PMM reporter Alex Wells recently visited a Land Rover specialist on the verge of moving to a new site after 40 years in business.
West Sussex-based Coles Automotive might be turning 40 in 2027, but this is no midlife crisis; this is a business just getting into its stride. Leveraging its established national reputation as a Land Rover/Range Rover specialist, it has recently become an approved repairer for the Ineos brand and is on the cusp of expanding to a new purpose-built facility three years in the planning.
Nestled just under the South Downs, north of Brighton & Hove and Shoreham, Coles Automotive sits in a bucolic spot surrounded by fields, just outside the village of Edburton. Despite the idyllic setting, the garage is a hive of automotive activity, with nine techs working on 10 ramps based across two main workshops, with a pair of smaller facilities used for classics and additional jobs. MOTs are a factor as well, with a Class 4 and a Class 7 bay. In addition, the site has a valeting bay and a tyre bay. When customers arrive, there is a purpose-built reception, manned by four front-of-house staff.
Founder Alex Cole first opened the doors on the business in 1987, and he rented the site for the first 10 years before getting the opportunity to buy. While the garage covers all marques, its USP is appropriate considering the rural location. “We specialise in Land Rovers and Range Rovers,” explained Alex, “partly because of my personal interest. We see old-school Land Rovers, but also a lot of Evoques, Range Rover Sports and the new Range Rovers. On an average day we might have about 75 vehicles onsite, including in the workshop. It varies, plus we sell cars too.”
Then there are the 25 courtesy cars. “It’s a lot,” admitted Alex, “but it enables us to get the jobs in. It can be high pressure enough with people demanding their cars back. At least we can say, ‘it might not be what you’re used to, but at least you can get to and from work.'”
Many of the customers come in from nearby small towns like Henfield and Steyning, or the larger coastal conurbations on the other side of the South Downs. They tend to keep their clients though, even when they move away. “We have customers who arrange their servicing with us to coincide with their local visits,” he explained.
They can come from as far away as the West Country. Today, we dropped a car back to Kent, and we went to another part of Kent to pick up another to bring it back here.
When it comes to the hardcore Land Rover customers, the sky’s the limit, or at least Yorkshire, whichever comes first: “We have one customer drives down from Leeds. He’d had a lot of work done up there, and they’d made quite a few mistakes, and couldn’t get it sorted, so it came back to us.”
Opportunity
Since Land Rover stopped making the original Defender, the gap in the market has been decisively filled by the Ineos Grenadier. With the vehicle attracting buyers who are often former or concurrent Land Rover owners, Alex spotted an opportunity and the business recently became an authorised repairer for the brand. “Overall, 35-40 per cent is Land Rover, and now 10-15 per cent is Ineos too,” he revealed. “We charge £150 an hour for the Ineos warranty work, and they are not quick jobs. There’s a lot that needs doing on them. A customer will bring one in for a standard service, and it’s got multiple outstanding campaigns that could take an extra 20 hours.”
Fortunately, when it comes to Grenadier owners, they are dealing with enthusiasts. “They’re nice people,” noted Alex. “Very passionate about the brand. They liked old Land Rovers, and they’ve switched to Ineos. Actually, quite a few will have a Grenadier, and a Land Rover, and a VW Golf, and something else.”
All-new
The next big challenge is the opening of a purpose-built all-new facility, a few miles away outside Henfield, a move which will take Coles Automotive to the status of a multi-site. “We’ve been building for the last three years,” Alex explained, “and it’s finally coming together.”
“We’ll have 10 ramps up there, with six down here, taking us up to 16 ramps. There’s zero passing trade here, but at the new site we’ll be much more visible. If we get really busy, as we predict, we can use this site as an overflow.”
Building up the business has meant that Alex has gradually moved away from a hands-on role. “Over the last three years I have really pulled back from working on the cars. I dropped out of being an MOT Tester about two years ago. Although I’ve got four people in the office, and the day-to-day stuff now is run by the guys down there, I’m needed to look at the bigger stuff, and implement the major changes, like the move.”
Alex is a great believer in training, but he finds the networking almost as useful as the courses: “Generally speaking, local garages don’t get together, but you meet on the various courses, and then everyone’s very keen to tell you what they do to improve their business. I speak to those in my team, and my wife as well, and I get ideas, but it’s really good to speak to others in the trade.”
Skillset
With almost 40 years behind him, Alex reflected on the future. “There are fewer and fewer small garages, as they just can’t communicate with the cars. If you’re turning a Hyundai i10 away because you can’t access it, then you’re going to be turning everything away. You need to be able to communicate with the vehicle. There’s only certain things that are restricted, such as key coding, which is covered by SERMI, which we recently signed up to. We have genuine Land Rover diagnostic kit which costs a fortune. But equally, if you don’t have that, you just can’t fix the car. We also use Opus IVS for diagnostic support with repairs.”
If you want to stay in business Alex believes you need to keep your options open: “Our new site will be an EV centre… You’ve got to adapt. If there are more EVs, then the opportunity is in MOTs, tyres, brakes, and being able to do everything under one roof.”
