CarShop, the leading retailer of nearly new and used cars, has chosen Grovebury Road in Leighton Buzzard as the location of its second Express store in the UK. The store, which heralds a new way of buying used cars, is set to open its doors to the public on Monday 13th September.
This follows the huge success of CarShop’s first Express store, which opened in Leicester at the start of May and has been very popular with car buyers from the local area and further afield. This is due to customers loving a more modern and streamlined buying experience that emphasises ease and convenience – shopping in-store or online, whichever they prefer.
While the Leighton Buzzard Express store will be the same as CarShop Express Leicester in that it will have no cars on site, it is slightly different through being attached to CarShop’s pre-existing Preparation Centre. This huge 15-acre site, which opened in 2002, prepares, maintains and reconditions around 30,000 cars per year and is the epicentre of CarShop’s UK-wide operations. This connection will mean that stock can be easily accessed and retailed through the Express store when purchased.
CarShop Express Leighton Buzzard’s part of the building, which covers 2,131 sq. ft, can be found at the front of the Preparation Centre’s site. It will have pods where customers can speak to a Specialist, a comfy waiting area and a covered external handover spot. Its opening will allow local customers to browse CarShop’s entire range of cars online, get their preferred make and model transferred to the Express store for no cost at all, then they can come in to test-drive it or pick it up at a time that suits them.
Alternatively, if customers need help finding their perfect car, they can drop into the CarShop Express Leighton Buzzard store and browse the thousands of options using in-store technology with the support of an experienced CarShop colleague who will be on-hand to help them through the process.
Six new positions have been created as a result of this opening, with five of these roles being recruited from the local area and one relocated from the neighbouring Northampton store. Unlike other roles at CarShop’s larger sites, such as Handover Adviser or Customer Consultant, the majority of people who have taken up these positions will be Express Specialists – helping customers from the start to the end of their buying journey, making for a really personalised experience. The retailer is still on the lookout for a Vehicle Technician to join its Leighton Buzzard team – which can be applied to on the Careers website.
The team will be led by Andy Davis, who has vast experience in the motoring industry, having joined Perrys – UK-wide dealers of new and used cars and vans – in 2008 as a Sales Executive before being promoted to Business Manager, and then Retail Sales Manager – a role he has successfully held since 2015.
Davis, who will hold the role of Business Operations Manager, said:
“I’m thrilled to be joining CarShop at what is a really exciting period of growth for the retailer, and leading the Leighton Buzzard team in offering this new type of car buying experience to the people of Bedfordshire and beyond.
“CarShop’s ethos as the home of good carma is what also attracted me to the business – it knows that when it does the right things, customers will choose to shop with it. That’s why it offers a Best Price Promise, a 14-Day Money-Back Guarantee, CarShop Warranty which provides cover for the first three months of ownership and always fixed prices meaning there’s never any awkward price negotiations.”
Nigel Hurley, CEO at CarShop, added:
“We’re already a large employer in the area through our Preparation Centre, but we know the potential that this busy market town has. It’s full of thriving businesses, connected communities and lots of potential car-buying customers, which makes it the perfect place for CarShop’s second Express store.
“Despite the challenges that the last year and a half has presented, the used car market has proven itself hugely resilient and we’re proud to be leading at the front of that through our unbeatable omnichannel approach.”
CarShop Express Leighton Buzzard will support the Northampton store, which is located around 30 miles away.
