Stratstone Cardiff, North Road has closed down?

[rufusgti]

I passed late last night and all the cars are gone, Signs taken down and the place is deserted. Not sure what happened but I live locally and always enjoyed gazing in and dreaming while I passed. Pretty sure it was part of a larger dealer network so perhaps it will have merged with those. Hope nobody lost their jobs or cars anyway. Sign of the times maybe?

[SAB888]

If you mean Jaguar/Land Rover they have moved to Hadfield Road near the end just past Skoda.

[rufusgti]

No, I mean the former lotus/Aston place up on North rd, Gabalfa.

[SAB888]

If I remember correctly, didn't they lose the backing of Aston Martin which is now in Bristol (Dick Lovett), or am I thinking of another place?

[Trev450]

SAB888 said:

If I remember correctly, didn't they lose the backing of Aston Martin which is now in Bristol (Dick Lovett), or am I thinking of another place?

You are quite correct they did lose it to Bristol about two years ago now.

[Dark85]

I noticed the Maserati place on Penarth road, next to Bentley that closed last year, has now also closed. Can Cardiff really not support any high-end car brands?

[Trev450]

Apparently not. Dick Lovett found that out with Ferrari a few years back.

[94OD]

I'm pretty sure it was still under Stratstone, they used it for higher end cars within the group that were too good for trade/auction.

Shame to see it go, although there was never anyone in there!

[Dick Dastardly]

When they were Aston they were doing well. I remember them telling me it was one of the busiest main dealers in the country. It has been struggling these past two years and whenever I went in there to service my old car I was the only one there.

Stratstone refused to invest the money that AM demanded into the dealership so that’s why they lost the franchise. The same thing has happened all over the UK and Stratstone went from the largest group of AM dealers in the country, down to just 1.

I’m not surprised they told AM to get lost, the cost to bring things up to their spec is incredible. The Bristol Dick Lovett building supposedly cost £6m to build and do up. It is the highest quality car dealer I’ve ever been in but how many cars do you need to sell and service just to make your money back on that?

[dci]

It has Car Store branded signs saying that it's closed for refurbishment.

I'm not sure if Car Store and Stratstone are a part of the same group and they only had Car Store branded signs to put or if Car Store have bought the building and are setting up shop.

[cd1957]

Hi All, its being turned into a sales only site, linked to Evans Halshaw.

This is part of Pendragon selling of all there prestige franchises, they have sold all USA owned Jaguar garages, and selling JRL and Porsche, Ferrari dealers.I believe BMW dealers already gone, or about to go.

Chris

[Ken Figenus]

Wonder what is going on with them? The service guys were very helpful to me there but Stratsone are hard people to buy a car off as they are very hardnosed. There's a horror story about a guy who sold his Aston to get a Bentley that he'd put a deposit down on with a Stratstone and they try and hit him with some admin fee at pickup and he refused - so the sticker price, no negotiation, sale was lost with much bad blood. They then proceeded to drop the sticker price by £5000 over a series of months but never gave him a call. So they lost at least £5k over a £100 grab. Their business, their call but all a bit bonkers!

DL Bristol are a lovely bunch and DL Tewksbury gave me a deal on a Porsche even though it was one of only 3 available in the country - and they arent known for deals Porsche! Guess which group I rate, and which seem to be going from strength ti strength...

[LuS1fer]

Has Car Store signs on it.

[rufusgti]

Annnnnnd... It's gone. Again.
Now up for rent if anyone wants a showroom.

[Triple Six]

rufusgti said:

Annnnnnd... It's gone. Again.
Now up for rent if anyone wants a showroom.

Not surprised, it's been full of boring run-of-the-mill stuff for the last 12 months.

The only positive I can think of is the location. Aside from that, the place is tiny, there's hardly any parking and the rent/rates must be astronomical.

[paulstarrally]

A prime spot for some student accommodation.

[Driver101]

Triple Six said:

rufusgti said:

Annnnnnd... It's gone. Again.
Now up for rent if anyone wants a showroom.

Not surprised, it's been full of boring run-of-the-mill stuff for the last 12 months.

The only positive I can think of is the location. Aside from that, the place is tiny, there's hardly any parking and the rent/rates must be astronomical.

I've visited a few Car Stores. It's not the fact that most of the cars are boring, it's the condition and histories of the cars that are the issue.

It must be where they send the poorest of their stock.

[GingerMunky]

Trev450 said:

SAB888 said:

If I remember correctly, didn't they lose the backing of Aston Martin which is now in Bristol (Dick Lovett), or am I thinking of another place?

You are quite correct they did lose it to Bristol about two years ago now.

Got my first Aston there
The Bristol place if next level though and the sort of place you need for their high end marques now.

[GingerMunky]

Dark85 said:

I noticed the Maserati place on Penarth road, next to Bentley that closed last year, has now also closed. Can Cardiff really not support any high-end car brands?

Aston and Ferrari gone, Cardiff just isn't big enough to support these brand dealerships. Those marques really need next level 'experience' lead service like Aston Martin Bristol, just look at the venue, the events they put on and the stock they hold, it must cost an absolute fortune.