North East Motor Dealers SG Petch, have just started the launch of a new accessory website.
SG Petch Accessories will eventually cater for all ten of their current franchises and offer the chance to buy genuine accessories securely and safely online using all major credit cards. To get the site up and running, the main focus will be Mazda, Kia and Hyundai with the others following in the near future.
Parts manager Craig Hymas, who is based at the head offices in Darlington said: "The research and feedback we received pointed towards this facility and so it's the first step in the direction our customers want us to go."
"There's a lot of hard work and development ahead, but were a long established car dealer group who only got to where we are today through customer loyalty and listening to what they have to say. So we see this as a natural extension of our business model."
Even though the website is still in its infancy, it's fully functional and the group have already sold and delivered accessories nationwide.
Craig added: "We've already sold accessories from the site without any form of advertising or announcement. The sales have come through people using search engines, so the demand is clearly there both nationally and locally and were pretty pleased with the results so far."
Although the web is full of large established brands like Halfords and affiliate sites selling parts and accessories online, they can't cater for the car buyer wanting the genuine article.
As Craig points out: "All the accessories we sell are designed by the car manufacturer and come direct. This means there's a price advantage, everything fits how it should, is of a very high quality and in most cases is guaranteed for three years." Customers should also be aware that regardless of whether you car is new or second hand, the accessory is still guaranteed.
"Were also a well established and trusted brand, have a vast amount of experience and if the customer lives locally and wants the accessory fitting, then we have the in-house expertise to do this."
For more information visit the website at www.sgpetchacccessories.co.uk.
From memory, the last time Mazda released white MX5's in the UK was in 1998 when the mk 1 with "pop up" headlights was all the rage, which is a shame really as it looks quite something in the flesh. Since then we've been through 2 more generations of the cult roadster, finally leading up to today's mk4.
Sporting Black "Medici" leather sports seats with red stitching as well as a unique Icon logo pressed into the headrest, the Mazda MX5 Icon isn't short on interior goodies. The model we looked at was the 1.8i and had climate control air-conditioning, a leather steering wheel, gear knob and handbrake to match the seats. 
The car we saw was sold and judging by the specification and the pricing, the Icon is going to be snapped up pretty quickly, with only 875 1.8i's and 375 2.0i's being produced for the UK. The MX5 Icon starts from a very reasonable £16,825 for the 1.8i and £17,825 for the 2.0 litre version and has over £1500 worth of addition specification over and above the equivalent models, but costs only £500 more.