World Challenge

Buckingham Ford have been the proud sponsors of a young girl called Neve, and this is Neve's story;

I am in year 12 at Waddesdon School and next year I will be going on my World Challenge - My team and I will be travelling halfway across the world to Tofo to help a primary school become a safe place of learning for the children who live there.  We take it for granted that we can go to school, have the resources to learn, have enough food and a comfortable place to live. However, not everyone is this lucky.

Whilst Tofo beach attracts wealth from international tourism, the area immediately surrounding it is scattered with small communities who do not benefit from this economy. Most of the villages consist of palm thatched huts and the inhabitants practice subsistence farming to survive. Likewise, the schools in the area are chronically under resourced by the government and as such are in desperate need of renovation.

The community engagement phase will offer a unique opportunity for me and my team to immerse ourselves in the community, giving an insight into a rich new culture.  The language, daily routine, activities, facilities and cultural sensitivities will all be new and different to what we are used to, and we are hoping to be accepted into the community to help in any way we can.  We need to prepare ourselves mentally and physically for a month of hard graft, making memories, friendships and lives better for those in the Tofo community.

To further Neve's fundraising she will be holding many more events for you and your family to get involved with, so show your support and follow;

https://www.facebook.com/worldchallengegascoyne/?fref=ts

 NEW models...

Ford have announced the new models...ST-Line, with a bit of sporty styling touches and full focus on efficiency rather than speed.
New sport-themed editions of its Fiesta, Focus, and Mondeo
Named ST-Line , they feature styling add-ons designed to echo the look of the full-house ST hot hatchbacks but in cars with more modest performance and better fuel efficiency.

All three cars have sports suspension, a unique design of alloy wheels and a subtle body kit on the outside, plus a sports steering wheel, sports seats and alloy pedals in the cabin. The exterior styling models include a rear diffuser and a lip spoiler, dark surrounds for the front fog lights and a honeycomb design for the front grille.

The Fiesta version is offered with a choice of the 99bhp or 123bhp 1.0-litre three-cylinder EcoBoost petrol engine, or the 138bhp version of the same motor. There is a diesel option, too; the ST-Line edition can be ordered with Ford’s 1.5-litre 94bhp TDCi unit, offering CO2 emissions of 94g/km.The Fiesta ST-Line is available in three and five-door variants, with prices starting at £15,645,

The Focus ST-Line will be offered with two diesels - the 118bhp 1.5 or the 147bhp 2.0 - and a range of petrol engines with power outputs from 123bhp to 180bhp.

Focus ST-Line costs from £20,595 and is offered in both five-door and estate form.

The Mondeo ST-Line features engines from the top of the Mondeo range - the 148bhp and 178bhp 2.0-litre TDCi diesel units. It's available with automatic Power shift transmission and four-wheel drive as optional extras, and will come in hatchback or estate body styles.

Ford expects up to 10% of Fiesta buyers to pick an ST-Line - and the company is already lining up additional models, believed to include the Kuga and S-MAX.

We have Focus ST-Line in our showroom at Buckingham for you to see,as well as examples of the stunning Fiesta Black edition and Focus Red/Black editions,come and try one out today !!!

Saving Christmas

Yes it’s a long way away and not something you think about when you get your car serviced, but it could have unforeseen connections like what happened to Mr and Mrs Smith from Buckingham on Christmas day.

Every Ford we service you have the option of taking our FREE Ford assist package which includes breakdown cover, recovery, at home service covering the UK and Europe. Yes as I said it’s FREE with every Ford car and Van we service any age any mileage and is there when you need it most, that doesn’t have to be Christmas day.

So when you book your car in for a service, just think what’s included it’s not just the service you get on the day, but what comes with it – sometimes the back up between the service is just as important to what you receive on the day.

We have been quoted between £89 and £149 for the same level of breakdown cover you will receive with our FREE Ford assist.

“Just wanted to say a great big thank you to Buckingham Ford who by looking after our car each year includes us in Ford Assist.

On Christmas Day we packed our car up to join our children and grandchildren for present opening and dinner only to find our car wouldn't start.

So on Christmas Day Ford Assist sent out a pick up lorry and mechanic; unable to get the car started (alternator had died) gave us a telephone number whereupon a gentleman from Enterprise hire cars picked us up and took us to Northampton to get a hire car free for the next 6 days as they don't count weekends or Christmas Day and Boxing Day and saved our Christmas from being ruined. 

