About Us
Remaining independent and family run for over 75 years, you are assured of a friendly welcome at FJ Chalke. Each year, more and more customers choose to become part of our motoring family guaranteeing you a service that is second to none.
From the moment you walk through the door of any one of our four dealerships (in Wincanton, Yeovil, Gillingham and Mere), or email, you'll find the performance of our people is as exceptional as the cars we sell!
WIN A BRAND NEW CAR!
A brand new Kia Picanto from FJ Chalke worth over £8,000 is the top prize in this years Stars Appeal Christmas Raffle.
Money raised from the raffle helps fund charitable projects across Salisbury District Hospital. These include the Stars Appeal’s current major goal to provide a family accommodation unit for the parents of premature babies as well as additional facilities, equipment and support for patients throughout the hospital including cancer patients on the Pembroke Unit and those receiving cardiac care. You can find out more about these projects at www.starsappeal.org.
Mr David Small Purchases a New Kia Picanto Halo
93 year old Mr David Small has just replaced his 2 year old Kia Rio with a New Kia Picanto Halo from F J Chalke Ltd in Mere. Mr Small, whose first purchase from F J Chalke was a Morris Minor in 1964 has been a loyal customer of the dealership ever since. He used to live in Mere with his family and as a 10 year old boy well remembers when Fred Chalke came to Mere and started his garage in 1929.
With the 7 year warranty now on all new Kias the warranty on Mr Smal’s new car will not run out until he reaches his 100th birthday.
This Years Light Vehicle Level 3 graduates
BRAND NEW CAR IS TOP PRIZE IN THE STARS APPEAL CHRISTMAS RAFFLE
The Stars Appeal is offering people, the chance to win a brand new car in their Christmas Raffle. The Kia Picanto is worth over £7,500, and has been supplied by F.J. Chalke of Mere who are supporting the Stars Appeal raffle for the second year in succession.
Managing director James Chalke has also kindly offered to make an extra donation to the Stars Appeal for every test drive taken during November and December.
Second prize is a luxury hamper of festive food and drink, which has been donated by the famous Le Gavroche Restaurant in London. Third prize, donated by Kludo and Spirit Bar, is a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne worth £200, the favourite champagne of Jay Z.
Funds raised by the raffle will go toward a new Family Accommodation Unit, which will help parents and siblings spend more time with premature and critically ill babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, as well as supporting other charitable projects around the Hospital.
James Chalke, Managing Director of F.J. Chalke said, “Having seen first hand how local people benefit from projects funded by the Stars Appeal when I visited the Hospital earlier this year, I was delighted to offer our support once again.”
Dave Cates, Appeal Director, said, “The Stars Appeal Christmas Raffle is our major winter fundraising activity. Every ticket sold helps The Stars Appeal support the thousands of local people, and their families, who are undergoing treatment in Hospital, so I urge our supporters to buy tickets, and to encourage their friends to do the same.”
Tickets are only £1 each, and are available from the Stars Appeal Bookstall in the Main Entrance at Salisbury District Hospital and at F.J. Chalke of Mere. For extra books to sell to friends, colleagues and neighbours, call The Stars Appeal Office on 01722 429005.
The winning tickets will be drawn on Thursday, December 23rd 2010, and winners will be notified by phone the same day.
150 years up!
This week 5 employees of local car business F J Chalke received long service awards which totals 150 years of employment with the company. They are Frances Maidment (accounts admin, 36 yrs service), Grahame Fry (Director,34 yrs service), Paul Andrews (Senior technician , 30 yrs service),Steve Fowler (Director, 25 yrs service) and Scott Young (Service manager 25 yrs service).
James Chalke (Managing Director) commented " We are a third generation local family business, started by my grandfather at Mere in 1929. Our policy is to employ, retain & promote from within the company good & dedicated people who are the backbone of our organisation. We are pleased to acknowledge the excellent contribution made to F J Chalke by these 5 loyal staff members".
F J Chalke supports locals in British Heart Foundation’s charity bike ride from London to Paris
Kia dealer FJ Chalke is supporting five local Dorset residents, led by keen charity cyclist James Thorne, as they join the first ever London to Paris off-road bike ride in order to raise £3,000 for the British Heart Foundation. The Kia dealership is supplying a 7-seater Kia Sedona as a support vehicle for the cyclists, which will be used to tow a trailer for the bikes and kit.
