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Nadia Adan from Ashford Motors - interview
324 Plays3 days ago
Nadia has become a familiar face in motoring in Ireland. Whether it's her TikTok clips, her huge Instagram following or her regular appearances on both Irish TV & radio in relation to all things car news.
She has also attracted some criticism for refusing to accept trade ins or retailing any electric cars despite 2025 being one of the better years for Irish EV sales.
In this episode, Paddy and Mark visit Nadia in her new showroom in Ashford, Co. Wicklow and ask her all the questions people want to ask!
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsorship
00:00:00
Speaker
And you can't curse on this, obviously. No. Not that I do. I don't curse. Welcome to the... Good start. Welcome to the Drivers Republic podcast brought to you in association with Dundeele Motors, where more Irish drivers find their next car from a trusted dealership than anywhere else. Why?
00:00:14
Speaker
Because Dundeele's Trusted Dealer programme means verified dealerships and the kind of backup that matters, like warranties and history checks, giving you confidence from your very first click.
Significance of Ashford and New Premises
00:00:24
Speaker
Paddy, we're in Ashford.
00:00:25
Speaker
Well, we're in Ashford, but we can only be one place. Why else would we be in Ashford? Nadia, welcome. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Yeah, you're in Ashford. is I think I've put Ashford on the map, haven't I? Did you even know about Ashford before Ashford Motors? Tell the truth.
00:00:40
Speaker
Yes, i did. I think did, yeah. But this is definitely now the landmark of Ashford, isn't it? Isn't there a fishing farm somewhere nearby and hidden valleys nearby? Yes. We have lots of lovely mountains here. It is beautiful. Yeah. And the new location as well. There's so much greenery around it. We have the sea behind us up the road. You've Glendalough, the other side of it. So it really is the Garden County dealership, premier dealership. That's what i what I think we're in, you know, and it's a lovely location.
00:01:06
Speaker
We're particularly blessed as well with the weather today. It's beautiful outside. Beautiful outside. So we'll get into the whole life story in a second, but we're in your new, is this your new premises, your
Nadia's Business Growth Story
00:01:16
Speaker
revised premises? How do you describe? Because you have two. Yes. So this is the brand new premises and that I bought. So this used to belong to a gentleman called Jimmy Healy.
00:01:25
Speaker
And Jimmy Healy sold trucks and vans here for 30 years. So he's it's a very well known spot for automobiles. And I'm sure he sold the odd car. And Jimmy actually lives next door to me. So he's always in here having a cup of tea.
00:01:37
Speaker
Delighted with what we've done with the place. So it was a totally empty yard. And ah we built, not me, the builders obviously built the the showroom and we did all the work around it and the ramp and everything that's gone into it and it's taken a year to do and So I actually got this place this time last year. It was actually this week, which is, it's kind of mad being in here now and started the process. And I never actually took a mortgage on the build itself. So that's the business paid for that. So that's why it took so long because I wanted to take just keep it as organic as possible.
00:02:10
Speaker
and But I wanted an amazing job and I wanted the Ashford that I've been building, you know, myself for the last five years because I put it out there so much and, It's almost like I put the cart in front of the horse. I wanted to finally give people what they deserved, you know.
00:02:26
Speaker
It's been amazing to be down here so far today to see the activity that goes on because it's a busy showroom and you are incredibly busy. Take us back though to the to to the
Experiences from Somalia Shaping Career
00:02:35
Speaker
the original story now. I know you've told your story a couple of times before, but how did you get here? Because it's been quite a journey.
00:02:41
Speaker
Yeah, it has. i'm i suppose I started Oxford or just the whole journey from beginning. career because I mean. My career, I'm like, do you want to go back to Somalia? You don't trust I've heard you tell the Somalia story before. and I'd love to hear a little bit of it because it I think it's really important and how it shaped the person you are now. Yeah. So give us a little bit of that.
00:03:00
Speaker
I think, yeah, I think without getting into the details again, because it's so documented out there, I think it definitely gave me resilience and And it gave me a sort of um identity to be able to get on with anyone in life because I i went through so many different situations of being in camps and being homeless and then having been in school and my education and everything going my mom and her culture was different.
00:03:24
Speaker
so And then trying to get on with people from my estate to get friends or whatever. So I think I've always and I always talked myself into a really good job. You know, I was finished up as a stockbroker and I was an equity analyst before that. So I was always able to talk myself into jobs or talk to my so teachers to like give me more time when I was late on paper stuff like that. So oh just gift of the gab maybe, I don't know, you know.
00:03:48
Speaker
and And I think just having that really helped what I'm doing now. And then also to be able to get on with someone who is literally has nothing, a homeless person maybe on the side the street that has nothing, or I can talk to a CEO.
00:04:00
Speaker
and that can come in into me and it's I don't have that motor trade background. I wasn't given anything. I don't have a family behind me. i don't have a big, big money bank behind me. I just have me and what I've built and how I've made that made money and also bank loans, you know, so. It's it's all really, really organic. and But it's it's such a great place
Diverse Team Enhancing Industry Approach
00:04:20
Speaker
we've built here. And, you know, I was saying the great thing about us is none of us come from the motor trade, really. So, you know, my sales manager, he comes from biochemistry. My other manager, office manager, comes from hospitality.
00:04:33
Speaker
and The MD comes from police background, which trust me, you know, it does help you when you're bringing in cars and you need to check you know, what they're like or where they come from, because actually some cars in the past have been dodgy that i've I've come across my way that maybe they've been using hits or something. You wouldn't know. So just we all have different, you know, traits that we bring to the job. And I think that's why we're different and that's why we get on and and that's why we can be who we are, because we don't come from the norm.
Accidental Entry into the Motor Industry
00:05:02
Speaker
So what was the appeal of the motor industry? I think it was literally by accident because I was working as a stockbroker and i remember I had my first car. It was a 320 08 M Sport Coupe in white. It was manual. It was lovely. I took my first loan, bought my first car. And I remember i was working with all these traders and they were all on so much more money than me. And they were driving, you know, Porsche, GT3s, Range Rover Sports, M5s, just really, really high-end cars.
00:05:28
Speaker
And I took my first loan, got my first car. I remember at the time I tried to trade it in, I didn't get a price I was happy with. So I just put up on Dundeal myself. It was actually adverts at the time, wasn't even Dundeal. And I sold it and I actually made a few quid on the car.
00:05:40
Speaker
I did it a few more times. and And then eventually I was kind of, I was enjoying it, you know, and i had to learn along the way. And, ah you know, you kind of meet people, you meet people in the trade and then eventually some people you get trust from, they might give you a car to sell on credit.
00:05:56
Speaker
and And you build up those relationships. But just before the pandemic, I said, fa you know, I'm not happy in my job. And I wasn't for a while. It just wasn't me sitting down at a computer for 12 hours a day, seven days a week. And it was very like finance. It was just really heavily, you know, was pigeonholed into one role.