So a great big thank you and very well done for everyone who did so much to help it was much appreciated :)”

Why do we do this- Because it can save Christmas and many other important days of the year.

Hello,
 
I’m finding writing this quite hard as last week I was fortunate enough to visit the D-Day landing beaches, memorials, cemeteries and museums, a present from my family for my 50th birthday.
 
I felt very privileged to see all of this.  I already knew a fair bit about D-Day but nothing prepares you for some of the stories of that day in 1944, just how much was given up for us to lead the lives we live today.
 
Don’t worry I am not leading into any EU referendum debate.
 
The difficulty I am struggling with is that although Ford Motor Company have always been very supportive of the serving members of the armed forces, it has just been announced that special allowances available to existing personnel are now available to Ex-Service Personnel and Veterans.
 
I know we have veterans from conflicts since WW2 but with the experiences I had last week I can’t help thinking that it would have been nice to have done this for them as well.
 
On the brighter side if you know or are in fact yourself Ex-Military Personnel or a Veteran please spread the word that through us Ford has some very generous discounts available.
 
On a lighter note I was lucky enough to have a ride in one of Ford’s military vehicles from 1944 last week.  This was one of the facts I learnt as I didn’t know Ford produced the “Willys MB” more commonly known as a Jeep which was why I always presumed it was made by Jeep.
 
Have a great week.
 
Ian

We're doing something right?

There is nothing nicer than loyal customers who put their full faith into us all here at Buckingham Ford. We pride ourselves on our reputation through out Buckingham and its surrounding areas. We are constantly reminded of the work we do by our customers with their kind words and continuous business. Some of our customers started with us back in 1996 where they purchased their first car, serviced their first car and continued to move on up in the world alongside us with their brand new Ecosport, Fiesta or Focus, or even buying their children's first car.








As part of our collection and delivery service we are able to make life a little easier for our customers. Early last week a long term customer took full advantage of this service and popped in to express his gratitude and to tell me how pleased he was with the customer service he received. Harry our parts administrator delivered Mr and Mrs Gilder's car after they had the work done and spent 15 minutes with the couple to run through things and insure they were pleased with the work they got and the work they booked in for, he then explained all the technical details of their service to insure they fully understood. Dare I say we had very happy customers.

Thanks Harry
I carelessly knocked and disassembled a wing mirror on my wife''s Fiesta - she was not happy! Nothing was broken but it was beyond me to piece it back together. Harry at Buckingham Ford fixed it in less than 5 minutes for no charge. Very impressed. Needless to say the Fiesta will be serviced at Buckingham Ford from now on.
John Westlake

That Extra Mile
Excellent service from Chris and the service department at Buckingham. Chris and his team always goes the extra mile to make sure my needs are met, whether that be making a courtesy car available for me or just being helpful and friendly and explaining things in a non technical way.
Gary Giles

Christmas Parade 2015

How have we reached this time of year already? Feels like just last week we were entering the New Year.

If your a Buckingham local then your'll know Buckingham has always been one for putting on a Christmas parade. If your not a local then your in for a treat and what a better place to watch it than in our warm show room. The parade comes straight past our door, with a great view, great company and a lovely cup of tea or coffee. Yes James does make a great cup of tea! So come along on the 12th of December and get into that festive spirit.

Our Latest Employee

Our New Customer Service Superstar

Valentina Harwood

Have you met Val? Val is our new service receptionist at Buckingham and will be the smile you see as you walk in the door.  
Val has joined the Buckingham Ford team not only to work closer to home but to keep all of you our customers happy with the services we offer. 
She was born and raised in Watford but decided to move away from the hustle & bustle so moved to a more rural location of Buckingham.  
During an amazing 15 years living in Buckingham Val previously worked in customer service for the waste industry, working as a commercial recycling business leader for the well-known business Serco.

Who ever said diamonds are a girl’s best friend?  Well not this girl, Gizmo a German Spitz Klein takes the heart of our newest employee.  She enjoys long walks with Gizmo and loves to wine and dine (although she prefers the company of friends and family for this chosen interest).  From 1994 to the year 2007 Val’s dream car was owned by her new trusted team ‘Ford’, the sleek bond inspired Aston Martin makes her heart melt and her eyes pop. 

Car Air con not as cold as last year?

It happens to us all, as the temperature is rising we all start to notice that we need the Air conditioning more in our car.

Did you know your car Air Con can lose 10% of its efficiency every year, even more if you haven’t been using it regularly?

As the refrigerant is under pressure in the system, it can weep through joints in the pipework, making the Air conditioning work harder to keep you cool.

