With diesel up 1p a litre on Friday and the closure of Slater’s of Rhuthun it's as good a time as any to reflect again on cars. Where are people now expected to buy cars? Where did they buy in the past?A casual glance around town and you’ll notice a fairly high proportion of Citroëns, bought new or nearly-new through Slater’s. As of last week, that avenue is now shut. But plenty of people do manage on cars bought elsewhere. Perhaps those who regularly commute out of town and have the opportunity to deposit their steed for servicing at a dealer somewhere near their work. Or perhaps the vehicle, bought elsewhere, is outside a manufacturer’s warranty and can therefore be serviced locally.
Even so, the paucity of franchised main dealers within easy reach of the area remains a cause for concern. Most are now 20 miles away.Even buying second hand now requires a hike. And this is worrying for a town whose residents need to travel, for work, leisure or shopping. In search of cars, Yell.co.uk sends you to Dinbych, Yr Wyddgrug/Mold, Bwcle/Buckley, Glannau Dyfrdwy/Deeside, Gwernymynydd, Corwen, Llangollen. Anywhere, that is, bar Rhuthun.
It wasn’t always like that. Going back even to the late 1970s and Rhuthun had three mainstream motor dealers.
Of course, there was Slater’s (for 40 years and before that Well Street Garage on the site). Back then, Slater’s apparently sold Hillmans, a marque long since disappeared. Slater’s even sold Opels, a company that took over Vauxhall, though Opel retained the Vauxhall badge (Slater’s latterly sold some new Vauxhalls in Rhuthun, to the end).
And who remembers Williams & Kirkham on the site formerly occupied by Glyndwr Council and at adjacent Bridge Services? They sold Austins. And Park Garage, on the B&M Discount store site, selling Fords and latterly Diahatsus, up to the very early 1980s.
They have all gone the way of many garages in rural Britain—unable to compete in today’s market where manufactures demand investment in large showroom space. This militates against the small retailer. Increasingly, cars are centralised on the fringes of larger urban areas and, like many things, today we are expected to travel for them.
One survivor is Pentre Motors at Llanrhaeadr, six miles north of Rhuthun. Pentre continues to sell new and used cars today. It began selling Austins and Morrises when established just after World War Two and managed the transition to MG Rover. MG Rover sales had been sliding for some years when Pentre took the decision to change horses. Peugeot was initially interested before Pentre Motors took in Fords.