Memory Lane

Rockvale History

Rockvale Motor Company was formed on the 1st January 1967 by its founder. Working in the motor industry for a long period of time, its founder decided to venture out into running his own business, specialising in high quality, low mileage cars with an emphasis on personal customer service.

The business was started in Cheadle Hulme where upon it traded until December 1984 and indeed a lot of those loyal customers still do business with us to this day. The emphasis has always been on value for money and still is, acquiring first rate, late year, low mileage cars with terrific savings and negating the necessity to buy new, trying where possible to give impartial advice on which are the best models and which are perhaps not so good!!!

Right from the early days, Rockvale has always published a monthly Car List which customers would often pick up when passing or it would be posted out at request. This we still do in addition to our website to this day.

Below you will find some random Car Lists produced by Rockvale from various decades, showing some of the cars that were on sale in those days. Specifications have changed dramatically over the years, when you think that Inertia Reel Safety Belts, Heated Rear Windows and Wing Mirrors used to be considered as extras.

September 1980

Rockvale were specialising in High Quality Used Cars, mostly less than 3 years old and with low mileage.

e.g. From: Fiat 126 Saloon (May 1980) 5,000 miles = £1,860
To: Volvo 244 De Luxe Estate Car (May 1978) 31,000 miles = £4,795 (Which incidentally, we sold to a local businessman in Cheadle Hulme who had it for more than 10 years.)

Other cars for sale at this time were Fiat 131 Mirafiori, Renault 18 TS, Vauxhall Cavalier 2000 GLS, Triumph 1300 Dolomite, Vauxhall Chevette and Triumph 1850 Dolomite.

September 1980

November 1981

Rockvale's stock increased as they became busier but they continued to deal in High Quality Used Cars, no more than 3 to 4 years old with low mileage.

e.g. From: Vauxhall Chevette Estate (Jun 1979) 21,000 miles = £2,350
To: Lotus Eclat Sports Saloon 521 model (May 1978) 28,000 miles = £5,995

Other cars for sale at this time were Ford Granada 2.8 GL Auto, Austin Mini Metro, Fiat Mirafiori 2000 TC Sport, Leyland Princess 2000 HLS

November 1984

e.g. From: Talbot Horizon 1.3 LS 5 Door (Jan 1983) 10,800 miles = £3,350
To: Rover 3500 SE Auto 5 Door Hatchback (Oct 1983) 15,800 miles = £8,595

Other cars for sale at this time were Renault Fuego TS Sports Hatchback, Ford Sierra 1.6 Auto, Ford Escort 1300L and 1600L 5 Door Hatchbacks, Austin Montego, Austin Maestro and Matra Rancho Station Wagon.

As Rockvale's Stock increased, their current premises became inadequate and they decided to look for a larger site with greater flexibility and the space to increase their busy workshop facilities. They moved to Adswood Road in Spring 1986 where, by then, they were establishing their name for the BMW marque.

November 1984

July 1991

Having outgrown their premises again, Rockvale looked to increase their capacity whilst retaining their location and acquired larger premises on the same site, which they then moved into, giving them over 30 car spaces, larger workshops, stores and office complex.

July 1992

As you can see, the popular and attractive BMW 3 series (E30) was still in high demand in all variants from the 2 Door Sports to the 5 Door Touring and with our favourite silky smooth 6 Cylinder Fuel Injected Engine available in every guise.

Due to the build quality and reliability of BMW cars, Rockvale decided to dedicate a lot of their time and effort into these vehicles. Rockvale are now established as a BMW SPECIALIST.

e.g. From: BMW 520i Lux 5 Speed Manual (Aug 1987) 53,000 miles = £5,995
To: BMW 325i Touring 5 Speed Manual (Aug 1989) 37,000 miles = £12,995

Other cars for sale at this time were BMW 320i Touring 4 Speed Auto, BMW 325 Touring 5 Speed Manual, BMW 320i 4 Door Saloon, BMW 525i SE 5 Speed Manual and a BMW 320i 2 Door Saloon.

