Stratsone Amersham lose Aston Martin?
Discussion
Received an e-mail today from Stratstone Amersham to announce that 'On Friday 28th April 2017 they will be consolidating the Stratstone Aston Martin retailer in Amersham into the Aston Martin retailer in North West London.'
While continuing to sell pre-owned sports and specialist vehicles, there was no mention of continued Aston servicing at Amersham.
In other words, Stratstone Amersham will cease to be a dedicated Aston Martin dealer and maintainer. I had heard on the QT that this was likely to happen.
I can't imagine the ££££s Stratstone will charge to keep a West London dealership open.
More work for Chiltern Aston?
While continuing to sell pre-owned sports and specialist vehicles, there was no mention of continued Aston servicing at Amersham.
In other words, Stratstone Amersham will cease to be a dedicated Aston Martin dealer and maintainer. I had heard on the QT that this was likely to happen.
I can't imagine the ££££s Stratstone will charge to keep a West London dealership open.
More work for Chiltern Aston?
AM's dealer network in the London area is pretty shocking to be fair.
Essentially there's only one place to get your car serviced - Western Avenue.
Nicholas Mee is not much cheaper at all and when you factor in they don't offer pick up/delivery or courtesy cars, they are probably more expensive in real terms.
So essentially there's a monopoly in London and we're at the mercy of Stratstone!
Essentially there's only one place to get your car serviced - Western Avenue.
Nicholas Mee is not much cheaper at all and when you factor in they don't offer pick up/delivery or courtesy cars, they are probably more expensive in real terms.
So essentially there's a monopoly in London and we're at the mercy of Stratstone!
Edited by matrignano on Wednesday 26th April 12:15
matrignano said:
AM's dealer network in the London area is pretty shocking to be fair.
Essentially there's only one place to get your car serviced - Western Avenue.
Nicholas Mee is not much cheaper at all and when you factor they don't provide pick up/delivery or courtesy cars, in fact in real terms they are probably more expensive.
So essentially there's a monopoly in London and we're at the mercy of Stratstone!
I don't know where you are, but Works pick up free from Ealing even though it's technically outside their 60-mile rangeEssentially there's only one place to get your car serviced - Western Avenue.
Nicholas Mee is not much cheaper at all and when you factor they don't provide pick up/delivery or courtesy cars, in fact in real terms they are probably more expensive.
So essentially there's a monopoly in London and we're at the mercy of Stratstone!
The place always seemed nice enough, but I will say that the service area was a bit s
t to be fair. It was more like a Kwik Fit centre than a premium dealership.
My first one was up on a ramp in there for something and I noticed that the floor was covered in oil and the place was tatty.............to be fair, like a proper old school mechanics used to be like, and there's nothing wrong with that, but I guess it's certainly not in line with the modern uniformed and squeaky clean setups. You go into Works and it's like a museum, not a spec of dirt to be seen.
t to be fair. It was more like a Kwik Fit centre than a premium dealership.My first one was up on a ramp in there for something and I noticed that the floor was covered in oil and the place was tatty.............to be fair, like a proper old school mechanics used to be like, and there's nothing wrong with that, but I guess it's certainly not in line with the modern uniformed and squeaky clean setups. You go into Works and it's like a museum, not a spec of dirt to be seen.
RobDown said:
Chiltern will be delighted. Or if you live in that area you're in the free pick-up range for Works
I called in on Chiltern Aston the other day to discuss servicing my 07 V8 Vantage. They were quite happy to show me round, despite my being unannounced and being pretty busy. The workshops were clean and well-organised, with everything from routine maintenance to complete rebuilds of cars from Newport Pagnell to Gaydon being worked on.I was interested in no more than an oil change and a couple of tyres - no problem if I wanted to supply my own materials or tyres.
My car will be going in to them shortly, and would have, whatever the state of Stratstone Amersham.