00:06:14
Speaker
um and i i had to But I had to get to a point where I had enough money that I could pay you know rent for a year if I had a quiet few weeks because I was only doing maybe one car a week or one car a month you know because I only had two, three cars starting off with and every time I sold a car and made a grand or two grand or whatever it was, just reinvested it straight away. Didn't take a penny out of it unless it was really necessary.
00:06:38
Speaker
So that was one of the things I always did was just put money back into the cars and And then even like it's funny today having the valeture and having all the guys around me cleaning cars. But I remember I used to clean the cars myself. I used to get a shoe shine, polish shoe shine.
00:06:51
Speaker
And whenever I had an old car that had cracks around the steering wheel, I'd use that to polish it up. I'd be praying the customer wouldn't put their hands on it because they just have two big black hands, you know. Or like another good ah tip is a Tippex.
00:07:05
Speaker
So if you're selling a white car and there's, you know, little marks on the body, this is called bootleg
Family Dynamics and Career Secrecy
00:07:11
Speaker
selling cars. one-on-one but that's all stuff you had to do because you were saving yourself money like that was back then by the way that's not now we just oh yeah yeah yeah no we're good we have a valider now we're all good can i just uh ask the question actually because i remember when you were telling your your story and and how you when you moved to ireland one thing that i remember from the conversation specifically was the amount of jobs your mom did to help you get an education So when you decided, not that you were parking what you'd done in college, because no doubt you use that every day in business. yeah Did you feel like you had to say to her, I'm thinking of getting out of what I've been doing?
00:07:47
Speaker
I didn't tell her for a long time. i didn't even tell her until I was like in the new place pretty much full time. And because I knew she'd be really upset with me because she put so much time and money into my education, especially the master's and everything. And When I used to repeat exams, she used to hire tutors and she put every penny she got into my education and she she was telling everyone, you know, that was left back home, that I was going to be CEO of Citibank or something, you know. So you know this to tell her, oh no, ma'am, I'm actually going to sell like two grand cars and meet people at Tesco at seven o'clock in the evening or meet people at the Circle K and I just couldn't say to her I really couldn't until I got to the point where I was making a few quid and the money was kind of coming in a little bit a little bit but that didn't happen for a long time either and then I just said it to her and she went mental and she wasn't happy with me at all and then eventually when things started
00:08:38
Speaker
getting better and better and better and she could see and she could see the social media and other people started saying it to her like oh your daughter's doing really well I think that's when she turned around she's like oh I'm actually proud of you you know but she's a she's a tough lady like but again she's been through a lot so she had to be tough and but I've learned so much from her as well your social media numbers are extraordinary by any context never mind an Irish context ah what was the point do you remember where you decided, right, I'm going to give the social media aspect a real go.
00:09:11
Speaker
Was it it, was it cart before horse? Did the social media
Social Media's Role in Business Success
00:09:15
Speaker
lead to success? Was the success due to social media or or how was that journey? Yeah, I think it's exactly what you said, cart before horse, whereas I put myself out there, it went big and then I had to grow to it. speak and i But I think that's every business person who has some sort of success will say that's how you have to do it.
00:09:32
Speaker
You don't do well or become great if you're just doing everything slowly, slowly. And yet there's a bit of risk to it. Yes, it's calculated risk and Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't. But if you don't kind of just take that leap and then, for example, you tell someone you're going to do something. Like a couple of years ago when I was still in the yard, I told a customer I'd sell his Bentley for him.
00:09:53
Speaker
It was a 2016 Bentley Bentayga. And he wanted stupid and money at the time. It was in the pandemic. Prices were all over the place. So we didn't really know what the value was, but he wanted a lot. And I remember other dealers at the time telling me, Nadia, you have that 60 grand overpriced.
00:10:07
Speaker
And I was like, no, no, I'm going to get it. Now, I didn't know I was going to get it. I just
Maintaining Integrity in Car Sales
00:10:11
Speaker
told him I would i would do it. And I took the car, had it advertised. used to always take my pictures somewhere really nice because my yard wasn't the best looking place. My cars were always good. Like people used to actually come in and go, is this your place? sir Because online I looked like I was ah at a castle somewhere and the cars, the pictures were always beautiful, perfect, like really good. I spent a lot of time and money on the presentation the cars because I always thought that's the first thing a customer sees is, and I couldn't understand how you'd see some other,
00:10:40
Speaker
you know, pictures and it'd be a car in the corner and you can't even see behind it and it'd be dirty. You could see like stuff in the console. Like that's something you're trying to sell for 60 grand. Like it should be absolutely mint.
00:10:51
Speaker
Even though it was a Passat that was five grand, it looked like a roller, like it was that mint. And anyway, I ended up selling the car for what I promised your man I'd get him back, even though I ended up losing money in the long run because I had to take a trade in.
00:11:04
Speaker
of 50k at the time which I didn't have and it was a lot of stress but I did it and I kept my word and doing little things like that even though it killed me for a year it just made other people in the market aware that actually Nadia keeps her word and she does what she says and I can grow as big as I can on social media and social media is great for brand awareness but if you don't do what you say you'll do or try your absolute best I know things sometimes doesn't go the way it's supposed to People talk in Ireland. Ireland's a very small country, especially when it comes to cars and people go, no, to be fair to her, she did what she said she would and there was no messing in the end and, you know, that type of stuff. So I sort of just did that slowly, slowly. And even though I was taking Knox back, I did it. So in the end, when he came back to me again, which he did, i was able to then go, actually, I need more out of this deal now.
00:11:51
Speaker
because I have worthy myself and I did it for you the first time you know I'll do for you again but actually i need more money now and that's kind of how I went from maybe selling myself little short at the beginning to then going this is what I warrant now you know and yeah Was there a point in the social media journey that you remember that there was one thing, there was one video that blew up or was it just a constant gradual growth?
Viral Social Media Moments and Community Impact
00:12:14
Speaker
Was it the exhaust shots? That was one. Yeah. Geez, you remember that, do you?
00:12:18
Speaker
I don't know why. I don't know what you're talking about. Any guesses? Any guesses. Yeah. So it was, it was the, it was the, you know, like it's like something of Father Ted, you know, where down with this sort of thing. It was that Irish like, geez, what is your one at? Like low cut top, exhaust. Oh my God, we're bringing women back a hundred years. We can't be doing that.
00:12:37
Speaker
It was that. And it was also, there was a video where I had a Lamborghini. I bought it for stock. Again, I've spoken about this loads of times to death even, but i i just bought it for stock, hoping I'd sell it, but it's so hard to sell Lambo too.