We always see a steep rise in bookings for Air conditioning servicing and regas when the temperature rises, and the last week is no exception.

So what’s really cool, just to be different as the temperature has risen we have decided to reduce our price for an Air conditioning regas by £20 to just £49.

As our summers can be brief don’t wait weeks for an appointment, we guarantee we will get this booked in, in the next 24 hours for you.

Have a cool summer.

We are trying our hardest to give two cars away

This car is sitting in Buckingham Garden centre, and is the prize if you can find Santa’s missing reindeer; we have even left you a clue on the entry form at the garden centre.

As you know we like to keep things local, and just like the garden centre we employ a lot of local people, putting our money back in to the local economy as important to us both, as looking after local customers to the best of our abilities.

We have joined in this promotion, in an attempt to keep it local and are both giving away some extra special gifts before Christmas, If you come into either of our branches before Christmas you will be given a voucher for the other company (even if you come in for a free winter check), and could win some great prizes, but the amazing thing is there is a prize every time.

In the showroom at both dealerships we have a second car to win, we have a stack of presents under our Christmas trees, all you have to do is guess correctly there value, its not that hard as we have given you a hint to them when you come in, If you test drive or buy a car before 20th December you will have multiple attempts to win this great Fiesta worth over £10.000.


Are you missing our Facebook competitions, we have given away some great prizes, and announced some great promotions on Facebook this year, if you don’t want to miss out go and like our pages there, and if you don’t use Facebook ask you children or a member of the family that does to do it for you, and they can make you aware when we are having a mad moment and giving it all away.

www.facebook.com/buckinghamford
www.facebook.com/bicesterford

Guest Blogger looses his choons

"The digital radio changeover has caused concern ever since the UK Government announced the plan to switch off all analogue radio bandwidths in the Digital Economy Act of 2010. So...
DAB radio, is it the future? Crackle free, hiss free and on the ascent, is DAB radio right for you? The audio equivalent of TV's Freeview it gives bright crisp sound and access to additional stations.
But is it for you? Check out my handy dandy "5 reasons to install a DAB radio in your dashboard" guide!

1) The full Digital Radio switcheroo is planned to happen in approximately two years; all new cars must be digitally enabled by the switch so if you have an older analogue FM/MW/AM radio you may no longer be able to nod along to your fave choons.

2) Sound quality is clearer than FM, AM or MW radio, or there's simply no reception. Meaning you only get the stations that are providing the best signals. No more hiss and splutter and DJs sounding like they're broadcasting from beneath the Atlantic. It won't stop the cheesy jokes and smug tone though!

3) Is this familiar? "Oh who's this? Whassername? You know she did, lahhh dah, deee dah..." well with DAB radios you can forget not knowing who is playing. DAB radios show you what song is playing and who the artist is. So no more fumbling for your phone trying to get an internet signal to try and get Shazam to work.

4) "Internet Radio will be here soon", yes smartphones can get Internet Radio, but with patchy 3G coverage DAB radio offers more sustained signal across a wider area. If you have ever travelled into London on the Portsmouth to Waterloo line you'll know this. It's the 21st century and you can barely keep a normal mobile phone signal let alone a data connection and stream radio.

5) Some aftermarket DAB car radios also have iPod adaptors, and a host of modern features not found on older analogue FM receiver units. So you get an upgrade, an iPhone docking/charging station and maybe something super cool like USB connectivity to play MP3s direct from your memory stick. Some DABs even come with a screen and SatNav and Bluetooth.

I've had one, thought it was great and totally miss it now, I'm sure the oik who ripped it skilfully from my dashboard would agree with the above 5 points. If you want to take advantage of DAB and get your hands on a DAB Radio legally, then call Buckingham Ford and see if your car is compatible, and get a price call 01280 308037 or visit http://www.buckinghamford.co.uk/dab_radio.php

Stuart Morrison is a moustachioed, business problem solver who can help you find what you need to fix in your business. From marketing to generating business leads, contact him via his Appointment Brokers website: www.theAppointmentBrokers.Com - helping you find sales leads and book meetings and appointments with senior decision makers.

We are a Badger free zone

I just had to share this when I was shown it. 

This is very very funny, and you will NOT find a badger at Buckingham or Bicester Ford.

We are a Wiggle free zone.

View Badger at work here

If you have ever experienced the Badger at another dealership, come and see us for a refreshing change.

