2:35 pm, November 13, 2010
Winner: ThameServiceStation.co.uk
Produced by: GForces
Highly commended: Mccarthycars.co.uk
Highly commended: Motorite.co.uk
Even independent dealers can compete with the big boys online and our Eward winner for 2010 is a perfect example of that. Thame Service Station has produced a stunning website for its new and nearly new sites in Oxford, High Wycombe and Aylesbury which highlights stock in a way that would put many franchised dealers to shame.
Its used car listings are clear and well laid out with plenty of pictures, detail and lots of ways to contact sales staff, including live chat.
The adverts can be easily downloaded in PDF format, buyers can save and compare their favourite cars and even work out finance quotes in seconds – all without navigating away from the listing itself. Judges were impressed with the Facebook integration too as well as the approachable style the dealer had taken online.
Thames Service Station sales director Nick Allen said: ‘We are hugely delighted to be awarded the Car Dealer Magazine Eward for Independent Dealer Website of the Year. At Thame Service Station we passionately believe that our website should give our customers a great experience of dealing with TSS before they phone or visit.
‘We know that if our website is easy and pleasurable to use, then this is the impression our customers will get of the business. We didn’t want anyone to have to click more than three times to reach their destination. So we wanted to design a site with this in mind, and also easy to manage internally.
‘We went to GForces with our criteria and after a long discussion and design period we arrived with this site in January. The site of course has to evolve with the ever-changing face of the internet and the car market, so the constant SEO work we do is crucial to the success of the website.
‘We believe that being fully transparent through our website is the way forward for TSS, and our mission now is to develop the site so that within the next 12 months we will be able to sell cars online 24/7.’
Autotorq.com talk:
THIS website is definitely the best entry in this class and worthy winner with a clean layout, design and functionality. The site has well-placed calls to action and a good used car search tool. The bar has definitely been raised in this category!