00:12:49
Speaker
I get the marketing out of it, which I did. And There was a neighbor of mine that I and collected from school. I don't know if you remember that video. That got 28 million views. And it was such a heartfelt. Literally, like it I couldn't believe it. And actually, I ended up not making money out of that car, get selling it back to the trade for a couple of other cars that I didn't get out of for about a year and a half. And it was a lot of stress, that car. Like, because if you think about it, lot of capital tied in one car. You can have 30 cars for price of that car.
00:13:17
Speaker
And basically that went huge. So when that went huge, then the Any Guesses went huge. you Then I realized actually it's emotion that people want and they don't want, they want, people call Ashford Motors magic. I have requests every day where people message me, say, Nadia, will you collect my son from school? He's leukemia or will you bring him to this?
00:13:37
Speaker
I get those every day and I do what I can when I can. I can't do everybody and I can't do everything. It's just time and money and it costs money to like, drive a car four hours, it's a supercar and putting petrol into it and it's whole day, whatever. But we do try and make dreams come true. And I think part of the success on social media is, yes, I'm a business, yes, I'm making money, but I'm also trying to do good with what I have, which is make people happy with supercars. Because kids love supercars and you see the face of them, their face drops and they scream when you drive by in a V12 or something. They just, ah, they just go crazy.
00:14:10
Speaker
you know So we do a lot of dream videos and people have called it Ashford Motors magic. So yeah. Well, nice thing for people to say to you. But on that note, as Paddy myself came down to to talk to you today, so you're you're just back from doing something with Lidl. So your social media following is so big, that would nearly be a business in itself.
00:14:29
Speaker
You're the boss of here. You've got a good team around. You're not a huge team, but obviously a team very close to you. Yeah, we're small. I would say we're a small team, but we're a great team. You're clearly looking at social media messages. You're giving us an hour or so of your time.
00:14:43
Speaker
Do you spread yourself too
Balancing Business and Social Media Collaborations
00:14:44
Speaker
thin? Yes and no, because I only take on what I really want to. Like I have people genuinely getting on to me all day long, every day. Will you do this? Will you do that? And I'm like, it doesn't really align because the influencing thing, it is a business for me now as I have a brand partnership with Lidl, which is amazing. But I've said no to a lot of things before I waited for the right person to knock on my door.
00:15:04
Speaker
But it's only because I have a business. I don't depend on the influencing for my wage. and So I don't blame other people for doing other things because you have to, you know, you have to do what you have to do. So in that way, I've been able to say no to a lot of things. And when the right thing comes along, I do it. And then that makes impact.
00:15:21
Speaker
If I started doing videos on everything every day, people would just get sick of that. And I'm aware of that. Or for example, when I did the men's aid charity calendar, I wanted to do raise money. So I went out and I thought of an idea, a product myself.
00:15:35
Speaker
cars I sourced all the movie cars myself I spent months doing it then the location then everything and then I asked people to buy the product but they got something and then it went to charity so I'd i'd always sort of instead of having the handout you know I'd always say well well like how can we do this or how can we you know make money this way Does it take discipline and self-discipline because like with the best will in the world, it can become quite addictive. that you know the The fame, and if you like, the attention can become a little bit addictive. Is it tricky to try and find the balance of saying, okay, this is useful for the business?
00:16:10
Speaker
I would suspect that you need people around you who will say, you know maybe Nadia's busy that day yeah yeah well look I'm very lucky the guys are on the phones and like people just call in every day can I speak to Nadia because I think and I love that because people feel like they have such a direct access to me they'll just come and go where's Nadia or can I speak to Nadia and most the time I am here of the time I will spend time with you and having a chat and yes it's Maciek who is my PA like pulls me away from stuff because he's like you don't have time you have to do this and I but that's just who I am and I give people my time I don't
00:16:43
Speaker
Like I'd say here, if it but went on for three hours, it goes on for three hours. you know what i mean? Unless I really had to do something. and But self-discipline, I don't have it. I don't think I have a lot of self-discipline, to be honest with you.
00:16:54
Speaker
and I just like I have a great team behind me. Genuinely, people think it's just Nadia because it is looks just like me. But behind me, I have all the guys around me. that helped me to prep the cars that video me that helped me edit that put stuff up so i wouldn't be able to do any of it without them and keep the business going i think that's very evident from what we've seen earlier on even just while setting up it became evident that you know you're you're a piece of the jigsaw yeah but that it's not it's very nice to see the people who kind of swoop in and go okay do this do this do this and then you're on to the next yeah next segment even just like putting the plates on the car
00:17:29
Speaker
little things mean because we don't have the we you want to have the after plates on or or if there's a bit of dirt on the car someone will spot and go no no we need to clean that because it's all stuff i can't see because i'm thinking of my lines or what am i going to say or you know or sometimes i get brain brain fog or brain block or whatever your brain fart whatever you want to call it right and i can't think of stuff and i get like that you know we all get like that So that was the the TikTok era of your career, if you want to call it that. And then the more serious stuff came. So you you you got attention.
00:18:00
Speaker
ah People knew who you were. And then the likes of RTE came knocking because they wanted your opinion on electric cars, high-end sports cars. but but you You were the the girl they would go to and news talk. And, you know, you're in demand now as a kind of ah responsible voice in the industry. and Was that a different kind of pressure or was it pressure?
00:18:20
Speaker
it what It was pressure because, you know, I put myself out there with any guesses. It got a bit of kickback because we were like, what's she doing? How she can of sell cars like that? She's no one, she's nothing. You know, I was getting, i was even hearing that back from my colleagues in the industry.
00:18:35
Speaker
and So then it was a different type of spotlight where I had to prove myself, you know. I was always proving myself, but that's not going to get views. If I come on and go look at this, I'm selling this car to you, that's not going to get views. So, you know, but that's how any,
00:18:50
Speaker
controversy gets big. Look look at Kim K. I hate using her as an example, but I'm not saying I did that to the extreme, but I did that the Irish version of Kim K. Just throw bit of controversy, but then you build your reputation behind you and only time can help you with that. But when the RT thing, that happened as a complete accident. I literally had no makeup on that day.
00:19:12
Speaker
I had just gotten my second call that morning. Somebody wanted to sell me an EV and I couldn't get them a price. I tried to send it around to a couple of other traders. They wouldn't price it. And it was a time where everyone was saying, we can't price them. They're going down. It's going down the UK. It's happening here.
00:19:26
Speaker
So I just said, I'm a second hand car dealer. I don't have anyone behind me to make decisions and to fall back on. I have to, if five grand lost to me in a few weeks or a few months, that I could close my doors.
00:19:38
Speaker
So I said, this just does not suit me right now. I'm not saying it's forever. If things get better and the pricing gets better, but I also don't think, is it the end all be all? No, I think it'll work, you know, as a second car down the line. People could have two cars, one at home.
