Dakar Cars voted Garage of the Year

Land Rover specialist, Dakar Cars, has won the prestigious 2009 Garage of the Year title in the Car and Accessory Trader (CAT) Magazine Awards.

Dakar managing director Barry Chantler and operations manager Chris Barnett were presented with the Award by rally legend Paddy Hopkirk at the annual Autosport International Show.

Dakar Cars, based in Dartford and Bexley, was launched in 1991 to design and build the Dakar 4x4 made famous by Anneka Rice in her show, Challenge Anneka. In the last seven years, the business has expanded to two locations and offers MOT and services, diagnostics, tyres and exhausts and a Parts Counter, where customers can buy Land Rover parts.

The five-bay service and MOT workshops can cater for any vehicle but specialise in all types of Land Rovers. The CAT award tops an exciting few years for the firm, which has grown rapidly since adding the MOT bay in 2005.

The expansion is set to continue, with the launch of a trade parts delivery service planned for the coming months.

“We are all delighted to officially be named Garage of the Year,” beamed Barry. “It’s the icing on the cake after a few years in which we’ve really expanded as a business. All the staff have worked hard to achieve this. It’s also confirmation to all of our loyal customers that they really can be confident of getting the very best service when they come to us. I’d like to thank our sponsors at Euro Car Parts, as they’ve helped us a lot.”

The CAT Garage of the Year Award is one of six awards handed out at the market-leading automotive aftermarket magazine’s annual ceremony, held in front of 50 industry bosses.

Congratulating Barry and Chris and their team on their win, CAT editor Emma Butcher said: “It is a real honour to receive a CAT Award because winners are not selected by a judging panel but voted for by the people who do business with them on a day-to-day basis. It is testament to Dakar Cars’ commitment to providing a high-quality, professional and friendly service that their customers, suppliers and peers chose them as their Garage of the Year for 2009.”

Employing 13 members of staff, Dakar Cars is part of the Good Garage Scheme, which means it carries out services to a strict standard and will always have the customers’ best interests at heart. It also allows the company’s 4000 or so customers to give feedback to an independent trade body on its performance, with the comments ultimately published online.

For more information, visit dakar.co.uk