8:54 am, July 15, 2025
Having an in-house garage is the ‘holy grail’ for used car dealers and it allows retailers to buy stock that competitors might find scary.
That is according to Theo Cook, from Bowen’s Garage, who says he ‘genuinely doesn’t know’ how dealers are able to manage without their own workshops.
The 31-year-old runs the business alongside his father Anthony and he joined us on the most recent episode of the Car Dealer Podcast.
Chatting with hosts James Baggott and Jon Reay, Cook explained the benefits of his current set up.
His business currently has used car sites in both Ross-on-Wye and Hereford, with all mechanical issues taken care of in-house.
He said: ‘I always say this, I genuinely don’t know how people run a car sales business without a workshop on site. It must be absolutely a nightmare.
‘The good thing is, it’s here now, so even if you sell a car and the car goes out and three days later there’s a little niggle or light pings on whatever, they just drive in.
‘The mechanics get a bit frustrated because obviously they’re on other jobs and they quite often get pulled off things and people come in for things like tyre pressures but I would never have a car sales business anywhere else or do anything else if I didn’t have an attached workshop because it does make a massive difference.’
He added that the approach reduces risk for the business, which specialises in low mileage, smaller cars, often aimed at an older customer base.
‘We’re car dealers, so obviously we inherently take risks, but I don’t like massive headaches,’ he explained. ‘We tend to try and buy cars that aren’t going to cause us too much of a headache.
‘We’re in a small town and selling cars that are pretty reliable and pretty easy to work on has its benefits because they don’t go wrong and therefore people come back, they bring them back for MOT and service and then we sell them another one in three years time, four years time.’
‘I wouldn’t be afraid of those’
Despite being keen to avoid headaches, Cook says he has now qualms on taking on some of the scariest stock on the market for most dealers – Ford’s dreaded EcoBoost engines.
The car dealer says he’s ‘not afraid’ of taking on Fiestas and Focusses but he does have to tailor his approach when it comes to warranties.
He said: ‘Controversially, I buy a lot of EcoBoosts. I’m not afraid of them.
‘I suppose the ones we’re selling have done very low mileage, so you’ve got a chance. They are [popular] and they drive really nicely.
‘They perform as a good car – the Fiesta or the Focus – they’re really good cars but obviously it scares people, which helps me buy them.
‘We’re quite happy to do the belts in-house, which is a bit of a subject to approach with the customer who’s buying the car because we asked for quite a substantial contribution, which can obviously seems to have been okay so far.
‘If they’re 16, 17 plates, they’re coming up to their 10-year intervals, so we will do [the belts before sending the cars out].
‘We warranty the cars ourselves, so obviously, I don’t want an engine going twang.
‘We will ask for quite a sizeable contribution and explain the pros and cons of having the belt or not having the belt, and if they decide not to, then obviously, if it’s not officially due under the Ford recommendation, then we sort of say, we’re going to have to avoid it from the warranty if you decide not to and it’s worked so far.
‘I wouldn’t be afraid of those.’
The Car Dealer Podcast, sponsored by Carwow, sees an industry guest join our hosts to discuss the motor trade’s biggest headlines of every week.
A full list of the stories discussed can be found here.
You can listen to all episodes of the Car Dealer Podcast on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
A special live recording of the show is taking place on September 24 in Oxfordshire. Polestar MD Matt Galvin will join Vicky Hart from Waylands, as well as the Car Dealer Podcast team James Baggott, Jon Reay and James Batchelor on stage at the Podcast Live event.
You can book your tickets below and find out more information about the event here.