00:19:53
Speaker
But the infrastructure, you know, wasn't there. It's still not fully there. And I just was not comfortable taking that risk and also warranting it after manufacturer warranty. And people go, oh, well, ice is the same.
00:20:04
Speaker
Hang on. i I can play my balls right and my car is right with ice cars. I can say, well, that might go, this might go. But when it was coming out of manufacturer warranty, no one knew and no one knew where to bring them.
00:20:15
Speaker
but you know Were you saying what a lot of other car dealers were thinking? Yes. And I got a lot of flack after it It struck me at the time that you were um held up as being almost partially responsible for the drop in residual values. How can my one voice take the market down?
00:20:32
Speaker
That's ridiculous. if If it was going to work, it was going to work. And me saying that would have done the opposite, surely. So it doesn't make sense. I did get the blame. Everyone said. I got calls after new and news talk from a a dealer that went absolutely bananas at me. And I said, hang on a second, do you pay my bills? Do you put food on my table? I said, do you want to sell them? Great, that's you.
00:20:51
Speaker
And the market followed, you know, like, yeah you know, the market the following month they were down, they're down and people were blaming me, but...
Controversial Comments on EV Market
00:20:58
Speaker
and Sorry, it wasn't just Ireland. I mean, it was in other countries. Yeah, Germany collapsed when they removed the grants. um UK Porsche Taycan prices were gone through the floor. Yeah. And you know what? It's a very cheap Porsche, isn't it? If you're happy, if you are happy with all the fundamentals and all the factors, if you're happy with that, absolutely go for it, you know? But what was interesting about that, and and this is what I'd be curious to find out, you don't you don't hate electric vehicles.
00:21:25
Speaker
Is that correct? I'm sorry, I don't want to put words in your mouth. yeah Yeah, yeah. You're not against them. It's just, for now, it's not for you as a business. But you don't think that, do you have, are you against the technology?
00:21:36
Speaker
Do you think that they're a bad idea or anything like that? I'd be curious of your views of that.
Challenges in Selling Electric Vehicles
00:21:40
Speaker
Yeah, no, I don't hate EVs. I'm not against them. I just don't think the infrastructure is where it needs to be to push it amongst everyone the way they have been. I don't think the government incentives are there.
00:21:51
Speaker
I don't think there's enough skilled labor to deal with them after manufacturer warranty. It's great when you're the early adapter and you've had it for a year or like, again, guys, you've reviewed it for a week and you've gotten a brand new one. Again, I'm not knocking you or anything like that. But that's all great. But I am a secondhand car dealer. Now, I do sell brand new cars, but they're just not for me. And when they become more sustainable as a sustainable way to make money in the long term, I'd have no issue selling them. I really wouldn't. I think they should be treated as what they are and be sold as what they are.
00:22:22
Speaker
And the people who have lost a lot of money and they've gone negative equity in them, do you know what mean? they they They come into the likes of me then going, why won't you take my car? away And you're kind of looking, going, I can't, you know. and yeah A friend of mine has a 2020 Taycan 4S and ah it's sitting in Ports Dublin for the last month and it's waiting on a new battery. And I said to her, are they giving you a new battery are they just replacing some of the modules? The cells or the modules.
00:22:47
Speaker
And that's the, you know, the eight year warranty sounds good on paper, but actually when it comes down to the the proofs in the pudding, are that are Porsche going to stand over the cost of an entire new battery? Because if you were getting a new engine, they wouldn't just give you a bit of a new engine, they'd have to give you a new engine under warranty. So.
00:23:04
Speaker
look there's I'm sure there's lots lot of people listening that i have a Taycan there's no issues whatsoever there's no issue it's perfect and they're happy and all that and that's perfect and I always say if it works for you great but don't listen to me I assume you've also seen an M5 need a new block yeah well look I haven't yet seen a new M5 but again I'm not saying that they're not out there yeah but I think the difference with that is that they're out 20 years that actually I had an engine and that needed an X5 years ago and my mechanic got one and it was like five grand in total to fix but that's you kind of know where you're at with that. You know, you you kind of know, but we we didn't know with the EV batteries. And the other thing is, we didn't know where to bring them.
00:23:42
Speaker
The skilled labour. You can only bring them to, they can only be taken by a certain person. they're going to be brought a certain way and, You know, once they're out longer and there's more people doing them and they're more, you know, I suppose, and affordable to the masses, then yeah, absolutely. It's funny because we've had Dave Corbley on the show a few weeks back and it was interesting seeing. Yeah, brilliant. But it was interesting because he was talking us through the repairs. And in some cases, it just looked like the manufacturers had never considered what was going to happen.
00:24:13
Speaker
Second hand. Six, seven, eight years down the line. And, and you know, he he was physically showing us what was happening with modules and sales. And it that that was the bit that struck me as someone who's worked on the OEM side for for a long time.
00:24:29
Speaker
it was it seemed like there was a disconnect between, OK, we want to sell this new car. And even at the second point, we're still going to be kind of half looking after it. But after that, that's the bit that really struck me as in there hasn't been much thought into how these things are going to be in nine, 10, 12 years time.
Handling Public Criticism
00:24:47
Speaker
Welcome back to the Drivers Public Podcast, which is brought to you by Dundale Motors, home of the Trusted Dealer Programme, helping you buy with confidence from verified dealerships. I suppose, what would be other misconceptions about you? what you know Because no matter what, if you put yourself in the public eye, you become you get popularity, you get success.
00:25:05
Speaker
And people will start to comment, people will, you know, and I'm sure you've dealt with shitty comments on social and the likes of that. But what have they looked like, actually? And are they from women, men? Yeah, well, at the beginning, they're very less now these days. You still get the odd mad one that you're looking at going, I can't even respond to that. But what I started doing was call outs. So I found that really helped. and Entertaining too. Entertaining, but you you couldn't do them in an aggressive way or...
00:25:33
Speaker
You'd have to do them in a very, and you'd have to wait till it was like a real person with like a real face because you there's no point calling it a troll. ah football crest. football crest. Three, six, nine, yeah. It's usually football crest as well, am I right? With like a load of letters and there's no point because you're not going to win with that. That's just a troll.
00:25:49
Speaker
Or Ireland for Irish people. Yeah, exactly. so Look, I still get that. People going, you're not Irish, you're not this and you're not that. And look, that's how they feel. I feel Irish and so I don't really care what they say.
00:26:00
Speaker
It's not even worth talking about. Yeah, but yeah I kind of that that was another way. And at the time, like I was scratching my head, some stuff would really upset me. Sometimes I was in tears with stuff. And I always remember very early on when I started doing the Any guesses, was getting a lot of flat back, you know, from people, couple of dealers and they weren't taking me seriously, you know.
