David Chapman, managing director of Osborne Garage, East Cowes, with a Proton Savvy 1.2 Style.
PROTON has returned to the Island.
Value Cars (IW) Limited, the owners of Osborne Garage, in East Cowes, have been awarded the Proton main dealership for the IW.
The garage was purchased by Value Cars in July 2009 and since the purchase the Value Cars team have spent more than £80,000 on major refurbishment of the showroom and workshops.
David Chapman, managing director, said: "After the refurbishment was completed, we were looking to get a new car franchise back for the garage.
"We looked at many options but we wanted a brand of cars that offered style, quality and good value."
After visiting the Proton UK headquarters in Bristol and seeing their complete operation, David said they were more than impressed.
They also learned Proton purchased Lotus Cars in 1995 and Lotus now contributes greatly in the overall design of the new vehicles, producing what can only be described as very stylish, reliable cars, fun to drive with fantastic handling — while still managing to offer extreme value for money.
He continued: "They let us drive the full range of vehicles and we soon noticed the input that Lotus has contributed. The cars look smart and drive superbly and are loaded with many extras. We were soon convinced Proton would be our choice of dealership.
"We have all models in stock and available for immediate demonstration, we seriously recommend anyone looking to purchase a new car in the future to come and test drive the new Proton range, you will be pleasantly surprised — I know we were."
All Proton cars are supplied with three years’/60,000 mile total vehicle warranty; six years’/100,000 mile engine and gearbox warranty of powertrain components; six years’ unlimited mileage bodywork warranty; three years’ unlimited mileage paintwork warranty; three years free RAC cover and the Osborne Special, which is three years’ free servicing with any car sold in 2010.
The Proton range starts from just £7,995 for the 1.2 Savvy Style — a small five-door hatchback with power steering, electric windows, central locking, air conditioning and parking sensors as standard.
The range culminates with the GEN-2 1.6GSX five-door hatchback at just £10,995. This comes with power steering, electric windows, electric mirrors, remote central locking and air conditioning.
Proton is currently running a special offer, which offers a full leather interior upgrade free of charge with any GEN-2 1.6GSX ordered before September 30.