Moss Jaguar Purring Nicely

From Moss Motoring 1983

Moss Jaguar, Ltd., the car sales and service division of the Moss family, has just completed a most satisfactory second year of operation! Since becoming the local Jaguar dealer, their staff has grown to fourteen and they hope to add two more people within the next year.

The Service Department, ably led by Neil Trent, reports that virtually 100% of the new car buyers are now regular service customers. In addition, owners from as far away as Los Angeles and Monterey bring their Jaguars to Moss for service and repairs, a real tribute to the caliber of their personnel! Especially interesting, Neil notes, is the fact that the new Jaguars are living up to their claim of being the best cars ever produced by the factory. Moss Jaguar’s service customers are mostly just that: Service Customers. The only time they bring their cars in is at the prescribed service intervals for routine, scheduled maintenance. The reliability of the latest Jaguars is a match for any other luxury car on the market today.

Harry Haigh, General Manager of Moss Jaguar, reports that new car sales confirm the acceptance of the new Jaguar as the best luxury sports sedan available today. For the 34th month in succession, August sales set a new record! Total units sold in the U.S. through August 31st were just a few cars under 10,000, a 64% increase over the same period last year! Jaguar dealers across the country are seeing the results of the factory’s emphasis on quality and reliability, as new Jaguar owners spread the word about how thrilled they are with their cars.

The models currently being sold are the XJ6 Sedan, Series III; the Vanden Plas version of the same car, a real favorite with the buyer looking for the ultimate in traditionally British luxury trim; and the XJS HE Coupe with the amazingly smooth, powerful, and economical alloy V-12 engine. So popular are all three models that delivery is sometimes a problem. Allocations to dealers do not match the demand and Mr. Haigh tells us that most of his cars are sold before they actually arrive! The factory is working hard to increase production, and the sales staff at Moss Jaguar are becoming adept at locating cars from other dealers to meet the demand.

Why has Moss Jaguar been so successful during a time when literally hundreds of dealerships have closed down? Apart from the obvious reason that the Jaguar car offers better value for the money in an elegant yet fun-to-drive sedan than its competitors, Harry Haigh cites the attitude of his staff. The salesmen are knowledgeable Jaguar enthusiasts. Rather than hustling the customer into a closing room, they spend time sharing their intimate knowledge of the cars. The Service Department lists as top priority doing the job right the first time, rather than getting as many cars in and out as fast as possible. The Parts Department (see separate article) is staffed by individuals that care, led by a manager (David Green) who won’t tolerate less than 100% effort on the customer’s behalf.

All these factors add up to a dealership that operates efficiently, enthusiastically, and on the maxim that ‘the customer’s satisfaction is our number one priority.’ If you are planning to buy a new or pre-owned Jaguar, maybe a trip to Santa Barbara would be a worthwhile extra investment! (note, Moss Jaguar, Ltd is no longer in operation. -ed)