00:26:19
Speaker
And one person I was going for S.A.M.I. at the time. And I'd applied for it and it's a you know it's a long process. They have to come out and make sure you have the right insurance and the right space and the garage policy, everything. And I applied I was waiting to hear back and I was really, really excited because i just this was something I really wanted to keep solidifying the business.
00:26:36
Speaker
And somebody commented on my NEAS is saying, I was at an SIMI meeting this week And there's there's talk of Nadia bringing down the whole motor trade. And that I really believed that. I was there ringing SAMI going, who was that? the leak?
00:26:50
Speaker
Who's the leak? like you know And I really believed it. And I cried in the office. And I remember crying to lads going, lads, what am I doing? Am I doing the right thing here? Like, maybe I'm not. and then I got SIMI and your man's like what are you talking about Nadia no no like and I was like okay right so don't believe everything you read you see and read and that's when the penny dropped for me and then that's when I started saying right well how can I use this for more views and that's when I started doing the call outs which then they would go viral and it gave people an insight to who I was really what I thought how I spoke and on how I reacted to things and I think
00:27:24
Speaker
that gave other people an an insight to who I am and not just clips of any guesses or whatever they saw. But you strike me, and I could be wrong, you strike me as someone who is very self-aware, but also who doesn't take themselves too seriously. yeah Because I don't think you would have got, if you were, if you're thin skin, first of all, yeah and if you didn't see the kind of almost comedia comedic element to what you do. Yeah, and be able to take the piss out of yourself. Yeah.
00:27:49
Speaker
Pretty much, because there must be ah a small, must be some of that in what you do and that you're kind of, you know, you're it's it's a lot of tongue in cheek. It's also, you know, you know, I'm not taking myself too seriously here. So that must be part of it for you.
00:28:02
Speaker
Oh, it is, absolutely. And like a lot of people know my humour now that when I'm saying something, they know. oh But like i've caught people out before, like I've done a few feuds with Sammy. I don't know if you remember that one. That one went very well. Or when I had a brand partnership with Oosh.
00:28:16
Speaker
and I still have it with them. it's ah It's a great partnership. And we did a feud where... she pretended to do in any guesses and I wasn't happy with it you know because two girls against each other and people believe people love getting into drama they love it they love it's like coronation street they love like going on and then people where people messaging me going i can't believe you're like that Nadia and all this and and then I would come out with a video where we were together and then people were like oh shit you know so that that like that was fun that was a lot of fun to be fair and I think that's the type of stuff you have to think of all the time unfortunately it's
00:28:47
Speaker
it's different things and you know and coming up with different things all the time do you think the likes of jeremy bachoff has he ever had to explain himself the way you've had to explain yourself and no and to be fair to jeremy runs very good business and jeremy i think they're in business what 20 years i suppose i'm only in business five years so maybe i have a lot of explaining to do and i'm a woman and i'm not necessarily i am irish but i'm i'm not born here and There's a lot of that. And I'm mean um in a male-dominated industry. It's a very, very male-dominated behind closed doors.
00:29:18
Speaker
I didn't even, like, I found that even insulting to ask you about that. But I mean, you've brought it up yourself. is How much is that still relevant
Addressing Gender Bias in the Motor Industry
00:29:28
Speaker
in 2025? Very, very relevant. But I just, I don't take myself as a victim about it.
00:29:33
Speaker
And I think that's the key. I don't go, woe is me, I'm a woman in a man's world. I go, actually, what can I use to get ahead? The lads can all go play golf together, but they can't do it any guesses. And is it comments on... have to think like that. Is it comments on your clothes, how you look?
00:29:48
Speaker
I know, somebody said I needed a stylist there recently. They were like, you really need to invest in a stylist. I don't have time to go clothes shopping. Maybe I do need a stylist. Nobby, can I offer you the job? Well, you're very close to Dundrum. I'm sure you could nip up there in 20 minutes. but But no, on a serious note, it it is a thing. And, you know, I talk to women in all different kinds of professions and they do tell me, you know, you hear horror stories and it's generally guys who are way too old to not know better.
00:30:14
Speaker
Yeah, true. and And just, I suppose, there probably a little bit of jealousy that like, oh, I'm only in the door, but and I'm getting all this attention, especially from the mainstream media. Like, do you know what I mean? and But again, I've done my due diligence. I've worked. I, you know, try and dot my I's and cross my T's and I've done the late nights and I've done the...
00:30:32
Speaker
meeting people and selling the cars going to the NCT I've done all of that for years and years years and people don't see that they just see success ish i'm not i'm not I don't even feel like I'm successful yet I just feel like I always have to do better like I'm not this isn't it for me now I want to expand the stock I want to fill out the other place I want to have amazing cars I want to keep bringing in rare cars and just having different types of you know and stock you know and not just sell one car I want the next car want sell is a Ferrari I've never sold a Ferrari before so I'm constantly pushing for the next thing but yeah it is it's very very male dominated and even that goes to like think about the finance companies I use but you know my validors my mechanics when I'm going to get finance when I'm going to get stocking loans
00:31:16
Speaker
It's very, it is male, all of it is very male, but I think it's just how you use that. Don't let it get you and just use what you can to get ahead a little bit. Like I just, feel like the only power I have is my platform.
00:31:28
Speaker
That's the power I have. And, you know. And how do you get little girls, not that are listening to this maybe, but like if you're ever asked to do a talk in a school, for example, how do you make being a mechanic attractive to a woman? Or, should you know, should it matter what gender they are? Or, you know, because typically you go into a workshop, there aren't girls there.
00:31:46
Speaker
There isn't. there's I think there's more now. And, you know, I always says, look, when I started, I wasn't a mechanic. I'm still, I know my way around a car, but I employ mechanics to do those jobs for me. So I don't have to get, you know, nitty gritty whatever. Now I know how to change an oil at the best times. Or if I'm driving a car that comes in for a test drive, I go, right, OK, the gearbox is OK on that and might need tyres. be able to price up what it needs that I have to get it prepped to then put it into the overall price.
00:32:14
Speaker
But what would I say? i suppose it has to be a passion for you because mechanical and sales is very different. Like you have to understand the different pieces to it because it all comes down to then what fits in the price and whether you're buying it at a right price to be able to sell it at a right price. But then if you're doing the mechanical side of things, you have to have an interest to how mechanically the car works and stuff like that. So yeah, I think there i think the motor trade is definitely screaming out for more women.
00:32:39
Speaker
I'm seeing more dealers put women front of the camera, which is great. You know, it's brilliant. i More and more big main dealers are using the girls now to get in front of the camera, which maybe we didn't see that. Do you think maybe you've inspired that a little bit I would, i if I did, great, I'm delighted, you know, it's it's because it's the right way to go. And, you know, I think it shows that we can we can we can be anything we want. If you want it hard enough and you're willing to do the work and you do it the right way, then you can be absolutely whatever you want in this world.
