After 12 years as an Autosmart franchisee, previously operating with second-hand vehicles, Dougie Borland has now acquired his first ever brand-new truck, specifying an Isuzu 7.5 tonne rigid fitted with a specialist retail showroom body.
Dougie’s interest in operating a new Isuzu for the first time was spurred on by the fact that all new Isuzus come with an three year, all-inclusive unlimited mileage warranty as standard, as well as them having a proven reputation within the industry for unrivalled reliability at this gross vehicle weight (GVW).
“Proven daily reliability is massive for me, as this is my office and showroom, and it is how I make a living. Having my retail showroom off the road through unreliability is totally unacceptable so the investment in my first new Isuzu, supported by this three-year warranty, gives me complete peace of mind going forward,” said Dougie Borland, Autosmart franchisee for East Kilbride and surrounding areas in Scotland.
Operating five days a week, Dougie anticipates that the Isuzu will have an eight-year working life, covering approximately 12,000 miles per annum, servicing customers in and around the East Kilbride area with a range of vehicle, janitorial and workshop cleaning products, and accessories.
With a few months under its belt, not only is it proving to be a reliable truck in operation, but the Isuzu 7.5 tonne mobile showroom has also made a massive impression on Dougie’s customers.
“It’s clean, modern and the right image for a company that is specialising in cleaning products. Customers absolutely love it when I turn up in the new Isuzu as, once they get inside, it is clean, well-lit and spacious, acting as a superb shop window for my products,” commented Dougie Borland.
During last year, Dougie was looking at replacing his incumbent vehicle and after a long conversation with local Isuzu Truck dealer Motus Commercials (Glasgow) in Govan, he committed to the build of this specialist mobile retail truck. Whilst Motus arranged delivery and collection of the Isuzu 7.5 tonner to the nominated bodybuilder, Dougie worked directly on the final specification of the 18-foot showroom body with Belfast coachbuilder Drumack Coachbuilders, an approved supplier to Autosmart.
The Isuzu N75.150 Euro VI rigid is specified with the popular Isuzu Easyshift automatic transmission and this is the first time that Dougie has operated an automatic truck, and he soon noticed the benefits when out of the road.
“The smooth Easyshift transmission makes the Isuzu such a pleasure to drive within the busy local urban conurbation, and the truck is so manoeuvrable not just out on the road but also at those customer premises that are limited in space.”
Another key benefit for Dougie specifying an Isuzu for the first time is the close working relationship he has developed with his local ITUK dealer. As Dougie says, “Motus Commercials (Glasgow), and John Dyer in particular, have been an absolute pleasure to deal with, throughout the whole acquisition and build programme. Their attention to detail to make sure that my Isuzu was built to the correct specification, and on time, was really refreshing. Now that the vehicle is out there working and earning a living for me, their ongoing support has continued to be excellent at all times. It does also help that they are literally based just up the road from me on one of my regular daily routes.”
The specialist Autosmart body on the Isuzu 7.5 tonner is designed to carry and display over 200 products, as well as also housing several barrels for the mini bulking deliveries of chemicals. Covering an area from the Southside of Glasgow as well as rural South Lanarkshire, including Strathaven, Lesmahagow, Lanark, Carluke and surrounding areas, Dougie Borland’s new Isuzu services garages, body shops and any company that needs to either clean vehicles or requires janitorial services supplies.
“At Isuzu every week, we see a wide selection of body types fitted to our chassis, covering an amazing variety of applications. Dougie’s mobile showroom is up there with them all as another superb example of the flexibility and versatility of the Isuzu truck range. It’s great to see that Dougie has become a convert to the Isuzu marque and we look forward to working closely with him over the next eight years over the life of his new Isuzu,” said Bob Doherty, network business manager, Isuzu Truck UK.
