Hexham car-buying business We Buy Cars has marked its fifth anniversary with a look back to its 1970s roots. John James opened the doors of the family-run business on August 24, 2021, mentored in the car dealing trade by his late stepdad Mick Robson.
1970s origins
Mick, who died in November 2024, bought Allendale Motor Company at The Forge in Northumberland back in 1970. In its heyday, the forecourt featured marques including McLaren, Aston Martin, Lotus and Mercedes. The business, now a cafe, was downsized to the family's farm in 2003, where it remains based to this day.
In 2016, a teenaged John took Mick's advice to buy a scruffy Fiat, do it up and sell it at a profit. In 2020, the pair sneakily wrapped Mick's parents' van, where the name 'We Buy Cars' featured for the first time, advertising from the very spot Mick started it all back in 1970.
Growth and community
When the business was founded a year later, John started with just a laptop and a shipping container. Within a year, over 100 cars had been bought, sold or scrapped. It was then that Mick stepped away from the active role he had previously played, as the upwards trajectory continued.
Having sponsored football kits for Hexham FC and Corbridge United's under-15s, the business is ingrained in the local community. Now, about to hit the five-year milestone, there is a recovery truck and a fleet of branded vans driven by John and his family, many of whom have a role within the business itself.
Anniversary tribute
John, 27, said: "Mick taught me the trade. He never quite trusted my way of doing it, the websites and the data, and I like to think the last five years would have won him round. This anniversary is for him."
"What I remember most is not the cars, it is the people. The lads on bikes who recognised our name from their football kits. The families we have helped after a bereavement. That is what five years actually looks like."
"I grew up here and played for these clubs as a kid. Kit sponsorship would have meant a lot to my family back then, so being able to do it now has been the best part of the whole five years."
"Keep your overheads low, and treat people the way you would want to be treated. That was Mick's advice, and it still runs the business today."
