A CAR dealership group from the North East has become one of the first to be given five star ratings in a new scheme which recognises best sales practice.
The Benfield Motor Group has been praised by UsedCarExpert for its good customer practice and fairly priced stock.
Another award has been made to the Motor Parks dealerships operated by Cambrian Automobiles, mainly in the Home Counties and in the North West of England.
UsedCarExpert, which analyses the prices of up 200,000 used cars every month, will be making only 12 awards in the coming year.
Matt Tumbridge, who edits the UsedCarExpert.co.uk website, said: “It is becoming harder and harder for the UK's army of used car buyers to get all the back-up of a main dealer yet still find a low-priced car.
“And it is harder still to find sites where there is a wide mix of stock from different brands, which can be key for buyers who don’t know what car they want – but it is a fair bet they will know just what they want a car to do.
“Now, if buyers see a motor for sale either on our site or elsewhere with the UsedCarExpert award logo on it, they will know the dealer has passed our stringent inspection, including the key offering of a Used Approved scheme or similar.”
Mr Tumbridge said that Motor Parks was selected because it offers 'main dealer back-up' with the prices and variety of stock you might expect from a car supermarket.
Benfield won because of its exceptional levels of customer care and a remarkable commitment to quality.
“These are outstanding dealers and we believe that promoting this will see other dealers raise their game - improving the market for ordinary car buyers,” said Mr Tumbridge.