A family-run car-buying business founded by an Allendale man is marking five years of trading after growing from a small operation at a family farm into a firm serving customers across Northumberland.
We Buy Cars, Hexham was founded by John James on August 24, 2021, when he was in his early twenties and studying computer science. During its first year, the business bought, sold or scrapped more than 100 vehicles.
Five years on, the company operates its own recovery truck and a fleet of branded vans. It buys cars, vans and 4x4s, from family vehicles to prestige marques and classic cars.
A family motor-trade connection
The business is rooted in a family history in the motor trade. James’s stepfather, Mick Robson, bought the Allendale Motor Company in 1970 while he was still a teenager.
Robson, who trained as a mechanic, ran the business as a repair garage while also selling cars. Over the years, the Allendale forecourt handled marques including Aston Martin, Lotus, Porsche and Mercedes.
In 2003, Robson sold the forecourt, which is now home to The Forge café. He moved the workshop and a smaller sales operation to a shipping container at the family farm. We Buy Cars remains based there.
Robson introduced James to the motor trade when he was a teenager, and the pair worked together and traded vehicles for years. James later revived the sales side under the We Buy Cars name.
The company’s name came from a family van that James and Robson had wrapped in 2020 with the words “We Buy Cars” in large lettering. The van was regularly parked outside the former Allendale Motor Company forecourt, giving the new business a prominent advertising presence in the village.
‘Buy cars properly, pay people fairly’
James said the business began with a laptop and a shipping container, but that its core approach had not changed.
“He taught me the trade. He never quite trusted my way of doing it, the websites and the data, and I like to think the last five years would have won him round. This anniversary is for him.”
“Five years ago it was me, a laptop and a shipping container at the yard. The plan was simple. Buy cars properly, pay people fairly and do the paperwork right. That has not changed.”
Robson died in November 2024. James said the anniversary was being dedicated to his stepfather and the advice he had carried into the business.
“I grew up here and played for these clubs as a kid. Kit sponsorship would have meant a lot to my family back then, so being able to do it now has been the best part of the whole five years.”
“Keep your overheads low, and treat people the way you would want to be treated. That was Mick’s advice, and it still runs the business today.”
Family team and community support
James’s partner Elizabeth helps across the business, while his sister Katie leads marketing and events. His stepbrother Jack repairs vehicles and manages fabrication, his mother Helen coordinates collections and drop-offs, and Thomas, the partner of James’s sister Lucy, maintains the fleet.
We Buy Cars has received 190 Google and Trustpilot reviews, including a five-star average on Google, according to the business.
It has also supported grassroots football, foodbanks and local schools. In Hexham and the surrounding Northumberland area, the company has become known for playful local promotions, including a miniature recovery truck with a branded toy car, a giant inflatable gorilla at the county show, a black cat at Halloween and vans wearing Santa hats during the Christmas truck convoy.