About us
Thirty-one years on the same patch of Claro Road.
Alan Ravensdale opened the forecourt in 1994 with eleven cars and a portable cabin. His daughter Nina has run it since 2016. The cabin is gone; the eleven cars became sixty, and the rule that made it work has not changed.
The rule
Do not buy a car whose history you cannot prove.
It sounds obvious. It is not how most of this trade works. The volume model is to buy at auction on a two-minute inspection, put the car on the forecourt, and describe the history in a sentence that cannot be checked — “great service history”, “one careful owner”, “HPI clear”. Every one of those phrases is either verifiable from a document or it is not true. So we verify it, and then we print it. That is the whole business, and it is why the forecourt holds sixty cars rather than two hundred. It also means we turn cars down: roughly one in five that we look at goes back, usually because the mileage series does not agree with itself or the service book has stamps that the invoices do not support.
1994opened, on this site
1 in 5cars we inspect are turned down
27days is the sector average to sell a car
4people, all of whom you will meet
“My father used to say the folder sells the car. He meant it literally — if the paperwork is right, you do not have to sell anything.”
Nina Ravensdale, director
The workshop
Preparation happens here, not at a subcontractor.
Two ramps behind the forecourt. Service, MOT, brakes, tyres and the machine polish all happen on site, which is the only reason we can put a name on the invoice in your folder. It is also why the warranty works the way it does: we are not passing a claim to a third-party administrator who was not there when the car was prepared.
What we do to every carOn site
Three of the eight steps.
Every car goes on the ramp before we price it.
Marek services each one to the manufacturer schedule.
Two keys, cut and coded here if a car arrives with one.
The four of usNamed, and accountable for a specific thing.
Nina RavensdaleDirector
Took over from her father in 2016. Runs every provenance check herself and signs off each car before it reaches the forecourt. FCA approved person.
Danny OyelaranSales
Fifteen years on Harrogate forecourts. Will tell you when the car you are looking at is the wrong car for you. Motor Ombudsman code trained.
Sofia KaurSales and part-exchange
Values every part-exchange herself. If the firm figure differs from the indicative one she shows you which line moved and why. Motor Ombudsman code trained.
Marek WysockiWorkshop
Prepares every car we sell. The service invoices in your folder carry his name. IMI accredited, Level 3.
ProtectionsWho regulates us, and what each one would actually do for you.
Every competitor site we read reduces this to a row of grey logos in the footer. A logo is not a protection. The number is, and so is the link that lets you check the number.
| Body | What it does for you | Registered as |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Conduct Authority | Authorises us to arrange finance. If we mis-sold you a credit agreement, this is the body that can order us to put it right. | FRN 731442 |
| The Motor Ombudsman | Free, independent dispute resolution under the Vehicle Sales Code. If you and we cannot agree, their decision binds us and not you. | Vehicle Sales Code |
| Chartered Trading Standards Institute | Approves the code above. It is the reason the code is more than a logo we bought. | Approved Code |
| Consumer Rights Act 2015 | Thirty days to reject a car that is faulty, not as described or unfit for purpose, for a full refund. This is law, not a policy of ours, and we cannot shorten it. | Statutory |
| Information Commissioner | Registered to process your data. We keep enquiry records for two years and finance records for six, because the FCA requires it. | Z7418266 |
| Institute of the Motor Industry | Our technician is accredited personally. Accreditation belongs to a person, not to a business, and any garage claiming otherwise is overstating it. | Individual accreditation |
Next step
Come and open a folder.
Pick any car on the forecourt and ask for its history. It is already printed and sitting in the glovebox.
Book a viewing01423 555 0180