Chiltern Aston are AML’s best kept secret it seems - an AM approved repairer section for Gaydon cars in addition to being a heritage specialist/repairer for the classic models & also the
added bonus of having an Approved AM bodyshop, all on one site - so the best of three worlds in one place
added bonus of having an Approved AM bodyshop, all on one site - so the best of three worlds in one place
Aston are wanting all dealerships to look similar and portray a new image. Hence I suspect most Stratstone official AM dealerships will become specialist prestige dealerships
I understand Stratstone are unwilling to invest the required £7-8m per dealership
Hence why Stoneacre took over AM Newcastle and Dick Lovett opened AM Bristol with Stratstone losing Cardiff
Recently had a discussion with the Stratsone guys in Cardiff about trading my 2013 v8v against the dbs they have, offer was a joke, so although they've lost official status they haven't lost their sales practices, unfortunately
I understand Stratstone are unwilling to invest the required £7-8m per dealership
Hence why Stoneacre took over AM Newcastle and Dick Lovett opened AM Bristol with Stratstone losing Cardiff
Recently had a discussion with the Stratsone guys in Cardiff about trading my 2013 v8v against the dbs they have, offer was a joke, so although they've lost official status they haven't lost their sales practices, unfortunately
9153mark said:
Aston are wanting all dealerships to look similar and portray a new image. Hence I suspect most Stratstone official AM dealerships will become specialist prestige dealerships
I understand Stratstone are unwilling to invest the required £7-8m per dealership
Hence why Stoneacre took over AM Newcastle and Dick Lovett opened AM Bristol with Stratstone losing Cardiff
Recently had a discussion with the Stratsone guys in Cardiff about trading my 2013 v8v against the dbs they have, offer was a joke, so although they've lost official status they haven't lost their sales practices, unfortunately
Wow 7-8m per dealership !I understand Stratstone are unwilling to invest the required £7-8m per dealership
Hence why Stoneacre took over AM Newcastle and Dick Lovett opened AM Bristol with Stratstone losing Cardiff
Recently had a discussion with the Stratsone guys in Cardiff about trading my 2013 v8v against the dbs they have, offer was a joke, so although they've lost official status they haven't lost their sales practices, unfortunately
They recently facelifted wilmslow but it didn't look like an exercise that cost anything like that figure. However they did spend a lot on the separate workshop/servicing centre a year or two back
Having said all that, wilmslow was the biggest selling aston dealership in the world last year so I surely can't see that one changing in a hurry
I wonder how many dealerships Stratstone will end up with. Always thought Aston were in a difficult position with them owning so much of their dealership network - 40/45% - which gave them huge influence on Aston's UK strategy.
When we lost our local dealership to Bristol I really considered leaving the brand but decided to wait a year to see what service Bristol gave. I used Cheltenham in the interim which was ok and would have continued to do so unless Bristol stepped up and gave good/better service. I have had two cars serviced by Bristol and have to say that I am really pleased with the work they have carried out. They have looked after me very well.
My only problems with them is the fact that I have to pay for the car to be transported to them, although got an offer just before the last service offering free transportation but that will not always be there. The other problem is they are 75 miles away and just popping in for a chat is no longer an option. Still, my wife doesn't seem to upset with that because it has saved the bank balance
When we lost our local dealership to Bristol I really considered leaving the brand but decided to wait a year to see what service Bristol gave. I used Cheltenham in the interim which was ok and would have continued to do so unless Bristol stepped up and gave good/better service. I have had two cars serviced by Bristol and have to say that I am really pleased with the work they have carried out. They have looked after me very well.
My only problems with them is the fact that I have to pay for the car to be transported to them, although got an offer just before the last service offering free transportation but that will not always be there. The other problem is they are 75 miles away and just popping in for a chat is no longer an option. Still, my wife doesn't seem to upset with that because it has saved the bank balance
IanV12VR said:
The other problem is they are 75 miles away and just popping in for a chat is no longer an option. Still, my wife doesn't seem to upset with that because it has saved the bank balance
That might be an interesting and revealing idea for a new topic, Ian.
'Was an Aston Martin really on your family shopping list, the day before you popped into the dealer for a chat?'
Edited by Jon39 on Thursday 27th April 09:11
Jon39 said:
That might be an interesting and revealing idea for a new topic, Ian.
'Was an Aston Martin really on your family shopping list, the day before you popped into the dealer for a chat?'
Edited by Jon39 on Thursday 27th April 09:11
There must be various reasons for the changes to the AM dealer network, but presumably the image aspect must be an important part of it. The new Bristol and Newcastle dealer premises certainly fit the corporate pattern.
One recent change was Stratstone Hagley being replaced by Grange Birmingham.
The Birmingham premises seem to be just a light refurbishment of the existing building, used by the previous motor dealer.
None of the usual minimal framing to the exterior windows, and no Lavertine stone floor tiles. Wonder if it might be a temporary arrangement?
Gassing Station | Aston Martin | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff