It has been an extremely busy couple months in the parts department. Like most teams in the dealership our facilities are being updated with the renovations. However ours is now 90% complete and we have moved in. Our purpose built brand new warehouse in Green Street at Bartons Wynnum is a fantastic environment for our customers and staff allowing us to offer them the best experience possible.

This new warehouse is nearly double the size of our previous home and means we have been able to consolidate all of our stock in one place and streamline our operation to better efficiencies so as to improve service to all of our customers.

We are currently fitting out a new dedicated showroom for all of our caps, shirts, umbrellas, model cars, etc. With four manufacturers and two race teams (Bartons, Hyundai, Holden, Holden Racing Team, Mitsubishi, Subaru and Red Bull Racing Australia) our range when completed later this month will be quite expansive.

During this period we have also welcomed a new parts branch to the department at Capalaba which brings with it a really exciting new manufacturer in Subaru. Subaru represents a fantastic premium brand with very strong customer loyalty and support that we are really keen to get into.

We have also added a new face in Tim Pahn to our sales team and taken the opportunity to reshuffle the team so as to be able to better service customers, with Michael Watson now taking over the day to day responsibilities at Capalaba.

Our focus now is to best utilise the new space, our new staff and our new manufacturers to continually offer the best service and great genuine parts and accessories at the best value for money in Redlands and the bayside.

Diesel seems to be the new buzzword in the automotive industry. Whether it is people

extolling the virtues of the fuel consumption, driveability or the longevity of the motor,

diesel is something being discussed as a strong alternative for petrol.

What a lot of people do not consider though is the cost vs reward for diesel vehicles, and

whether they are suitable for the type of driving that each individual customer does. There

are a number of different factors that should be considered when deciding which fuel is

going to be more suitable for you.

• Annual kilometres travelled

• Servicing intervals

• Style of driving

• Resale value

• Purchase price

• How long you will keep the car

• Fuel price

Here are two examples;

Dodie, our Hyundai sales manager drives to and from work every day, averaging about 12

kilometres each way. She is in stop start traffic for the majority of her commute and never

really gets up to speeds above 70km/h. She only uses her vehicle for driving to and from

work. With this being the general use of the vehicle for Dodie, she is not going to see the

benefits of owning a diesel vehicle. The higher cost of purchase initially and higher fuel

cost and service costs will not be recouped over the time that she owns the vehicle by the

savings in fuel consumption that she sees, due to the low kilometres.

Jocelyn, Dodie’s mother, works for BlueCare, so is constantly on the road racking up

kilometres as she travels from her home every morning to various different clients. A

majority of this is highway driving, where some of the major benefits of a diesel motor

are realised. She typically owns her cars for up to 5 years. After 3 years in her current car,

she already has 67000 kilometres on the clock. For Jocelyn, the savings in fuel over the

kilometres she drives, with the type of driving she does will outweigh the extra cost in

purchasing the vehicle, along with slight dearer fuel and servicing costs. Jocelyn will also

benefit from higher resale value at the end of her 5 years ownership due to less concerns

about reliability of diesel motors with higher kilometres.

These are two fairly common examples which illustrate the different circumstances that

will determine which is a better way to go for you – diesel or petrol? Why don’t you come

on down to Barton’s and speak to one of our friendly consultants to see what is going to be

more suitable for you?