstore branch with workshop attached (formerly Nissan) and Dacia going into the ex Chevrolet showroom, so other way around from what you said.I picked up my current car, a used Seat, from the Perth Motorstore (the ex Chevvy dealership) and was told by the salesman that, when the new Fiat/ Abarth/ Motorstore opens on The Triangle (opposite Merc on the other side of the A9), the ex Nissan Motorstore showroom will become Dacia and the ex Chevvy Motorstore showroom will become Renault.
As for the current Renault showroom (ex Ness Motors and Inveralmond Renault prior to that) I'm not sure. When it was Inveralmond it was part of the Cameron Group (Audi/ VW in Perth) as is Strathmore Volvo which sits alongside it. Given that the buildings are joined to each other, I don't know if Camerons still owns the Renault site or not. If they do, I wonder if they'd look at bulldozing the whole lot and building a new Volvo showroom on the site. They look to be refurbishing the Audi showroom again so they seem to have some sort of refurbishment programme.
If not, I've always been surprised by the lack of a Hyundai dealership in Perth since Belmont closed around 2006 at the bottom of Newhouse Road. I'd have thought Arnold would have been keen to get them into Perth given how their market share has grown.
I can help with a couple of things.
1) I saw a comment about Norman Fairweather Motors in Dundee and asking if he had an outpost in Peterhead. Yes indeed. In the mid-early 90s he decided to look at expanding from Dundee (Proton/ Lada and later Skoda) and opened a Proton dealership in Craigshaw Drive,Aberdeen and a Nissan dealership in Dales Industrial Estate, Peterhead. At the time he had a business partner who would run the existing Dundee operation to let Norman grow the new businesses. However, I believe that they struggled with the upscaling and both the Peterhead and Aberdeen branches ended up being closed, allowing Norman to go back and focus on Dundee. John Clark group used the Proton showroom in Aberdeen as their Skoda dealership for many years, and still use it for used car overspill, and Arnold took over Peterhead and put Ford in.
Norman initially started in the late 80s as a Yugo dealer on Tannadice St, Dundee when he left Barnetts and moved to the Kingsway in the 90s to sell Proton, Lada and Yugo. Yugo obviously had their problems and then when Lada pulled out of the UK Norman got the Skoda franchise around 1997 and it quickly became the mainstay of the business. He added Mitsubishi around 2000 when they did a big dealership expansion programme and built them a new showroom beside the main one. This lasted until around 2004 when Mitsubishi was terminated and he took the opportunity to move Proton out of the main showroom and there instead, giving Skoda its own showroom. I ended up working for Norman for 2.5 years in Dundee as a salesman around then and really enjoyed my time there. He was a fair man so fitting of the name! When I left he was looking to put another franchise into the Proton showroom and boot Proton outside and he then took on Suzuki. However, this was gone by 2010 and he decided to turn it into a prestige car showroom. I believe, when buying the stock for this, he became the victim of a horrible scam and this was what led to the financial troubles and the subsequent collapse of the business. A real shame for what was otherwise a really good going Skoda dealership. The thing I always remember from working there is that the dealership still had a Yugo umbrella, which was used regularly and had successfully outlived all their cars!
2) There was a comment asking what John Clark's Specialist Cars Nissan showroom in Perth has been used for before as it looked like an old car showroom. It was indeed.
When i was a child it was A.C. Munro Hyundai around 1990 and then opened up as an independent called "Perth 4x4 Centre" which dealt in used 4x4s, run by a guy called James Dalgleish who I think was ex-Grassicks. He then took on the Subaru and Isuzu franchises there around 1996ish and was later bought out by Anderson Cars of Aberdeen who hit financial problems in 2000. Another Aberdeen group, Town and County then took the site over, continued with Subaru and Isuzu but then added Daihatsu (around 2001) and later also Seat (around 2003) to the mix. The dealership closed unexpectedly a few years later and traded briefly as a furniture shop so it's good to see motor trade back in there.
I wonder if Mitsubishi is where we are going to see a bit of change soon. The Outlander PHEV has been their saviour in a lot of ways, especially for the business sales market, and I think some of the bigger dealer groups are taking note again. Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire (Station Garage), Inverness (Seafield Motors), Dundee and Tayside (Richard Lawson), Cupar and Kirkcaldy (Fife Mitsubishi) are all served by smaller operations so if a larger company with a bit of financial clout wanted to, I'm sure they could make a bit of an impact. Especially now that Arnold has gained one franchise and has a few places in Glasgow (Shields Road for example) where he could probably put another.
Oh and I have to say that, after all the internet stories and arnoldsucks.com, I had real reservations about buying from Arnold. However, they actually gave me a really good deal, a decent part exchange (allbeit one that required a bit of haggling), and were totally communicative throughout the buying process. Plus I have had a couple of follow up e-mails. Really enjoying the new car too.Not had to use them for servicing though right enough!
