You’ve probably heard the radio jingle, the distinct Welsh voice imploring us, with passion, to get our hands on an MG. So, what is the buzz surrounding Nathaniel Cars? Style of the city went to their Bridgend showroom to find out.
Nathaniel Cars is a family-run business dating back over 40 years. Founder Wayne Griffiths is still managing director and has a very active role in the day-to-day operations. However, for the last 23 years, Wayne has been joined by his son Nathan who has just as much passion for the business and shares the same ethos of giving customers a different ‘car-buying’ experience. Nathan says, “At Nathaniel, we don’t go out of our way to be different; we’re simply just different!”
From the moment you walk into their Bridgend showroom, you can immediately feel that difference. It’s relaxed, friendly and welcoming. There’s even a husky too! Nala is Nathans’s dog who accompanies him daily to work and can be found roaming the business looking for tummy tickles from customers and staff alike. “By having Nala here, we wanted our customers to have a more homely feel and also make them aware that we’re dog friendly. This is important for our customers because customers will often need to see if their dog is comfortable in the boot of a car. We say bring your dogs along and let them try it; It’s also important from an after-sales perspective as our customers can bring their dog in whilst having their car serviced or MOT booked with ourselves”
Nathan states “We have over 70 courtesy cars across our Bridgend, Cardiff and Cwmbran showrooms to always keep our customers mobile. We also give free MOTs for life on all new and used cars sold. When someone trusts Nathaniel Cars for their purchase, we say ‘welcome’ instead of thanking them as we want them to be part of our Nathaniel Cars family.
Walking around the showroom, I was also amazed to see the amount of choice at the business with hundreds of pristine used cars on offer from Fiat 500s to Range Rover, Mercedes and Mazda. They also have a wide selection of new vehicles, including Fiat, Abarth, MG and even new Fiat vans. The MG range shines tall, “It’s MG that’s impacted our business over the last few years in a truly incredible way.” Says Nathan, “We’ve gone from the one site just here in Bridgend to two additional locations in Penarth Rd Cardiff and recently in Cwmbran also covering Newport; There is even a new dealership opening early next year in Swansea. We’re proud that we have an amazing team of 160 people compared to just 60 seven years ago and sell over 5000 cars and vans a year; The brand MG, is the UK’s fastest-growing car brand and currently sits in 11th place out of forty different manufacturers. This is down to a combination of a fantastic 7-year warranty, immense value for money and a decent offering of both petrol and electric cars.”
Nathan was very excited to show me the new MG convertible sports car that’s coming early next year, which was impressive, not to mention it’s fully electric, is an all-wheel drive range of circa 300 miles and a 0-60 mph of just 2 seconds!
It’s easy to see why Nathaniel has lots to be excited about in the coming years; I highly recommend visiting one of their dealerships to see for yourself.
