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Family Values and Experience in Motoring Matters, in 2011 CLIST & RATTLE RETURN TO THEIR ROOTS. The land alongside the main Bristol to Weston-Super-Mare road through Cambridge Batch, where Clist & Rattles showroom now stands, used to belong to the Estate of Lady Smythe. After the end of the First World War two ex-servicemen, brothers in law Captain Leslie Clist and Sergeant Sidney Rattle, invested £100 each and bought an acre of land from Lady Smythe, next to what was the main road between Weston and Bristol. Here in 1922 they built a corrugated iron shed some 36 feet by 24 feet, and set up in business together, repairing things and selling petrol from cans stored at the premises. In the early 1930s Messrs Clist & Rattle were the talk of Bristols motorists when they became the first garage on the Weston Road to have electrically-operated pumps installed. An article in Town and Country News dated 30th December 1932 was most enthusiastic about their six illuminated petrol pumps and several oil bins carrying popular brands of petrol and lubricating oils, and also a free air service point. The free air point is a service Clist and Rattle offer to this day along with attendant served fuel. Motoring has changed a lot since those days, but Clist & Rattle today is one of the few family firms still operating in the motor trade under the ownership and control of the family, which founded it. Peter Clist, the Chairman retired at the end of 1999 leaving his son, Paul as Managing Director. That is not to say that the company is not at the forefront of modern innovative thinking. One of the first garages to take advantage of the so-called dual franchising allowed first by Rover during the early 90s, the company took on the Skoda franchise in 1991. Viewed with some scepticism initially, the companys choice has been vindicated as the soon to be 7 car Skoda range proudly boasts positions inside the top 10 in the JD Power satisfaction survey for an astonishing 18 years. The early 90s also saw the Renault brand sold from the Portishead branch and extensive refurbishment during late 1999 brought the garage up to Renaults much coveted Dealership 2000 standard - one of the first in the area to achieve this. Customer Service has been the foundation of the companys success since 1922 and the much-coveted ISO 9001 accreditation was earned through the Skoda brand in early 2005. Clist & Rattle offer the motoring public a friendly and obliging service, combining a no-pressure sales policy with this one-stop shop approach and offer a full range of after-sales services from routine servicing and repairs, parts and accessories, body shop along with car and van rental. October 2011 sees the company returning to its roots, moving the Renault franchise along with the majority of the existing staff the short distance away from Portishead High Street across to Head Office just outside Long Ashton. This move will offer an improved customer experience with more reception staff on hand for after-sales customers and more sales staff on hand for car sales customers. Most importantly, the day to day running of the operation will be in the care of the hand-on owners of the business. We will continue to look after the onward mobility of all customers with our collection and delivery, lift home or courtesy car services. With a reputation built on trust and customer care and a wealth of experience, which is second to none, Clist & Rattles aim is to continue providing the same level of Service, which Bristols motorists have come to expect from this family firm which celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2012.
Phone: 08433838544
Garage Type: Manufacturer Authorised Repairer