A used car dealer who started his business on his driveway during lockdown has now realised his dream of a state-of-the-art showroom.
Steve Kempster lost his job at the start of the pandemic and started up the side hustle from his home in Rugby, West Midlands, to generate some much-needed cash.
Instagram /.@klassified_ltdSteve Kempster started Klassified Cars from his driveway during the pandemic[/caption]
Instagram /.@klassified_ltdNow he and business partner Richard Turrall have opened their dream showroom in Rugby, West Midlands[/caption]
Steve, 34, spent the £2,000 he had left in his savings account to snap up two bargain motors to sell on and has seen the enterprise grow ever since.
He built his own website and set himself up on AutoTrader to try and get off the ground, quickly seeing good returns.
Now, he has been able to open his own dealership in the town, specialising in high-end German cars from Audi, BMW, Mercedes and VW.
All this was achieved with the help of his best mate and business partner Richard Turrall.
Under the banner of Klassified Cars, the pair are celebrating the culmination of three years of hard graft.
They took over a disused site and transformed it over four months into the outlet of their dreams.
Steve told Car Dealer Magazine: “There’s not many car salespeople that can say they worked from home, but the low overheads enabled me to invest in more stock in the early days and I focused on showcasing my range online – which worked particularly well during the pandemic.
“People keep asking me how we’ve managed to achieve so much in such a short space of time and I only have two words: hard work. It really is as simple as that.
“From buying the first couple of cars to doing most of the renovations to the showroom ourselves, we’ve constantly given it our all.”
He admitted that he and Richard hadn’t quite taken in the scale of their achievement until their grand opening, and said that they were “so proud” of what they had managed to create.
Richard, 33, added that the site is “exactly” what they wanted and vowed that they would keep “customer experience” at the heart of everything they do.
He went on: “We pride ourselves on providing exceptional service, transparent pricing and tailored solutions, ensuring a hassle-free and enjoyable car buying process.”
And looking back on the last three years, Steve urged other budding entrepreneurs to follow their passion, calling it “incredibly rewarding”.
It comes after a major rental company U-turned on its EV rollout amid a significant issue.
Meanwhile, Top Gear legend Richard Hammond explained why drivers won’t rush to buy EVs, despite them being “amazing”.