Tim Purslow, son of former Mercedes-Benz dealer Tony Purslow, has opened an independent specialist showroom in Hampshire.

The eponymous dealership, specialising in used Mercedes-Benz cars, is set in converted barns and stables at Nately Scures, between Basingstoke and Hook.

Purslow and business partner Rory Davidson together have more than 30 years experience of retailing the German brand cars, having both worked at Tony Purslow Mercedes-Benz until it was sold in 2011.

“I’ve got a lot of history and experience working for my father’s business,” Purslow told the Basingstoke Gazette. “And I’ve still got a passion for selling and repairing cars, and looking after people.

“I wanted to be an independent rather than a franchised dealer, offering the same standards as you would get at a main dealer, but maintaining that personal touch – it’s very important.”

“We want to ensure that the cars we sell are all hand-picked and carefully chosen and that they have a great provenance to them in terms of their history and their specification, and that everything is presented beautifully.

“And we want to be nice and manageable, where someone can bring their car in for a service and they’ll be able to speak to the technician who repairs it.

“I think in the modern franchise world that is quite often difficult, because there is a constant churn of customers coming through the workshop. Here, I think we’d like to be more relaxed and customer focused.”

The dealership, which has genuine Mercedes-Benz parts delivered daily, has a three-bay workshop.