Tailoring Sales Approach for Diverse Customers
00:33:06
Speaker
Do you notice, you know, selling to both men and women, do do women want to buy off another woman? and Is there any trend towards that? Because, you know, if you're a woman coming into a showroom environment, sometimes it can be a bit intimidating because, you know, you maybe don't know too much about horsepower or want to know about horsepower. That's not what you want to know, yeah. is it, do you find that, um obviously, you know, with the social media presence that you have, you're having guys coming down, and you're having women coming in as well. How do you approach the sales in different ways?
00:33:38
Speaker
Yeah, so now with the growth of social media, but also the growth of women having money themselves on their own without a husband or anything like that, that's grown. Like i have friends who are single that are buying their own houses now and they're buying their own cars and maybe they don't have a dad or they don't have a brother to go with them.
00:33:53
Speaker
And I've had people tell me stories of of them going in and going, yeah, tell the husband that and you get the husband to ring me and and that type of attitude. And they are intimidated. And I'm not saying everyone's like that. So when they do come here,
00:34:07
Speaker
They don't feel like they're getting a big sales spiel. Like you sort of find out what's important to them. Sometimes it's just the seating position and that it's a comfortable car. They don't care about all the tech pack on it and the night pack and the cold pack and all the different packs that's on it.
00:34:18
Speaker
They just care that, you know, it's it's in the budget. It's ah it's and it's a decent car. going to get looked after after warranty if something goes wrong. um And yeah, they love it. Like I'd have a really good list of,
00:34:29
Speaker
women that's changed that change every couple of years that they ring me beforehand they go look Nadia this is the budget can you keep an eye out and then I'd ring them back with options or if I'm sourcing them a brand new car have all these great relationships built up now with main dealers and I'll go to them for a brand new car and source it and then I'll take their trade in and sell their trade in and get them a little bit more because it's ah I'm I'm brand for everyone especially German I love German but certain main dealers will only sell Land Rover will only sell Ford so they'll trade everything else off.
00:34:59
Speaker
And are you a bit unique in the sense that you might have a Skoda Octavia and you could have Gallardo?
Diverse Stock and Operational Control
00:35:04
Speaker
Absolutely. How does that work? Most dealers, they're either high end or they're bread and butter cars. i See, I've kind of maybe when I started, I'd say I was like 70% bread andbu and and 30% high end because I always knew from the very beginning when I took my first risk buying like a Bentley Continental for 40 grand which was huge for me and then everything else was like pizzazz and that sold but I always knew from that moment that's the type of stock I want to strive for not because I think I'm up myself or anything but just because they're interesting cars and I love having a variety I just think if I had one all BMW 520 M sports I'd just get bored and we'd all get bored here whereas we just have cars coming in every time we're like oh look at like the M2 CS manual behind you that's the only manual for sale in Ireland like that's such a cool car to have for sale um but what i think what i i'm at now for myself is you'll see a lot of the cars they're post 2020 so i'm aiming for as fresh as possible and that's for ah from a warranty point of view and a stress point of view that it's under manufacturer warranty a lot of it and also if i'm going to have a car and whether it's a wild track amuroc an amaro or a range rover it's the highest spec of that car or it's a 320 m sport but it's a 320 sport and it's but it's
00:36:17
Speaker
241 it's really nice spec really so I'm just aiming for if it is bread and butter it's not your trend line or your base model it's the highest model like I have two Skodas coming in and I love Skoda as a brand that is actually probably one brand I'd love a franchise of because they're great cars unfortunately VW is not the people's car anymore you know they've obviously made made their investments and they went very heavily into tech and stuff like that and they're having a hard time but the likes of Skoda is such great value for money and and I have such a huge demand for petrols and diesels but you can't get them I'm trying to source of customers every day Remy Nadia will you source me a brand new X5 diesel them 520 diesel UK and Ireland which I'm surprised about the UK that they they stopped at the UK yeah Ireland would make some sense yeah there's probably a man listening who could help you with the Skoda thing but oh yes we love Skodas I don't know what kind of investment is needed. That's the problem. And control.
00:37:12
Speaker
Like I know a couple of dealers that have retired early because they've been asked by the manufacturer to invest a million. And they're like, nah, I don't have, um I'm not hanging around for that million to make money back. Like I'm gone.
00:37:24
Speaker
So there, you know, control. i want to have control over what I do, what videos I do, what I say, what cars I sell, how I do my business. I don't want anyone to tell me what, like how I should do it.
00:37:35
Speaker
Tell us about your customers. I mean, in particular, I'd love to know about the really high end ones without going into details on who they are. I mean, can you paint a picture of the variety of customers you get at the
Importance of Relationships with High-end Customers
00:37:48
Speaker
high end? who' Someone who buys a you know ah really expensive car. And also tell us about, is there anyone that's been a real surprise that you you know you didn't expect?
00:37:57
Speaker
Yeah, so I definitely never judge. And it's one thing I say to my sales guys is whoever walks in here, never judge because it's the people that actually walk in and they might be head to toe and designer.
00:38:08
Speaker
They're the ones that will just waste your time because they, they you know, they'll just stand there talking about the car and they go, oh, I'll ring you like tonight with a deposit and they'll be gone. So that's happened. And then I've had people walk in like farmers and they just want a good deal. They just want to haggle and get a good deal off you, but they'll drop a hundred K like that.
00:38:24
Speaker
And they know what they want. And and yeah supercar customers, they're all so different. They're all very erratically, ecstatically people, like very weird and wonderful people. They could be in tech, they could be self-made, they could be entrepreneur entrepreneurs, they could be in construction, the building game as well. a lot of people in that that have a lot of money and they want really fresh sports and X5s and stuff like that.
00:38:48
Speaker
and So yeah, yeah and and that's another part of the job I love is that you get to meet so many different people. And actually all the people that I have sold cars to are the people who built my showroom. So the guy who did my windows bought a car off me. The guy who built this has bought six cars off me. So I felt like I had to give him all the business and they were all mental cars. They were, bought a feckin' Hummer off me. So I felt like he deserved to get the job. Those poor builders. They make no money. They make no, apparently no one makes any money. Everyone comes in.
00:39:18
Speaker
I had a lovely farmer in there this week and he bought a really nice car and you know, they come in I'm just a farmer whatever, and you you feel really bad. So you give them a big discount because you're like, God, you're all right, go on off there. do you need money for diesel?
00:39:30
Speaker
Which they they love getting, you know? And look, it is what it is. it's all It's all part. But I'll never understand though, people do come in and try and get 10K off the price. yeah Like that's insane. Like a guy come in and actually had a guy ring, and because we're on the phone, we pick up the phone nine o'clock at night. Like I always say to the guys, guys, just pick up the phone because if it ends up being a sale,
00:39:51
Speaker
You never know. It could. I've had sales at 11 o'clock at night. and And I think that gave us that edge at the beginning because I worked seven days a week. I met people on a Sunday. So it gave me that extra sale that week, meeting someone at nine o'clock, do you know, and I needed that cash flow wise at the beginning. And we still do it.
