On a recent visit to interview the Dealer Principal and other staff at Thorp Motors in Tableview, Dealerfloor shared the waiting room with an older customer, patiently waiting for his car, which was being serviced there.
Share with friends
“You know, I’ve been coming here for many years, still driving the same car I bought back in 2009 from Suzuki Helderberg,” the friendly Tony Carvounes starts up a conversation.
Tony, a partner at Candytron in the nearby Montague Gardens, looks like the retired businessman he is – neatly but casually dressed for the out-of-the-norm warm, windless day in the middle of July; relaxed and patient.
He starts chatting about what he calls “the great service”: “I brought in my car for a quick service and they said it would be ready within the hour,” he says as we were approached by a young man dressed in overalls, holding the keys in his hand.
“She’s ready, Mr Carvounes,” he says from behind his mask.
But Tony wants to chat more. “Thanks,” he says, taking the keys and holding them in his hand, but not moving to get up and into his car quite yet.
“Eleven years ago, I went to another Suzuki branch to look at the SX4. They said they’d call me back. I’m still waiting for the call,” he recalls. “I then approached Helderberg Suzuki where I bought the SX4. What a lovely car. I brought it here for every service, and I still bring it here today. She’s a bit older now, but still the car of choice for me!”
Tony’s brother and his wife have a Grand Vitara and a Swift, he says.
“To me the car is great, but the service is better – that’s why my family and I are still here.”
Tony’s staff at Candytron, local importers and distributors of quality products such as candy, liquorice as well as olives and olive oil, also use a Suzuki Swift, while his niece drives “a smaller one”, the Suzuki Ignis.
“I love the Suzuki brand and their products, but the reason is the people here at my dealership.”
The service department is run by Service Manager Moosa Toffar.
Omoda has officially unveiled its new C3. Building on the legacy of “Art in Motion”, the C3 draws inspiration from lightning, merging cyber-futuristic sharpness with deconstructed lines and electric energy to redefine aesthetic expression, the manufacturer claims.
The latest Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition clearly showed the worldwide shift towards new-energy drivetrains like battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).
Audi Centre Sandton was named 2024 Dealer of the Year, while Hatfield Motor Group walked away with the coveted 2024 Dealer Group of the Year prize during Audi South Africa’s annual Vorsprung Awards.
Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives.
Audi Centre Sandton was named 2024 Dealer of the Year, while Hatfield Motor Group walked away with the coveted 2024 Dealer Group of the Year prize during Audi South Africa’s annual Vorsprung Awards.
For a dealership to make an 180-degree U-turn within two years and then went on to win the overall Volkswagen Dealer of the Year award, is no small feat.
After 28 years as the Ford dealership in the rural town of Aliwal North, the Blue Oval will no longer be officially represented in this part of the Eastern Cape.