THE OWNER of a popular used car dealership has said it will be “emotional” when the garage closes in just days.
The family-run garage will shut on June 26 after more than 60 years in business.
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Karen Elam, who runs Stade Street Garage in Hythe, Kent, said she was “sorry to leave all our customers stranded”.
The 61-year-old took over the business two years ago, after her husband Jon sadly died aged 67.
He had worked at the Hythe garage since he was a teenager – after his father Lawrence Elam bought the site 62 years ago.
“I will miss it because it’s Jon’s – I just feel like the whole business is him and it will be emotional,” Karen told Kent Online.
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“It’s cutting part of Jon but he’ll still always be with me in my heart and head.”
A Ford dealership for a time in the 70s and 80s, the garage later became an independent dealer.
It sells used cars of a variety of brands and offers repairs.
Now, Karen has decided it is time to wave goodbye to her beloved garage as she it going to retire.
But she said she would miss the customers who made the dealership special.
She added: “I’ve loved having them all through the years. Customers have become our friends.
“It’s so lovely, you can have a hug, you can have a kiss on the cheek – we can have banter.”
The closure announcement comes just weeks after massive used car supermarket Cargiant shut for good.
It closed its near-50 acre site in London on April 24 after its owners were unable to “secure a viable future for the business”.
As customers have been more cautious about purchasing vehicles, dealerships have been pressured to sell more units and adjust to the shifting market.
Just this month, used car dealership Flow Motors LTD entered voluntary liquidation after owing more than £60,000.
The Swindon-based company, which has been operating since 2019, fell into financial difficulties last year.
After last month’s news that Cargiant would be closing, the managing director of AA Cars, James Hosking, spoke about what these ongoing dealership closures mean.
Speaking to the Express, he said: “The closure of another used car dealer underlines the level of pressure across the market right now, and the number of closures we’re seeing reflects how persistent those pressures have become.
“This isn’t about demand disappearing, but about a market that has become more competitive, more price-sensitive and less predictable. Dealers are having to be sharper on pricing, more disciplined on stock, and more efficient across their operations.
“This is less about dealers being unable to sell cars and more about how the dynamics of demand have shifted. There is still demand from buyers, but people are more cautious and more price-conscious than they were a few years ago, often taking longer to commit and placing greater emphasis on value.”
