Changing hands

The concept of something being available off market first came to my attention back in my commuting days. An E36 M3 (surprise). The owner used to park up each day in a different M Car and head off past me on the platform and into the First Class carriage. I couldn’t help myself but speak with him. (No, it was’t Richard).

You can probably see what’s coming here.... It was a black on black Evo Coupe without the boot spoiler. The whole experience was calm, gentlemanly (if I’m still allowed to say that) and well, easy.

Fast forward 20 years, I still have the car (now affectionally know as ratty) and I find myself being able to offer a similar experience to other GQ Owners.

So, below you will find a selection of examples from fellow in store owners that I haven’t gone to market with, yet.

So, if anything catches your eye feel free to give me a call or ping and I’ll set up a video call or coffee.

1989 Porsche 928 S4 Auto – Genuine Porsche Cup 1 alloys, body-coloured teardrop mirrors and rear spoiler inspired by the later GTS. Full black leather, Porsche 3-spoke leather steering wheel.

1981 BMW E24 635CSi Auto – not seen one in this hue; Saphirblu-metallic with black leather. A useable example providing entry to the sharknose scene without costing an arm and a leg (excuse the pun).

Jaguar XK8 – a bucket list car he tells me. The owner often comes to the facility and we line his cars up while he takes a Le Mans start at them. Classic cream leather.

Audi TT 3.2 – A late 2003 example with black leather and an automatic gearbox. This particular owner loves these so much he has two of them and is lost for which one to part with.

VW Pheaton – A special story behind the specifying and single ownership of this 1 of 1 example. The husband and wife owners are looking for someone that understands the uniqueness behind them.

BMW M6 – Just serviced by us at BMW Sytner this nicely specified example is due up for sale as the owner has since left the country.

To find out more about any of the examples above or if you’d like us to keep an eye out for anything in particular please don’t hesitate to give us a shout.

Movers and shakers

The warmest of welcomes to our newest cars and owners, welcome once again.

Day in the bay – Headlamp restoration

It’s amazing to see the impact this relatively simple process can have on your modern classic. So much so even Sid got in on the action this month!

If you think about it it’s pretty obvious, really. Our cars drive face on into all sorts of weather, contaminates and particles – likely at speeds I probably shouldn’t blog about.

So, it’s no wonder our bumpers and in this example headlights show their experience more quickly. Almost like cataracts they limit your vision, turn a milky colour and can go on to cause an MOT failure. (Sorry, Sid).

Well, you’ll be pleased to hear that Adam has been perfecting the art of correcting them for a while now and one or two of you have been tapping into his knowledge – enter this Renault Sport Clio 182.

In this example we did a 7 stage correction process which was made up of 4 stages of wet sanding (1, 1.5, 2 and then 3k). From there, once the harder work was complete we then moved onto a 2 stage machine polish, all before finishing up with a glass of Prosecco, sorry coating to help slow the return. We can also PPF them if you prefer the next level of protection.

The cost is £195 + VAT while Care Pack and Half Board owners get the usual 10% discount.

If you’d like us to take a peek at yours feel free to reach out.

On from there Adam is offering complementary paint inspections and test panels. Should anyone be considered having their car detailed, this might be of particular interest as it offers the option of being more involved in the process – a try before you buy type approach. (+ coffee, cake and other items of general bribery included).

Should you not wish to proceed we will finish the chosen panel complementary. (and only charge you for the cake!;)

As touched on above, Sid was feeling a little left out so he went under the pad, too!

Season opener – shall we meet?

Perhaps not the best timing for a bright and shiny newsletter during another cold weather snap but in my defence, March does signify the beginning of meteorological spring, and, I’ll bet my 8 Series that this is the last one before you know what! 🌸

Taking to the keyboard once again, there is so much to update you on, all while not actually knowing where to start. Part of me wants to begin with the media again who seem hell bent on economic scare mugering. I recall someone wise (probably Richard) saying; “back in the day, every time Trevor Mcdonald used the ‘R’ word the phone wouldn’t ring the next day”… So, as ever the optimist here, I’m only interested in positivity, please!

Moving onto more domestic and exciting matters I am thrilled to confirm we will be hosting our Season Opener on Saturday 18th March from 9AM until 12. It’s a drop in cars and coffee type gig which we’ll be hosting at our Bishops Stortford location as pictured above.

The event is complementary to all Care Pack and Half Board owners and their +1. All other owners are of course welcome but we encourage you to take the Care Pack from the following month and join the rest of the years exciting events.

Spaces are limited and by RSVP only so, hit that button below and grab your e-ticket or call us for more info.

In other headline news the above event will give you a great opportunity to meet our newest member of the team, Sam. She joins us as our Owner Experience Lead and you can read all about her and how the role will be supporting you right here.

On from there, you can check out what Adam has been up to in our latest Day in the Bay piece around headlamp restoration while also offering complementary paint inspections and test panels ahead of your summer adventures.

Meanwhile, Richard is currently working on (you guest it) another owners M Car! This time in the shape of an M3 CSL from our Ware facility so dive right into our latest instalment of What’s on the ramp?

Next up, I’ve shared an advanced peek at a few examples that will be coming to market soon from fellow owners in store. Perhaps the most exciting part is they are currently listed here and available off market – some of which will be on display at the upcoming meet.

Last but not least, check out where we’re been spending far too much time recently via our Local Experiences piece – why not come and grab your car and test it out?

Tell a lie, there’s more! We are also hiring. If you fancy a new challenge or know someone who might be suitable, take a peek at our careers page. There’s a current focus around the Storage Executive role which would suit an early career type person but tbh, talent is talent so simply get in touch.

