St Albans no more?
Discussion
P1983 said:
As title really! Saw on one of the Facebook groups that Alpine St Albans are no more and are to be replaced by BYD. My mate works near and said that they ve already pulled signage down so sounds very sudden!
That explains why Gates are not selling BYD at the St, Albans site but are at others I guess, Most Ford dealers have gone into something else and not full franchise anymore, started with selling other Marques used and no more Ford Approved. Maxym said:
I had an email the other day telling me that Martins Group are no longer Renault dealers. Dunno whether that applies to Alpine as well.
They're currently dealing with a paintwork warranty claim for me and seem to have a lot of stock for someone losing their franchise. Mind you, it might explain why they didn't really want to discuss a new order last month but were pushing me to look at what was in stock instead.P1983 said:
Website still up but no cars listed.
Still looks like they have an A110 and an A290 there instead of their Chelmsford branch unless they have another site I'm unaware of.- https://www.glynhopkin.com/alpine/used-cars/201474...
- https://www.glynhopkin.com/alpine/used-cars/199186...
Might be me living in denial though!
Glyn Hopkin had a Chelmsford branch as well where I got my Alpine, I had an email from Renault saying GH Chelmsford were no longer a Renault or Dacia dealer but no mention of Alpine but apparently the showroom has been stripped and no Alpine cars or logos to be seen.
I emailed the salesman who I bought from, he came straight back saying they were no longer selling Alpines as new cars but were still an authorised repairer so could still service my car.
Frankly, if they are no longer an Alpine dealer I would rather go somewhere that is, which for me will be John Banks in Colchester.
I assume all the above applies to GH St Albans as well.
I emailed the salesman who I bought from, he came straight back saying they were no longer selling Alpines as new cars but were still an authorised repairer so could still service my car.
Frankly, if they are no longer an Alpine dealer I would rather go somewhere that is, which for me will be John Banks in Colchester.
I assume all the above applies to GH St Albans as well.
Maxym said:
I had an email the other day telling me that Martins Group are no longer Renault dealers. Dunno whether that applies to Alpine as well.
I was in Martins, Winchester, on Monday and specifically asked about the Renault E-mail. The service manager confirmed that they no longer sell Renault and Dacia, but 'can' service them and do warranty work on those brands.As far as Alpine is concerned, he confirmed that nothing has changed. Sales and service as before.
Much to my relief - having discovered that Glynn Hopkin, St Albans, service people don't even know how to fit the engine cover. They/He decided to bend the engine cover to more or less fit in the gap, leaving it unlatched at the rear, and only fitted/screwed down three cover bolts. That's one place I won't go to again.
As for Renault and Dacia at Winchester, all the signs have disappeared - being replaced by Jaecoo. Martins, Winchester, are now listed on the Jaecoo web-site as retailers/dealers.
Seems like a lot of the franchises are turning to the Chinese brands, like BYD, Jaecoo etc now which is understandable to be fair as in this current market I bet they need to sell higher volume.
Also think there might be an element of Alpine wanting to overhaul their brand image and move to be a much more premium brand ready to take on the likes of Porsche etc. They’ve also got a new showroom opening on Park Lane which is a big deal especially when you consider how the likes of McLaren London have disappeared presumably due to the high costs of operating in London. The St Albans site didn’t really cut the mustard if that’s the way they are going, the site was tiny and there was far too many lower end marques squeezed on that site.
Also think there might be an element of Alpine wanting to overhaul their brand image and move to be a much more premium brand ready to take on the likes of Porsche etc. They’ve also got a new showroom opening on Park Lane which is a big deal especially when you consider how the likes of McLaren London have disappeared presumably due to the high costs of operating in London. The St Albans site didn’t really cut the mustard if that’s the way they are going, the site was tiny and there was far too many lower end marques squeezed on that site.
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