Justin Store

1) Initial information gathering Dealers know that just as important as how the dealership looks, is how the dealership works. Ask yourself: How do my customers and staff use my dealership for day-to-day activities? Can my sales team see the lot without obstruction? Do my customers have clear routes to the service area / workshop? Where is the guest bathroom located? How large does the showroom need to be to accommodate the number of cars we want to display? Given our planning volume and service growth goals, how many service bays do we need in the body shop? How many technicians? 2) Car showroom design considerations Car showrooms need to be located on highly visible sites with good access to main transport routes and an eye-catching frontage. Of course, displaying your car range is paramount, and the layout and orientation of sites and display areas will have a major impact on sales. These considerations will affect environmental control strategies, since not all buildings can be oriented to mitigate solar gain, and heavily tinted solar control glass is not generally considered for the main facade. The current trend is for a double-height display area with the main frontage in full-height glazing. This makes a design statement and provides high visibility for new vehicles. 3) Funding and procurement For most car showroom developers, design and build is the preferred procurement route. It is ideally suited because the typical showroom is neither large nor complex. Employers’ requirements can be issued at a relatively late stage of design, and will incorporate prescriptive designs and specifications for completion by the contractor’s team. Design and build offers clients, who are not professional developers, the opportunity to use a manufacturer’s pre-determined corporate specifications and finishes (such as access door providers), while transferring design, commercial, and construction risk to the contractor, obtaining cost certainty with a consistent quality finish.