Fleet and company car seller takes motors.co.uk-sponsored award at AM ceremony.
Web-based car dealer Autoquake received a top accolade for the quality of its web site at the Automotive Management Awards on Wednesday.
The company gained the prestigious Motors.co.uk-sponsored award for a site that judges described as ‘a model that other dealers should aspire to.’
‘It’s good looking, fast loading and sophisticated,’ the judges continued, ‘and it has lots of images and full explanations for every car. It’s a compelling consumer offer.’
Autoquake launched in 2007, setting itself the challenge of eliminating the traditional car showroom from its business model.
The company offers second-hand cars directly from leasing companies and business fleets. It ds not pay fleets until the car is sold, which avoids the company tying money up in stock. The saving so achieved is passed to the customer, meaning that its no-haggle prices are typically 10% cheaper than those of car supermarkets.
Autoquake.com provides more than 50 high-quality photos of each car, including close-ups of any scratches or marks. Sales are handled via a call centre and the company has two hand-over centres. Alternatively, they will deliver to buyers’ homes for an extra charge. If buyers aren’t happy with the car once they’ve seen it, there’s a seven-day money back offer.
Autoquake was picked from a short-list of seven finalists for the award, which also included: Car Shop Megastore, Eden Vauxhall, Lifestyle Europe, Nationwide Autocentres, Sytner Group and Vertu Motors. Of these Eden Vauxhall and Sytner Group just missed out on the top slot, and were highly commended for their achievements.
Autoquake chief executive Garry Hobson accepted the award from at a presentations evening held in Birmingham.
♦ At the same event, Car industry legend Tony Bramall, currently a director of Lookers, received the Hall of Fame award. Tony, aged 73, has spent a lifetime in the motor trade. He inherited the CD Bramall family dealerships, built the group up and sold it in the 1980s – only to do the same again two decades later. After selling his Harrogate-based of dealerships to Pendragon six years ago, he built Bramall & Jones leasing, before becoming a major shareholder and non-executive director of Lookers.
