Northern Ireland's most prominent motor group Charles Hurst, has announced its participation in Car Dealer's ‘100 days of Trading Up’ in a bid to help raise £100,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital.
The 100-day challenge will see James Baggot, MD of the popular car magazine, travel over the UK and trade as many cars as possible in a bid to reach his target.
Explaining the concept James said: “So how does it work? Well, the idea is dealers give me as much as possible for the current car I’m in as they can, and then offer me a trade that’s worth as much as they can afford. Their donation to the charity comes by way of the difference between the two”
To start the event, James collected a 54-plate Lexus LS430 from the Charles Hurst campus. While there he also enjoyed a tour of the 'mini city of car dealerships' undertaken by Group Operations Director, Colin McNab. The luxury saloon, bought for the bargain price of £100, has already been traded for a 6-year old Vauxhall Astra which is a healthy step northwards on the 'Trading Up' ladder.
Speaking of the Group's involvement, MD Nigel McMinn remarked:
“If anyone is going to embark on a car trading up challenge from Belfast to London in 100 days, the starting point has to be the largest motoring complex in Europe – the Charles Hurst division of Lookers Group. Our unique 28 acre site is such an incredible part of the business and we are immensely proud that it has been chosen as the launch location and the first car provider for this Car Dealer challenge. To be part of this national event which will see all proceeds go to the fantastic Great Ormond Street Hospital charity, makes it all more than worthwhile.”
Next stop for James will be Glasgow before travelling through Scotland and on to Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Thereafter he will head south and stop at dealer groups in Newcastle, Leeds, Leicester, Nottingham, Birmingham, Oxford and London.
The fully story of the trip will be published in the first part of the 100 Days of Trading Up feature in the 100th issue of Car Dealer magazine. You can also follow James on his adventure through the Car Dealer website and on his Twitter feed @CarDealerEd - hashtag #100Days.