00:40:07
Speaker
We still facilitate evening appointments or Sunday appointments or whatever. But I had guy ring up last week and he was talking to Maciek and basically he was saying how he had the car really overpriced and how he bids 20 grand less than the price and how we'll still have it in two months and then he rocked up and then it sold for full asking like ah two days later and then he rocked up here last week going where's the car and I like it sold and he couldn't believe it you know so you so you still people blame us all the time but sometimes you have unrealistic customers you have to deal with as well and is it hard to benchmark the prices of those cars because Ireland's not exactly a big market so if you have something very heavy very exotic in here how do you ah do you go to the UK the pricing is very different how do you figure it out If it's something that's not in Ireland at all and I have to go on to say Auto Trader or Piston Heads or something like that, we would compare with the UK. But don't take that also. Take that with a pinch of salt.
00:40:58
Speaker
You still have to be more competitive than UK because if it's a really unique car, somebody will, for the extra 20 grand or whatever, they'll they probably might go to the UK. But then there's also a lot of vagueness and ah scariness around VRT. that people don't want to deal with that.
00:41:15
Speaker
They just want to go. Actually, it's on Irish Place. So even if it's 20 grand more than the UK, the stress of going to the UK and bringing it over and also you
Vehicle Registration Tax Strategy
00:41:22
Speaker
your warranty here. There's someone you can fall back on, all that type of stuff.
00:41:25
Speaker
So yes, if it's something really, really unique like that M2CS, there's not another one in Ireland. So I looked in the UK, but I'm 20 grand cheaper than the UK as well. So you just have to be really, really competitive. How much is it, the It's £119.99, which I think is a steal, Nobby. I think we should get you up on the finance right now.
00:41:43
Speaker
yeah to know this um There's obviously no rhyme or reason sometimes to the VRT system though, is there? like if Certainly for people who are looking to the UK for cars that aren't on the very vague drop down that you get on the website, it must be hard to give people an idea for very unique stuff.
00:42:00
Speaker
I usually say, rule of thumb, half the value of the car. So if it's, say it's a Lambo you're looking at and the Lambo is 200 grand, then the Vrt is going to be 100 grand. Ish. that's That's my, because I took in, I sourced a 2012 Aventador for customer last year from Cork, Paddy.
00:42:16
Speaker
You might have seen it down there. 2012 Lamborghini Aventador. Aventador. Aventador. ah vent the door to be thinking you car On Cark plate, bye. I can't even do the accent. You have to ask about that in a minute. yeah Plates. But anyway, that was 113,000 for the VRT. And like, it's ridiculous. It's absolutely ridiculous. You can appeal that.
00:42:35
Speaker
We have, and but it's a long process. And the reason I know that this thing is growing is because I get emails every day from people who've gone to VRT. And they've said, I wasn't expecting that. I thought it was 20. It actually ended up being 45.
00:42:47
Speaker
And they ask you for valuations. Like every garage in the country gets an email from someone going, any chance you'll value my car for the VRT appeal? and And you'll do it if it's a genuine one, you know, if it is.
00:42:58
Speaker
bush yeah But it's long road. But are you physically bringing that car to someone? Yeah, you have to, when well, you have to present it to VRT and whatever figure they give you, you have to pay it. Or you can export it again. you Yeah, you can export it back to the UK, but but sure what is that going to do for you? It's not like sending back a jumper that doesn't fit you. It's not as easy, I'd imagine. If you need to have a lot of contacts over there, somebody can throw the car back to, it it's not an easy. So we wouldn't really, we will we started now a lot with the hybrids because this new hybrids,
00:43:26
Speaker
the vrt is only like four or five grand or something or and some of them's 10 grand so you there's more of them out there that you can price it up easily so like the 330s the 530s all the hybrids i'm selling more hybrids now anyway because unfortunately that's all that's really available and the vrt is reasonable the vrt is reasonable on the hybrids yeah also a battery in them but that's less of a concern for you? Sorry, say that again? There's also obviously a battery in them. Is that less of a concern? It is and that's why stick to very fresh under manufacturer warranty. So like I won't sell a, well to be honest with you, won't sell at any Range Rover unless it's under manufacturer warranty, especially if it's a two litre diesel or two litre petrol hybrid.
00:44:01
Speaker
because I just that's my other thing I don't sell here what what are the common things just don't like stress basically what are the common Range Rover issues of people made a mind sent me a 2015 Jaguar XF the other day that's a two litre ingenium engine isn't it and I just said don't no don't it's that engine it's the ingenium engine it's that they made them in India they're free you know and they're just they're I hate I don't want to say they're shitting themselves but they do and it's not they've probably said exactly the same thing yeah it's not if it's when and it happened to me once with a two litre discovery which I did every pre like pre-service job I could to it I spent three and a half grand on it before to prep it to do all the and it had a full history at Land Rover it's one owner from you 90 kilometres 2019 sold a customer next day shot itself and that's fine but then you ring Land Rover and they tell you they can't get you in for six months and I have to give a customer a car or their money back so I just have to refund them and so but then that's your financial problem again yeah
00:44:53
Speaker
It is. It's my financial problem. And how do you absorb that? You just have to take it back and trade it off and lose the money because that's what I did. I said, umm well, what I did was I got onto Land Rover and I said, look, I'm either going to get my money back off a TikTok video or you're going to sort this out for me.
00:45:07
Speaker
And they're like, yeah, Grant, sort it out in two weeks. And I traded the car off. is there Is there a pressure now that comes, I suppose pressure is the wrong word, challenge with the success that you've had, the presence that you have, that people are now expecting to deal with you?
00:45:22
Speaker
the You know, the business is growing, we're in a new premises, you're selling more cars. You know, are people expecting to have an experience with you or be handed over by the car by you? And how does that, how is that going to work as you grow the business?
Managing Customer Expectations
00:45:36
Speaker
Yeah, and you know what? Some people expect to come in, they get all the merch, they get a Nadia calendar, they get a Nadia hat. Is there a Nadia hat? There might be one for you guys now. like Now, it is summer, but you'll hold on to it. Oh, Jesus. They've just been thrown across at us. There you go. Oh, wow.
00:45:52
Speaker
I could definitely do it one of them. it's
00:45:56
Speaker
We've just had Owen there throw over a few hats. They're cosy. There you go. We'll get you a fresh one if that's not... It's good. Sorry, hope we didn't fuck up any of the equipment. No, it's all good. and Anyway, so, yeah, so there is it is like that because obviously naturally when you're growing a business and you've more I want to sell more cars because I need to pay for all of this now. So I need to be selling more than I need to be doing, you know, five to ten cars a week on a good week might do up to ten on an average week, maybe three or four or five.
