9:29 am, May 2, 2023
Car dealer Peter Waddell opened his sixth car supermarket this weekend at a former auction site in London.
Opening with a soft launch a month ahead of schedule, the former Manheim auction centre has been transformed by the Big Motoring World group.
Waddell – who will a headline interview at Car Dealer Live 2024 – told Car Dealer the opening weekend had been a huge success.
He said: ‘It was a mega, mega opening. We sold 317 cars from the site this Bank Holiday weekend and the group touched on selling 1,000 cars.
‘It was a soft opening for the site in Wimbledon and we’ll be opening properly in eight weeks time with a spectacular finish.
‘We have spent £5m on that site and it will be the best car supermarket in the UK.’
Waddell now runs six Big Motoring World sites around the outskirts of London and two in Peterborough.
He bought the latter two from SW Car Supermarkets last year and rebranded them as part of his expanding group.
Habib Mohammed, business manager at Big Motoring World, wrote on LinkedIn after the Wimbledon opening: ‘What an amazing end to our very first day at Wimbledon.
‘Happy to say we have exceeded expectations for this site and the future is looking bright for Wimbledon. The used car market ain’t ready for this.’
Waddell has also expanded his car buying service to rival WeBuyAnyCar.com. Called BigWantsYourCar.com the business has more than 70 collection vans that pick cars up from customers’ homes.
Waddell said his car buying service differs from rivals as it guarantees the price it gives customers in advance and won’t later haggle them down.
He told Car Dealer today: ‘We are hitting 100 cars a day on the car buying side and my expectation is that it will be closer to 1,000 cars a day within the next two years.’
Waddell took investment from private equity firm Freshstream last year which saw former Sytner Group boss Laurence Vaughan join as executive chairman.
Waddell said the new management team will help the business grow rapidly telling Car Dealer that ‘there’s lots more to come’.
Waddell will be giving a headline interview at Car Dealer Live 2024, being held at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon on March 7, 2024. Tickets are currently on sale at Early Bird prices until June 30.
