9:14 pm, November 10, 2024
Wheeler Dealer star Mike Brewer has opened a used car dealership of his very own once again – and Car Dealer has been given an exclusive tour.
The One Automotive showroom, based in Warwick, sells used cars and vans and turns over around 40 vehicles a month.
Brewer, host of our upcoming Used Car Awards, opened the business after encouragement from his wife Michelle and went into business with James Elkington, a car dealer who he met on an episode of his TV programme.
In a video tour of his showroom, which you can watch above, Brewer said: ‘I bumped into my now business partner, James, who actually sold me a car on Wheeler Dealers Dream Car.
‘It was a MKI Golf GTI, which you’ll see he’s got a model on his desk as a memory of that very occasion.
‘James had a little van centre already and had this concept of selling vans, and I really liked it. I just loved what he was doing.
‘I came home and spoke to Michelle about it, and said, I met this guy today. And she said “get him down – let’s have a meeting”.
‘So, of course, we did. I bought him down here and we sat up there on the balcony overlooking what was the car collection, and Michelle said, “we’ll get rid of these. We just put vans in here”. And I’m like “Oh, wait, okay, well, that’s happening then”.’
Brewer’s dealership is now packed with Ford Transit vans that he and his team modify before sale. He changes the grilles for Ford Raptor style ones, upgrades the wheels and even fits some out with beds and pop tops.
He then sells them across the country as well as a mixture of family-friendly used SUVs and sportier Ford Fiesta ST models.
Brewer spends a lot of his time at the used car dealership and often buys and sells the cars and vans he has in stock.
He added: ‘This is my hangout. I absolutely love it. It’s great.
‘You know, I’ve never not been a car dealer. I know a lot of people you know out there think I’m some kind of fake idiot on TV. But no, I’ve had Mike Brewer Motors for 12 years.
‘I was born into the motor trade. I’ve been a car dealer for 45 years. I’ve never stopped buying.’
Brewer has even employed his daughter Chloe to work in the business and his wife Michelle is often actively involved in the business too – it’s quickly become a family affair.
Brewer added: ‘When somebody comes in, they choose to buy a vehicle from us for two reasons: Number one is they can see I’m front of house and I’m all over the business.
‘And number two, they look at our ratings, and our Google ratings, and our reviews are astonishing. They really are good, and I’m really proud of that.’
Recently, Brewer and his dealership were victims of a con when criminals bought a VW Golf over the phone using a credit card. He told Car Dealer about the scam in a separate video interview, which you can watch here.
The experience hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm for the industry, though.
He added: ‘Me and James are very determined to push this business even further. We have invested heavily in staff.
‘This is, for me, a long term investment plan, and hopefully one day it’s gonna pay dividends and pay rewards.’
You can watch the full showroom tour and see Mike’ advice for our Clever Car Collection project in the video above. The Used Car Awards, hosted by Brewer, takes place on Monday, November 25.
