£4Million Dealership Open For Business

Posted on 22nd Jun 2007

The groundbreaking design of the two-storey car showroom creates a feel of an upmarket department store offering stylish escalators for customers to move between floors as they browse through the massive range of cars on display.

In acknowledgement of the Lancashire weather all vehicles will be displayed indoors - allowing visitors to spend time examining interiors and exteriors whatever the season. Handover of vehicles will be from specially constructed indoor bays to ensure the entire purchasing experience takes place in a pleasant environment, avoiding the need for signing documents and handing over keys on windswept forecourts.

For those who wish to personalise their car the latest technology has been installed allowing customers to design their own BMW on plasma screens - specifying the paint colour, finishes, choice of interiors and additional features – selecting from hundreds of options until they tailor-make the vehicle to exactly their own taste and standards.

The innovative building design features a coffee lounge offering customers the opportunity to use Williams computers or, as the building is wireless enabled, their own laptops in the dealership. The children’s entertainment section includes that latest Playstation games incorporated into specially constructed car seats for them to play with while parents are designing or selecting their own vehicle.

A separate glass cube is being built adjacent to the main building to house MINIs. Now available in a wide range of colours and styles, the MINI has been a massive success for Williams since it relaunched. Customers can rent as well as buy MINIs and BMWs from the new Williams base and already Rochdale customers have requested cars for everything from summer weddings to family holidays.

The dealership and service centre - which can be found on at the end of the A627M, the main arterial route into Rochdale from Manchester - replaces that on Kingshill was designed by Taylor Design of Wilmslow and is being constructed by award-winning Williams Tarr based in Warrington.

The 5,200 sq m facility will include workshops, a brand new service centre, the two-storey BMW showroom with under croft car parking, a stand-alone MINI showroom, offices and a staff restaurant for the company’s sixty employees.

Jason Almond of Williams said: “Williams has been trading since 1909 and this unrivalled experience ensures we know exactly what customers want from a car dealership. Everything has been designed from a customer perspective - following their journey into a dealership and making the experience as exciting and as streamlined as possible.

We are now in a position to deliver exactly what is required through this amazing new building which will not only transform the face of Rochdale but also the way cars are sold across the region. There is nothing like it in the area and our investment is a signal of our confidence and belief in Lancashire as a thriving region. We have been trading from our Kingsway premises for 3 years and demand for BMWs and MINIs has been the springboard for our stunning new facility. It will set new standards for motor dealerships.”

Williams

£4Million Dealership Open For Business

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