Edited by Shandiness on Saturday 25th November 14:28
As for the existing Renault/Dacia place, I’d hazard a guess at either Kia or Jeep going there, the existing Jeep/Kia place next to Mercedes either becoming Solely Kia or remaining Jeep but adding Alfa Romeo as I’m told most Jeep dealers are to dual franchise with Alfa as is the case at Arnold’s Linwood, Arnold’s in Aberdeen (alongside Fiat and Abarth) and same with Donald Mackenzie Inverness and Arnold’s in Leeds.
As for Norman Fairweather, the Proton dealership in Aberdeen was probably opened to fill the gap following the closure of the Proton and Lada dealerships Arnold Clark had on Seaforth Road which he acquired as part of the takeover of Ron Hutcheson Motor Group, he also acquired Proton/Lada at Trades Lane in Dundee from them which I assume closed and NF took that franchise over too.
As for the ex NF site, as you say John Clark Specialist Cars reopened it for a few years before they moved Skoda to the ex Glenvarigill Peugeot site on Myrekirk Road where it still is. The site is back as Mitsubishi as Autoecosse/Richard Lawson who moved from 72-76 Monifieth Road and also opened another Mitsubishi site in Blairgowrie in the ex Thomson and Potter Skoda site when John Clark moved Skoda to ex Western Saab site on Edinburgh Road in Perth.
The Monifieth Road premises is now West End Suzuki after West End Honda took over Walter D Watt at 131 Brook Street, themselves once a Ford dealership and latterly a Daihatsu Dealer.
The Peterhead branch wasn’t reopened as Ford by Arnold though, didn’t they acquire is as part of the deal to buy both Aberdeen Ford dealers Cordiners and Harper’s in 1998, also including sites at Craigshaw Road, Menzies Road, Whitemyres Place Lang Stracht, and Auchmill Road in Aberdeen (also Iveco) and one of them also owned Peterhead Ford, one of them also owned Inverness Ford before Macrae & Dick too (now Parks)
Shandiness said:
Oh and other independents/ smaller outlets operating up here
- Station Garage Mitsubishi Aberdeen and Torphins
- Memsie Garage Renault Fraserburgh
- Ewens of Cornhill Honda
- Portsoy Motors Renault
- Gillanders Peterhead Suzuki and Peugeot
- C&M McDonald Suzuki Kintore
- Lawrence of Kemnay, Inverurie Ford and Subaru
- Alexander Wallace Toyota
- Aboyne Ford
- Huntly Ford
- Alexander Wallace Toyota Elgin
- Alan Milne Peugeot Elgin
- Pedigreed Cars Citroen Forres
- Hawco Inverness, Peterhead, Elgin, (well documented)
- Mackie Motors Brechin and Arbroath (well documented)
- Autovision, Mackays of Dingwall, Regency Buckie and Elgin Vauxhall (well documented)
- Ken's Garage Peugeot Kildary/ Bannerman Seat Inverness
- Ben Nevis Motors Ford Fort William
- Seafield Motors Mitsubishi
Portsoy Motors was/is up for sale and if not sold was due to close down, Gillanders is now only Suzuki sales and only does Peugeot aftersales now but has recently added Vauxhall aftersales too and was sourcing new cars via Regency/Autovision/Mackays. (I think Gillanders did own the Volvo dealership in Aberdeen before it passed to Linn Volvo/Abercromby And is now Arnold Clark) Alexander Wallace Toyota I think is owned by a Shetland Company who trade under the Jim’s Garage Ford, Mazda, Toyota, North Road Mitsubishi and Station Garage Vauxhall names. - Station Garage Mitsubishi Aberdeen and Torphins
- Memsie Garage Renault Fraserburgh
- Ewens of Cornhill Honda
- Portsoy Motors Renault
- Gillanders Peterhead Suzuki and Peugeot
- C&M McDonald Suzuki Kintore
- Lawrence of Kemnay, Inverurie Ford and Subaru
- Alexander Wallace Toyota
- Aboyne Ford
- Huntly Ford
- Alexander Wallace Toyota Elgin
- Alan Milne Peugeot Elgin
- Pedigreed Cars Citroen Forres
- Hawco Inverness, Peterhead, Elgin, (well documented)
- Mackie Motors Brechin and Arbroath (well documented)
- Autovision, Mackays of Dingwall, Regency Buckie and Elgin Vauxhall (well documented)
- Ken's Garage Peugeot Kildary/ Bannerman Seat Inverness
- Ben Nevis Motors Ford Fort William
- Seafield Motors Mitsubishi
alangla said:
Noticed last night that the printers (I think) that was in between Park's BMW/Mini and Henry's Skoda on Kyle Street is in the process of being demolished. Expansion by one of those two possibly?
Often wondered about the site across form Parks and that has never been used but as Parks have service centre just up the road cant see them being interestedMaybe a newcomer will build on it
Quick look in online planning suggest more student accommodation?
Edited by S2red on Tuesday 28th November 14:53
Edited by S2red on Thursday 30th November 15:05
Looks like Kerr Baillie the small Ford dealership in Ardrossan have lost/dropped the franchise and no longer represent Ford, but still trade as a used car dealer/repair garage.
