A gallon of fuel back then was just 4 shillings and 9 pence, about 24 pence in today's money or about 6 pence a litre!! We had a little two car bay workshop where Nicky spent most of his time tuning up Mini-Cooper's. Our first child Charles was born only a month after we opened, so Joyce was kept very busy doing the books, serving petrol and bringing up our new baby. It was hard graft in the early
days but we stuck at it and were awarded the Mercedes-Benz Official Service and Parts Franchise during 1969. During the early seventies our second son Julian arrived followed four years later by our daughter Tori. In the late seventies we expanded the workshop and showroom to make way for the Mitsubishi Car Franchise which we started in 1979. It was tough going in the early days with Mitsubishi but when the Sh**un and the L200 Pick Up Truck arrived our sales took off. Now the franchise is taking us through the Hybrid route and soon onto more Electric vehicles. After 37 years and over 4000 new Mitsubishi car sales we at Oakley have decided to discontinue with the Mitsubishi Franchise as from 9th January 2017. We find it hard with a family business like ours to compete with the larger PLC dealers. After such a long time with Mitsubishi we have a huge wealth of experience with the marque and fully intend to look after our Mitsubishi and Mercedes-Benz customers in both the sales and aftersales departments in the future. Having now traded for 50 years, Joyce and Nicky have decided to take a back seat and semi-retire from the business and let the next generation take over led by our daughter Tori Sowden. Laurie Irving will be looking after your needs in the Sales department as will Kevin Barber in After Sales. Our technicians have just had bigger capacity ramps installed so they can service and maintain cars, the larger SUV's and light commercial vehicles. We will continue to serve the local area and run our business as before. After over 20 years with JET FUELS, it is good to see that the sales of our Branded Fuel is on the rise. The new SENTINEL "SUPER" Diesel is now selling well, with great results with all types of vehicles. Jet, as a thank you, have decided to modernise our fuel forecourt in January with brand new pumps and updated electronic till. Our shop is in line for a makeover, which will be carried out in the early spring. So, as you can see there are going to be many changes at Oakley in the near future, but rest assured we at OAKLEY will be on hand to look after your needs for now and in the future.