00:46:25
Speaker
And with that, you need more staff to do that. So, yeah, naturally, I can't be here every day. And also I've transitioned to a different part of the business where I'm overlooking the money and like, you know, where's the business going and the bills that took a lot of my time for the last year. So I couldn't be there. And I did have some customers upset that I wasn't there. They were expecting me. And, you know, if that happens, I always put in a call.
00:46:49
Speaker
I'll always say, look, come back to me on the weekend. On a Saturday, I'm usually here all day. And a Saturday is a good day. a lot of people just pull in on a Saturday and they'll come in. and want to have the crack or want to have the chats and that's fine if I'm here and I'm not dealing with the customer because always say look the customer comes first because he's paying my bills so I need to deal with him and then I'll have ah I'm up for the chats then for a half an hour or but Are people just looking for a selfie? Are they looking for a Yeah Yeah they come in for selfies they come in they sometimes like oh any chance getting a spin in the Dodge Challenger or ah sorry in the Hellcat it's a Hellcat I should say
00:47:21
Speaker
And you're like, yeah, I need 50 quid for that. it's not As journey soon as you start the car, you're like, you're, you're throwing money back into it, like for the petrol, you know? ah But like, i do i genuinely love it. I really do. Like, I really, really do love it when people go on Addy, what's the crack?
00:47:38
Speaker
I do love it because I'm like, oh, I still can't believe it's, it's a real thing. Like, you know. You said every high-end customer can be different. or Is there, you know, some of them, you know, do you go and bring the car to their house, for example? Are there people that, you know, they don't want to go into a showroom? Maybe they're too busy to go into a showroom.
00:47:54
Speaker
ah You know, if you're selling a hypothetical car to Enya, she wanted a new Maybach. How would that different difference to someone buying ah the Cougar you have outside or something like that? Yeah, I mean, look, I always had the mantra from even day one that whether you're buying a 10 grand car off me or or a 100 grand car, you're going to get the same treatment and respect and everything. And if it's in the deal to drop the car to your house, we'll do it. And we have done it for cheaper cars.
00:48:18
Speaker
But yes, I've had customers like I had one guy, multimillionaire, just moved over here. and he's like i don't have the time to go look i'm looking for these two cars and whatever the price is the price and that's you do want to get people like that on because you know you'll get those cars back you know what why not and you know and i've become their car girl where you just i get the car dropped they have a chef they a pa they this they that they don't have time and yeah you know i've dropped the car to their workplace and it's ready it's done or if they need it i'd like look if you need a car validate just ring me even with that and i'll just keep in the loop with them you know i i do that type of thing with them as well they don't necessarily thinking of the next sale thinking the next sale and also the car i just sold them i want them to come back to me with it because i know it's a it's a good car and i know it's a high spec car and you know and you know where it's been yeah exactly what's what's next for you
00:49:09
Speaker
dinner in general i mean you you've you've obviously had you've had a lot of success in a very short space of time you've grown a business are there other things you want to do yeah like look there's definitely some more stuff coming down the line with tv and stuff like that not much i can delve into right now but i would love to do more tv work more presenting work um Just, yeah, keep growing the business and we're expanding the second place as well. So I need to get there filled up as well.
00:49:38
Speaker
Doubling the stock. We got we went from about 30 and I'm trying to get that up to 60 now. We're at about 55 at the moment. So just keep working that. but again, I want to put a valet or... maybe a mechanic into my Rathnew branch.
00:49:51
Speaker
It's funny how it was Ashford when I was in Rathnew and now I'm back on at the Rathnew branch now that I'm in Ashford. But I want to put a valinger and a mechanic in there. Yeah, and just become like, I think when you come in, you get the sense of the place, the gates open and it's very luxurious and you come in here and I don't think you'd think twice dropping 100k in here, would you?
00:50:10
Speaker
Yeah. Well, if I had it to, the seats are very comfortable. Chesterfield. Yeah. Have there been i need big deals done in these actual seats where sit in there? Yes. Yeah. In the last, we've been here a month now and we've done some pretty good deals in here so far.
00:50:23
Speaker
And I definitely noticed the difference of like, I actually couldn't believe the big cars I was selling were right new because sometimes you do look around and go, god it's just a yard and industrial estate but people have faith in me and the business and they followed the journey but here i feel so like happy and i feel like people feel like they're buying the right car in the right place you know what i mean there's no second guessing well there's an or eight beside us and it it looks very at home yeah yeah and even just so getting the filtered water brought you and we've champagne and we've
00:50:56
Speaker
the nice tables, nice Chesterfields and all the bits, you know, and just one one question I've always wondered on on again, high end cars, does it matter if it hasn't got a Dublin plate and what is that about if it does?
Business Expansion Plans and Philanthropy
00:51:08
Speaker
Yeah, especially with performance cars, it seems to be a big thing. So the the single digits are the most popular, or sorry, the single letters are the most popular plates. So that's Dublin, Cork and Galway. They'd be your top three that you're all right if you get them.
00:51:22
Speaker
and Anything after that, if it's two letters and don't shoot the messenger, this is what other people say if it's up by the border counties. I'm from Loud, so I can say that. I would have thought Wicklow was a bit posh though.
00:51:34
Speaker
but You'd be surprised. Some people don't want a Wicklow Reg. Wicklow is is okay, but it's still double Reg. Like the single ones are the best. and And if it's a performance car, people do prefer Dublin. But again, it really depends. For me, depends just on the car.
00:51:48
Speaker
Wicklow, by the way, i think is the highest concentration of EVs in this country. Is it? She used to know that. I'm surprised don't have more EV people driving by here, screaming at me. You won't hear them. they won hear and You can't hear them. Yeah,
00:52:02
Speaker
Okay, well, look, it's been brilliant to to catch up and just find out a little bit more about the the girl behind the TikTok videos. There's a lot more to Nadia than i think people might see from those. That's for sure.
00:52:13
Speaker
ah Continued success. Thanks for joining us. Thanks for taking the time out your day to come down to me all the way to Wicklow. I'll have to go and model your hats now. Yes. Loads of, loads, give me loads of promotion, will you, on all your pages? I might see if we have a calendar. I'll have to get you calendar.
00:52:30
Speaker
They're all gone. They're sold out. you again You know I still got one more Calendar sale from like last week i was like What are you buying one now For it's June How much money have you raised On that by the way We raised Well look We raised 15 grand For men's aid Okay And we sold a thousand calendars And they were 50 quid a calendar or So there you For play Make your Do your maths on that Okay, we'll talk to you soon Take care. Thank you.
00:52:52
Speaker
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