This is now twice Ford have dumped small Ayrshire dealers in the last 6 months, coming after JK Thomson in Cumnock who had represented them for over 30years.
This is now twice Ford have dumped small Ayrshire dealers in the last 6 months, coming after JK Thomson in Cumnock who had represented them for over 30years.
John Clark Motor Group Group has taken over Morrisons of Stirling Seat, Jag, Land Rover.
A shrewd move with Morrison’s just having acquired the Jag franchise and also in the midst of redeveloping and building a new showroom.
Apparently the name won’t change, I really do not get why JCMG persevere with their own Pentland, Specialist Cars and John Clark brands, plus Thomson and Potter and now Morrison’s, confusing, just have the one name, 2 at a push, like AC and Harry Fairbairn, Parks and Douglas Park, Evans Halshaw and Pendragon, Eastern And Western.
A shrewd move with Morrison’s just having acquired the Jag franchise and also in the midst of redeveloping and building a new showroom.
Apparently the name won’t change, I really do not get why JCMG persevere with their own Pentland, Specialist Cars and John Clark brands, plus Thomson and Potter and now Morrison’s, confusing, just have the one name, 2 at a push, like AC and Harry Fairbairn, Parks and Douglas Park, Evans Halshaw and Pendragon, Eastern And Western.
http://www.frasersoffalkirk.co.uk/news/frasers-exp...
We are delighted to announce that Frasers Edinburgh will open its doors at the end of January 2018 and will hold both the SsangYong and MG franchises, as well as Frasers Approved used vehicles in a 10,500 sq. ft. showroom with indoor used car display.
We are delighted to announce that Frasers Edinburgh will open its doors at the end of January 2018 and will hold both the SsangYong and MG franchises, as well as Frasers Approved used vehicles in a 10,500 sq. ft. showroom with indoor used car display.
cas20 said:
http://www.frasersoffalkirk.co.uk/news/frasers-exp...
We are delighted to announce that Frasers Edinburgh will open its doors at the end of January 2018 and will hold both the SsangYong and MG franchises, as well as Frasers Approved used vehicles in a 10,500 sq. ft. showroom with indoor used car display.
I can't see that being a busy dealer for new cars. We are delighted to announce that Frasers Edinburgh will open its doors at the end of January 2018 and will hold both the SsangYong and MG franchises, as well as Frasers Approved used vehicles in a 10,500 sq. ft. showroom with indoor used car display.
cas20 said:
http://www.frasersoffalkirk.co.uk/news/frasers-exp...
We are delighted to announce that Frasers Edinburgh will open its doors at the end of January 2018 and will hold both the SsangYong and MG franchises, as well as Frasers Approved used vehicles in a 10,500 sq. ft. showroom with indoor used car display.
That is what used to be Arnold Clark Fiat/Alfa Romeo on Gorgie Road isnt it?We are delighted to announce that Frasers Edinburgh will open its doors at the end of January 2018 and will hold both the SsangYong and MG franchises, as well as Frasers Approved used vehicles in a 10,500 sq. ft. showroom with indoor used car display.
If my memory serves there is a large used car showroom downstairs at the rear of the building, with the upper showroom being new cars, with a corridor up the side of the upper showroom leading to the workshop.
I dont think its a great site for a car dealership and I reckon thats the reason Arnie relinquished the lease on it and relocated the site to Bankhead Drive at Sighthill.
Didnt think there would be the sales/profit in new MG and SsangYong to justify the opening of a new branch for Edinburgh or even the profit from the Falkirk branch selling them to finance another branch.
I guess they were missing trading in Edinburgh though after selling their Hyundai site at Calder Road to Macklin Motors about 4 years ago.
HendryG said:
cas20 said:
http://www.frasersoffalkirk.co.uk/news/frasers-exp...
We are delighted to announce that Frasers Edinburgh will open its doors at the end of January 2018 and will hold both the SsangYong and MG franchises, as well as Frasers Approved used vehicles in a 10,500 sq. ft. showroom with indoor used car display.
That is what used to be Arnold Clark Fiat/Alfa Romeo on Gorgie Road isnt it?We are delighted to announce that Frasers Edinburgh will open its doors at the end of January 2018 and will hold both the SsangYong and MG franchises, as well as Frasers Approved used vehicles in a 10,500 sq. ft. showroom with indoor used car display.
If my memory serves there is a large used car showroom downstairs at the rear of the building, with the upper showroom being new cars, with a corridor up the side of the upper showroom leading to the workshop.
I dont think its a great site for a car dealership and I reckon thats the reason Arnie relinquished the lease on it and relocated the site to Bankhead Drive at Sighthill.
Didnt think there would be the sales/profit in new MG and SsangYong to justify the opening of a new branch for Edinburgh or even the profit from the Falkirk branch selling them to finance another branch.
I guess they were missing trading in Edinburgh though after selling their Hyundai site at Calder Road to Macklin Motors about 4 years ago.
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