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It’s as easy as B&C B&C McKeown Ltd. is the No.1 provider of car parts and reconditioned turbos in Northern Ireland - and one of the largest car dismantlers on the island. Irish Trucker paid a visit to their vast facility in Downpatrick, County Down and got an insight into day-to-day activities from Rory Branagan.
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hree-and-a-half decades ago, B&C McKeown Ltd. was established in the Griddle Mountain, on the outskirts of Downpatrick, by Charles and the late Brian McKeown. Today, Charles and his wife Maureen are directors in the family business, with son Michael overseeing the operation, which is one of the largest car dismantlers in Ireland, north and south. This is a massive operation, as Rory Branagan, who has been part of the B&C McKeown team for seven years, notes: “We would have up to 800 cars in stock at any given time, ranging from 1990 right up to 2013. We buy crashed and damaged cars from England – mostly from auction sites – and we then sell the parts on to customers all around Ireland and further afield. We are constantly sourcing new parts and, on average, take in five or six cars a day.” To give an indication of the size of the facility (as the accompanying pictures should illustrate), bear this in mind: the yard is based along the side of a half-mile long road and runs the full length of it! A fully-licensed
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dismantling facility, B&C McKeown mostly sells car parts into the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the mainland UK although, as Rory reveals, new markets are also being opened up: “We sell parts all over the world, with current markets including Australia, New Zealand, Spain and Portugal.” Offering next-day delivery all over Ireland and a twoday delivery service to England, with all major credit cards accepted, B&C McKeown boasts over 35 years’ experience of the car dismantling business, updating its stock daily with all makes and models of cars and vans. A vast range of parts is carried in stock at all times, always at a reasonable price, as well as a full range of new and used tyres and reconditioned turbos. “We have been in the turbo business for six years,” Rory explains. “We specialise in turbo parts and would have 95% of the parts for turbos for all makes of cars available in Ireland. We sell these to private customers and also into the trade and can sell in bulk if required.” So how does one go about
sourcing a particular car part from B&C McKeown Ltd.? “All they have to do is give us a quick call on 048 44615148 and ask for either myself, Michael McKeown or Kieran Hamill. We will be happy to answer all queries on the spot and nine times out of ten we will have the exact part they are looking for. The part can be collected here in the yard or we can send it out immediately by courier. On the rare occasions where we don’t have the part in stock, we will make it our business to get the car or van in question and get that part.” With almost four decades of experience of this line of work, the team at B&C McKeown have their operations down to a fine art. Very little – if anything goes to waste. Only after a vehicle has been completely stripped will the rest will go out as scrap. Customers can rest assured that they will not only get the part they require but also that this part will be in perfect working order and will have been handled with extreme care by fullyqualified and vastlyexperienced mechanics. “We only let experienced mechanics near the cars.
B&C McKeown Limited 38 Old Course Road, Downpatrick, BT30 8BD Northern Ireland Tel: 048 44615148 Email: ebayparts08@yahoo.co.uk
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