• Take a test drive not a short trip around the block
• We give you all the facts, and don't hide behind a monthly payment
• 1000's of new and used cars available to us, so you don't have to buy the one we have here, you can choose.

I got this email yesterday about James.

                "Just a quick note to say how pleased I am with the new Focus ST I purchased from you. Fabulous colour the Spirit Blue and the power and drivability of the car really is breath taking. So, thanks for persuading me to purchase it. Also many thanks for the help and advice you gave me with the models, optional extras and the general understanding of the car."
Many Thanks
Keith

Author S J Bolton Book give away

We recieved a great testimonial yesterday from the award winning author S J Bolton, Sharon said on the Bestof Buckingham website "The staff are friendly, knowledgeable, helpful and never pushy. We have always been very happy with the service we've recieved".
A few weeks ago Sharon gave me two of her books to give away "Awakening and Blood Harvest", to help her atract more followers on twitter, I am sure Sharon will sign them for the lucky winner, so who do we give them too.
Well it's not just Valentines day today, it is also the end of #14daysoflove competition, so please lets find some love for a talented writer today and one of my followers who follows @authorsjbolton before the weekend will be picked at random on Saturday morning.

Free winter driving evening

If you felt you didn't feel safe or know enough about driving in winter conditions last year, this will be just the evening for you.

We are following the same format as we did last year, in conjunction with Buckinghamshire county council, and the Buckingham Advertiser, we will be starting at 7pm on Thursday the 17th November, In the showroom at Buckingham Ford. The evening will start with a talk on driver and driving safety from Graham, being an ex traffic policeman he not only has some great advice, but some real life stories to tell, about drivers not knowing what they are doing.

We then move onto the part of the evening were you get to ask anything of our senior technicians about caring for your car, this is the time were no question is to silly, as it is your car that you rely on. They will go through some basic tips on keeping you and your care safe and in the right condition for winter.

If you wish to come along please book your space with us on 01280812121. http://youtu.be/l4w-w984zdA

Great day of parking fun

We held the parking competition on Tuesday, and then had to set it up again on Thursday as we had more people wanting to try the Focus that parks itself. Everyone seemed to like the idea of the parking aid, but a lot thought it felt very strange to let go of the steering wheel and let the car do it for you. Customers who hadn't parked a car with just park assist were impressed and are looking to have us fit these to there existing car. The overall winner of parking the car without any aid was one of the first to try Sarah Kellett, who parked with only a 6am gap between the tyre and the kerb. If my memory serves me correctly she said "If I win this my husband will never believe it" Well Sarah will have some proof when we see her next week to hand over her prize.

Parking challenge event next Tuesday

According to a survey on net mums 21% of women say they are great at parallel parking and 38% say ‘Yes they are ok at it’, so thats over 50% are quite happy and a further 32% find it tricky but get there in the end.

Of course there was no such survey on Men parking as they would obviously all be great or not have answered the question.

We are holding a fun parking competition on Tuesday 11th from 11am to see if it is easier to park a car with or without the cars help.

With a prize for the best solo effort, along with some other great prizes.

Watch the focus part itself on you tube, just copy the link below

Its New and available right now

No its not a new model of car, or some fantastic new device, but thats not to say we are short of them right now.

But personal contract hire is now available in the UK, as we know the way they do things in the States always makes its way over to us eventually, and this is one we have been waiting far to long for.

I could go back 20 years and customers were asking for this then, I just want a car to drive for the next 2 years and then change it, no hassle of ownership just a monthly payment.

Well you can get that now, we are busy loading them up on the we site as i write this. Try this link for starters

http://www.buckinghamford.co.uk/vehicle_details.php?V_ID=88

There will be many more coming soon, but if you want to get a quote call James or Jeff now

20 Years Between cars

There is a lot to be said for a good product lasting a long time, and when it is a car its the maintenance that is very important.

Dr Chapman picked up his Ford Fusion last Saturday. "Nothing unusual about that" I hear you say...

Well, the car Dr Chapman disposed of was the Ford Orion 1.6 GLX in Tasman Blue that he bought from me 20 years ago - this is where regular maintenance comes in.

Because 20 years ago I was working in a Ford Garage along with David our Service Manager who was a technician at the time, and Dr Chapman is David's Father in Law, and because he has maintained his car regularly it has lasted him over 20 Years.

You don't need to have a relation who can maintain your car to make it last this long, but what this shows is that if you do keep your car regularly maintained by professionals it can last you a very long time.
To bring this into perspective this is the first car Dr Chapman has had with Power Steering.