The dealership’s Kia Sedona, driven by local businessmen Allister Brown of Chaffers Estate Agents and Richard Odell from Premier Financial, will travel alongside the cyclists supporting them from the very start of the cycle on the south coast on Saturday 3rd July. The London to Paris bike ride sees the participants take on over 250km of off-road cycling over three days – more than any of the five from Dorset have tackled before.
James Chalke, Dealer Principal, FJ Chalke commented: “We are really excited to be supporting the team in this cycle challenge; when we were approached by James we didn’t hesitate in being involved – it’s such a worthy cause. Choosing the Sedona as a support vehicle was an easy decision as it recently won best MVP at the Practical Caravan & What Car? Towcar Awards and is perfect for towing all the kit they need along the journey. We wish them all the best in the challenge!”
James Thorne, group leader for the five-strong team said: “The British Heart Foundation has been a great help to me as I was born with a congenital heart defect – with cycling helping to increase my fitness levels, I’ve been able to stay away from the operating table so it’s great to be able to match these passions and raise money for a good cause. The support from the likes of FJ Chalke is both generous and very much appreciated. Not to mention that my dad is a mechanic and the Kia brand comes highly recommended – I know that if my bike chain goes I can rely on our support car!”
Glovers day at Sherbourne Golf Club
FJ Chalke are proud to sponsor Sherbourne Golf Club. James Chalke teamed up with Craig Allcock (pictured left) in the Glovers Day tournament at Sherbourne Golf Club.
FJ Chalke at the Gillingham and Shaftesbury show.
FJ Chalke opens a new Kia dealership in Yeovil.
The new FJ Chalke Kia dealership in Yeovil, situated on Sherborne Road, is now open and ready for business. FJ Chalke is an established car retailer with sites also in Wincanton and Mere. A significant investment in the facility from both Kia and FJ Chalke will provide both new and used Kia sales plus a state of the art service facility. Steve Fowler, Managing Director, said: "We have been monitoring Kia's recent growth and are delighted to have been offered the opportunity to represent this exciting franchise in the Yeovil area. "We will ensure all prospective new and existing Kia customers in and around Yeovil receive an outstanding level of customer care as they would expect by dealing with the fifth largest car manufacturer in the world." With zero per cent finance, a range starting from only £5,995, an industry best seven year bumper-to-bumper warranty on the cee'd and Sportage families and certain models in the £35 VED bracket, FJ Chalke Kia is perfectly positioned to offer credit-crunch busting cars to the residents of Yeovil. FJ Chalke Kia will provide its customers with a complete aftersales, accident repair, MOT and parts service, and its team consists of a range of qualified experts to offer friendly and knowledgeable advice. Visitors to the showroom can run the rule over Kia's comprehensive portfolio of cars, including the new convention busting Soul. Steve is confident about what the dealership will offer his customers. He said: "The continued demand for the Kia brand has made the opening of this dealership possible. "We have assembled a team that will offer a professional, friendly experience that ensures our customers can make informed decisions in a welcoming environment."
F J Chalke presents charity raffle winner with a Kia Picanto
Peter Davies from Frome in Somerset is now the proud owner of a Kia Picanto winning the car after buying a £1 raffle ticket from local Kia dealer F J Chalke. The prize draw supported the annual fundraising campaign held by the Wessex Multiple sclerosis Therapy Centre in Warminster.
After donating the Kia Picanto to the charity, the draw of the winner took place on Saturday (29th November) at the dealership in Mere. Mr Davies was one of thousands that helped raise money for the centre, which will receive over £10,000 from the raffle.
James Chalke, Managing Director, F J Chalke Kia commented: “We are very proud to have supported this fundraising effort. The centre is run entirely from charitable donations and we think it’s our responsibility as a local business to help where we can. The Kia Picanto has consistently been among the UK’s top-selling small cars which made it a perfect choice to donate to the raffle”
Peter Davies will receive a white Kia Picanto. The small, spacious car sits on tax band B; emitting just 117 CO2 g/km ensuring Mr Davies is kinder to the environment when he drives through town. Band B also means just £35 per year on road tax, making this car lighter on the wallet as well as the environment.
Customer Testimonials
Click here to download the testimonials in PDF format
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Click here to download the testimonials in PDF format
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Click here to download the testimonials in PDF format
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Click here to download the testimonials in PDF format
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