2:21 am, March 28, 2011
A FORMER mechanic with a passion for cars has landed his dream job – spending millions of pounds each year buying cars.
Leyton Cooper, 33, has now become the divisional group buying manager of ACF Car Finance, heading up the company’s team of pre-owned vehicle purchasers.
Based at ACF Car Finance’s Chester headquarters, Leyton is responsible to keeping the company’s national showroom network stocked with thousands of makes and models.
With business currently at record levels, his role is crucial to ensuring that customers always have a wide choice ranging from compacts to estates and performance cars.
Only vehicles representing the best in their class are bought by Leyton and his team, and even then they must pass a stringent 136-point quality inspection before going on sale.
Leyton’s promotion to divisional group buying manager comes ten years after he first joined the company as a trainee in its vehicle procurement department.
His in-depth knowledge of automotive technology had been gained over the previous seven years when he trained and worked as a motor technician in the Manchester area.
At ACF Car Finance, Leyton has been able to channel his experience and expertise into ensuring that the company’s buying decisions focus on models with a proven pedigree.
A confessed ‘petrol head’ since he was a boy living in Buxton, Derbyshire, Leyton has restored and maintained cars ranging from to Peugeots to Porches as a hobby.
His knowledge of how to get a car looking as well as running its best was also recently put to use when he helped set up the company’s new valeting and SMART repair services.
These are now available at all of ACF Car Finance’s centres which specialise in providing vehicles and arranging loans for people with impaired credit records.
The number of those unable to obtain finance from mainstream lenders is growing all the time as many institutions now insist on spotless borrowing histories, reports the company.
