Farouk Dangor, owner of the well-known Speedy Car Sales in Klerksdorp, will soon be celebrating his 40th anniversary in the exclusive pre-owned car business in South Africa. Dealerfloor approached him about the business that led to numerous awards and accolades and the fascinating motorsport museum at the dealership.
At a young age, Farouk kicked off with R300 start-up capital from his late father in 1974, buying and selling mag wheels in Klerksdorp with all odds against him in the apartheid era. He had to acquire a white nominee to trade under his name, but despite all these obstacles, he persevered and in November 1980 started Speedy Car Sales.
The rest is history. His determination and passion for motor cars and customer service have made him an ABSA Golden Dealer Award winner for 31 successive years and in the process he was also the Top Executive Dealer for 10 years in South Africa.
His passion led him to be the first Indian racer in 1980 to represent South Africa against the world team in Hotrod racing. He moved on to National Group N Production Cars and later in South African Touring cars with lots of successes recorded. He was also the first Indian and only Klerksdorp racer to have competed in the most difficult race in the world during a 24-hour endurance race at Nurburgring in Germany in 1992.
He was nominated as businessman of the year for Klerksdorp and Wesbank Muslim Businessman of the Year in South Africa.
His late son, Mohamed, decided to celebrate his achievements by creating a modern-day motor museum in Klerksdorp. His original racing cars have been restored to their original specs. (BMW 325 IS, Opel Super Boss, BMW M3 British Touring Car) and can be viewed at the museum.
The late Mohamed also acquired original race suits and helmets from Formula 1 drivers and most of the top South African racing drivers against whom Farouk competed in the early Nineties, which is regarded as the golden era of motor racing in the country. Some of the racing drivers include the likes of Tony Viana, Michael Biggs, Shaun van der Linde, Giniel de Villiers, Robbie Smith and Willie Hepburn.
Today, Speedy Car Sales stocks over 250 vehicles from a Ford Figo to Ferraris. The Speedy logo reads “Always One Step Ahead”. Speedy Car Sales is known for having stock of latest models at times, even before the vehicles are available at official dealerships. Speedy is respected and recognised for its service excellence and professionalism that it offers and delivers nationally in South Africa with its own delivery trucks.
Farouk is also a philanthropist and has served as treasurer of the Klerksdorp Muslim Community for the past 21 years.
Farouk says through the grace of the Almighty, it started from two sets of mags 46 years ago and it has become a huge success story!
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As we all know, the profit of a motor dealership comes from several areas and each of them needs to be monitored closely if you want to ensure that your dealership performs well.
The bakkie war has intensified with the local launch of Mitsubishi’s next-generation Triton, an evolution in the iconic bakkie’s 46-year legacy.
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If you are not taking care of your customer, your competitor will.
Bob Hooey
As we all know, the profit of a motor dealership comes from several areas and each of them needs to be monitored closely if you want to ensure that your dealership performs well.
Unlike in the past, when dealerships primarily waited for customers to come to them, we now take a more proactive approach, bringing our vehicles directly to places where people gather, allowing them to experience the product first-hand, including offering test drives,” says Gerrie van der Kaay, Dealer Principal at Supergroup Dealerships Jetour Midrand.
One of the latest Chinese automotive brands to establish itself in South Africa, GAC Motor, is benefitting from the expertise of well-known motor groups in the country, like the BB Motor Group.
