Frequently Asked Questions

“The IMDA is the Independent Motor Dealer Association, which has been set up for both non-franchised and franchised independent motor dealers. Its values are based on the association being formed as a ‘not for profit’ model, built by those in the industry, for people in the industry. Our core value is ‘for passion and not for profit,’ with all the founding members currently working daily within the independent sector alongside our industry expert Philip Nothard.”

“Our members are:

• Stuart Saunders  Urban Car Company
• David Bilsborough  Cheshire Cars
• Philip Nothard  Industry Expert
• Jim Reid   Jim Reid Vehicle Sales
• Chris Roach  Chequers Cars Lightwater
• Umesh Samani  Specialist Cars Stoke

All of the founding members have a vast amount of work and motor trade industry experience with each of them currently being owner/operator business owners as well as being an industry expert. It is fair to say that each one of us has experienced all of the industry’s ‘highs and lows,’ during our time in the industry.”

"The IMDA has been set up to assist and support all independent dealers. Therefore, all new members will need to be:

• VAT registered;
• compliant with ‘Treating Customers Fairly’; plus,
• open to having their application reviewed by an independent third party.

The IMDA will be acting with the highest levels of professionalism and we will expect the same from all our members. The cornerstone will be the dealer treating all customers fairly."

“The short-term goal was to agree that such an association for the independent motor dealers was needed. Once this was agreed we set about creating the association, a constitution and its core pillars and mission statement.

We then voted for a Chairman and Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer.

Next, we created a joining page where potential members and suppliers are able to register their interest in becoming members and suppliers to the IMDA. Very quickly we saw large numbers of both dealers and suppliers registering which took us onto releasing our first press release.

We are now in the process of developing our agreed website with functionality which will be user friendly. We have in place a forum which has been given the full IMDA branding and already has a very strong presence of independent dealer and supplier members already making use of the established forum.

This we are seeing as our medium term goal alongside starting to agree our supplier’s terms and conditions alongside the same for potential members who have expressed interest to join.

The next step is to begin empowering the members and allowing them to trade with confidence, knowing that they are not only already compliant in their day-to-day business but also have the IMDA behind them.

Ultimately we see the IMDA being a major player in the industry, providing members with the ‘go to’ option for any and all questions they have for years to come. We see the communication coming in and leaving the association both with ourselves as founding members, our members and suppliers, plus other associations and legislative bodies as key to the long term goals of the IMDA and its members.

The IMDA will listen then offer a solution to matters that arise alongside promoting good practice and projecting our message through our association and the wider media including up to the trade bodies and, ultimately, the government.”

“Other than the obvious benefits are belonging to the only association that solely represents the Independent Motor Dealer sector here in the UK, the many other benefits are long and far ranging.

The suppliers that will be working alongside the association and its membership will have been carefully chosen. They will need to demonstrate that their values of doing business fits into the association’s ways of transparency and openness and being able to demonstrate their services and product/s will make a significant difference to our membership.

This should be not based on cost alone but on a combination of value, time saving and enhancement to the members’ business.

The IMDA will expect all the chosen suppliers to fully engage with all members if only to agree the product or service is not a fit for that member.”

“Absolutely, this is one of the main reasons for setting up the association. There will be workshops, an online forum and advice boards open to all members to ask or answer questions. We are promoting ‘Excellence’ across our sector both with members and suppliers alike. We plan at least one national awards and celebration evening every year to recognise a wide section of our members and suppliers.”