SBTMotoring News A Helping Hand for Business Owners from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Running vehicles for your business is complex and, if not done well, expensive too. As part of its ‘Working With You’ commitment, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has a suite of measures to support van users and simplify the entire vehicle purchase and ownership journey. One of these is having a professional Business Development Manager (BDM) in each of its 72 Van Centres, someone on hand to help those buying and managing vehicles, so they can concentrate on running their businesses.
UK’s Largest Luxury Car Care and Detailing Facility Opens in the Midlands The UK market for luxury car care and detailing has seen sustained growth over the past few years and has grown into a multi-million pound industry with further expansion predicted for 2017. The Reed Group, in association with PG Automotive, has just opened the UK’s largest luxury car care and detailing facility close to Leicester city centre. This new facility is geared to providing an exclusive VIP experience to customers for the first time in the UK, from the moment they arrive at the company. The Reep Midlands investment represents some £250,000 and is designed to provide a top quality and innovative detailing service for high value, prestige and cherished cars. Reep Midlands, through the Reep Group, has forged important supply arrangements with some of the world’s leading car care, detailing and surface protection product companies including Swissvax, Koch Chemie, Gtechniq and LLumar all of which bring leading edge technologies to the detailing market.
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Business Development Managers spend a great deal of time on the road assisting businesses with their vehicle purchase requirements. This one-toone service allows business owners
to carry on running their businesses and often mean they don’t even have to leave their premises during the process. Andrea Rigby Carnell, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ Business Development Manager said: “Since joining Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in 2015, the business has made significant changes in the way in which the BDMs operate and the technology we have available. Our aim is to help make the sales process as easy as possible for our clients.”
Plug-in Tech Makes Car Ownership Less Taxing The number of vehicles clamped or impounded for non-payment of road tax peaked at more than 12,200 a month last summer, over double the number recorded prior to the abolition of paper tax discs. Smartdriverclub has added TAX and MOT reminders to the host of peace of mind and cost saving benefits provided with membership. These include crash alerts, theft tracking, a digital mechanic that can identify faults, car valuations, up to 40% membership discount on motor insurance and
reports of business mileage for expenses. CEO of Smartdriverclub, Penny Searles said: “Many drivers being penalised have quite innocently forgotten the date of renewal without that physical reminder in the windscreen of the car. MOTs are another chore – in fact new data from the DVSA3 shows nearly 50% of all faults found on MOTs could be avoided by carrying out regular, simple checks and maintenance, like replacing bulbs, wipers and tyres – all problems that can be identified by the Smartdriverclub digital mechanic.
British Motor Heritage Launches Long Awaited Replacement Bodyshells for MK1 Mini The values of MK1 Minis continue to rocket, increasingly justifying the cost of the part or total restorations that will be required for most examples sooner or later. British Motor Heritage (BMH) has long since been at the forefront of supplying individual panels for all marks of classic Minis, and complete bodyshells for models from 1976 onwards. What’s been missing until now is the Holy Grail, a full replacement shell for the MK1, but
the wait is now over. Mini enthusiasts were given a glimpse of what was to come on BMH’s stand at the NEC Classic Motor Show last November, and the response was universally positive. The first production batch of 15 bodies will therefore commence in April, with deliveries occurring through May and June. The launch price is £9,950 including VAT and the company is accepting orders accompanied by a 25 percent deposit.