A new body repair centre has been opened by Chartwell at the cost of £2.5 million.

The centre, at Pride Park, Derby, the company claims leaves the traditional bodyshop image “in the shade”.

"We don’t work for insurers. Dependence on accident management schemes, tight labour rates and repair standards determined by insurance companies isn’t our way forward,” says Chris Brightmore, operations director at Chartwell. “We only repair high prestige vehicle marques like Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW and Land Rover. When they take a knock, our customers want them returned to the manufacturer’s original specifications."

"Our aim is to treat their pride and joy with the greatest care and respect once it’s here. The way we treat our customers personally, says something about our ability to do that," he adds.

The centre includes a spacious customer reception and display area, Starbucks coffee lounge and children’s play area. There are also opportunities to view certain activities – such as 4-wheel alignment procedures - from the reception area on high plasma TV screens.

At its heart is a ‘clean room’ facility that’s capable of providing the contamination-free environment that’s essential for the aluminium, carbon-fibre or boron-based body panels used in top of the range cars. A smart repair facility and independent training centre located on the first floor will help ensure that skills and procedures remain state-of-the-art.