That’s all for now – get clicking, gang, and I look forward to seeing you on the 18th!

Tim

Meet Sam – Owner Experience Lead

I know I know, 2 in 2 is getting a little crazy but it’s not our fault, it’s yours!

Some of you may have already heard from Sam, already proving quicker than I she has seemingly beaten me to announcing her arrival.

However, no introduction needed as Sam joins us with a wealth of experience in the corporate administration space having spent the majority of her career and family life whipping people into shape!

She joins GQ at a time where your requests have created a back log which wasn’t sitting comfortably with me managing so slowly.

So, what can you expect from Sam? Well, she’ll kindly be reminding you of your annual MOT’s and services and offering Adam and my time to carry them out via our little black book of tried and tested specialists. She will also be facilitating your repairs and personalisation requests – she is currently working on producing a lovely set of Neodyme finished alloys for a 991 911 Turbo S as seen below.

I’m sure that you are also all very aware that the bald, middle aged white guy is hardly an endangered species! So, the icing on the cake is that our D&I creds aren’t looking too shabby now either!

I’m still pinching myself that she has agreed to join GQ to be honest and have a feeling she’ll be telling us what do in no time.

Please join me in welcoming her to the gang, perhaps at our season opener on the 18th or if you’d like to get ahead of the curve feel free to email her directly via the link below. However, no poaching, we found her first!

What's on the ramp?

“Apologies, that part is NLA.”

Know the feeling?

An increasing experience I’m sure some of you will be all too familiar with. No longer is simply calling your local dealer or setting up a keyword notification for a used one cutting it.

The start of the year has seen us reaching out further and wider in our networks to find your holy grails (not sure I’m pluralising that correctly).

However, the advances in 3D printing is really coming on – areas such as interior door handle and dash surrounds, speaker covers, various clips, blanking plates etc. are all a spot the difference exercise now.

This growing technology coupled with restoration I’m certain will start to play a huge part in our quests for perfection.

On from there and despite the long winter period, many of you have remained active and have been asking us to support you in many different ways. From simple MOT’s and servicing into preventative maintenance like the CSL we have here on our outside cleaning and inspection ramp.

Purchased in June 2004 with a mere 1,700 miles on her by a lovely local owner who’s M Car ownership list spans multiple generations ending with this #NeverSell example.

A conversation that originally started from what we think was a slightly keen MOT tester, flagging corrosion on the brake lines. This turned into a thankful reason for the owner to get her up in the air. The opportunity netting out with some some light restoration and mainly preventive maintenance. First up was to preserve her pass rate (it was due imminently) so we did a pre MOT check which you can see below.

That then gave us the working list from which to cherry pick from with the owner. This process was carried out with the owner seeing for himself first hand (while I made coffee and pretended I knew what I was talking about!)

My hope is that when I next write to you I’ll be sharing some lovely before and afters which include some restored parts along with some ‘NLA’s!

For more info, to take a look under your own or for help sorting that annoying part you need feel free to reach out as you wish.

As a parting gift I give you some further candid headaches, sorry I mean pics of what else has been keeping us up at night!

We're in Epping!

We weren’t looking – honest! However, I think it was May time and we took a call from the new owner of some land we had been looking at some years before.

It was/is a killer location but at the time was too complicated for us to navigate. Fast forward 3 years and we were presented with an opportunity too good to turn down – enter GQ Epping!

Now, this was our biggest challenge to date, not good enough to move straight in but not bad enough to knock down and purpose build new like we did at Ware.

Most testing moment? Having to sync the whole front wall coming off (company a) with the roller shutter door going in (company b). All while lining up the re cladding of the surrounding wall – you guessed it, (company c!). Long story short we/they failed and it was open faced to the elements for almost a week, post decorating! *facepalm*. Best moment? Hiring the marshmallow man to come in and spray insulation on the ceiling.

Sid played his part providing not only vast load lugging but also a much needed reclining seat for the odd KitKat! Not to mention keeping the drinks chilled under the arm rest.

I still remain anxious but my nerves are easing with each new owners call, and it now really feels like another GQ. As a thank you to everyone for their trust or for our owners in other facilities wanting to view we’ll be hosting a breakfast meet there super soon.

For more info or just to coffee give me a call anytime.

Meet Sid

Perhaps I bent the truth. I have actually bought a new car but technically it’s not mine, this one belongs to GQ.

I’d been looking for some time at the E53 generation X5, particularly at the 4.8iS variant but they all seem either very leggy and unloved or over priced.

It wasn’t until I saw the MPG on the OBC from a local example that I thought the 3.0D Sport might be the wiser choice for GQ duties. (For the record – I still want one).

Now, it’s not like I’ve fallen out of love with the E36, it’s just carting around all the storage equipment while adding 20k a year was loosing its appeal. (She lives on btw, currently at the Buntingford facility).

So, I rolled the dice on the example you see pictured here. 80k, pan roof, wide screen nav, etc. etc. But the best bit? The Nokia 6110 under the arm rest (on top of the cool box!)

First up was a service and tow bar and while being under him I was able to confirm it’s not an X1! So, for now he’s got the job. Another nice touch is the 93 litre tank which is achieving a 500+ mile range.

Oh and of course, I didn't cover the name. My Mum has a quad up at her home in Aberystwyth which is their work horse. Somehow it just felt right. Or technically Sid the 2nd I guess.

So, as he rolls into winter he’s all set to drop you home or rescue you from the road side – hopefully the former!