July 1992

January 1996

Another of their best sellers, the BMW E34 range of 5 Series, was now a popular choice with some models now sporting the new 24 Valve Engine. Later E36 3 Series now commonplace but the previous model (E30) still holding its own with strong demand.

As can be seen from the 2nd page of the Price List, Rockvale were still authorised dealers and main agents for Pioneer in Car Audio and Cobra Alarms. Both agencies were approaching the 20-year mark at this point and they were now accredited with the premium brand of Securicor TrakBak, which was a high quality, sophisticated Tracking System for high value prestige vehicles. They fitted these on a weekly basis to brand new Bentleys, Rolls Royce, Ferraris and top end Porsches, for members of the public and local main dealers.

Rockvale were still selling mainly BMWs, having built up their reputation as being a trusted and reliable Used Car Dealer, specialising in the BMW brand.

e.g. From: BMW 325i 2 Door 5 Speed Manual (Jun 1987) 67,000 miles = £4,750
To: BMW 325 Alpina B 2.5 (new shape) 4 Dr 5 Speed (Jun 1992) 47,000 miles = £17,495

Other Cars for sale at this time were BMW 525 TDS SE 5 Speed Manual (Diesel) Saloon, BMW 520i 24V SE 5 Speed Manual Saloon, BMW 535i SE 5 Speed Manual Saloon, BMW 316i Touring 5 Speed Manual and BMW 325i Touring 5 Speed Manual.

December 1997

During 1997, Rockvale were still selling BMWs much the same as previous years.

e.g. From: BMW 325i SE 4 Dr Saloon (Nov 1991) 102,000 miles = £7,750
To: BMW 520i SE Touring 5 Speed Manual (May 1996) 28,000 miles = £20,495

Other Cars for sale at this time were BMW 520i SE Touring 5 Speed Manual, BMW 316i 4 Door Saloon, BMW 320i 24v 4 Dr Saloon, BMW 325i SE, BMW 320i Touring, BMW 325i Coupe, BMW 730i SE Switchable Auto, BMW 525i SE Auto Saloon.

December 1997

Year 2000

They acquired new premises in addition (now called Rockvale House) and after major construction work and redevelopment, they created new indoor Showroom facilities, Offices and Customer Waiting Area.

March 2000

Rockvale had more BMWs in stock than ever before, introducing the BMW Z3 to the range.

e.g. From: BMW 52Si SE Switchable Auto (Jan 1990) 93,000 miles = £5,750
To: BMW Z3 1.9 Soft Top Roadster (Oct 1997) 5,700 miles = £19,850

Other Cars for sale at this time were BMW 525i SE Saloons, BMW 525i SE Touring 5 Speed Manual, BMW 52Si SE Switchable Auto, BMW 535i SE Switchable Auto, BMW 730i SE Switchable Auto, BMW 318i SE Touring, BMW 316i Compact, BMW 320i SE 4 Dr Saloon.

March 2000

August 2005

Selling mainly BMWs was a good move for Rockvale. However, they still had other makes and models for sale from time to time.

e.g. From: Vauxhall Vectra Club 1.8 (Mar 2001) 68,000 miles = £3,995
To: Volkswagen Golf VS 2.3 (Dec 1999) 50,000 miles = £7,650

BMWs From: BMW 316i SE 1.9 Compact (Dec 2000) 45,000 miles = £6.995
To: BMW 530i Sport Steptronic Auto Saloon (Jui 2002) 29,000 miles = £18,995

Other Cars for sale in this particular year BMW 525i Sport Touring Steptronic Auto, BMW 5250 SE, BMW 525i SE Manual, BMW 530i Sport Steptronic Touring Auto, BMW 318i SE Auto Saloon, Audi TT Quattro, Mercedes 190E 1.8 and Alfa Romeo 156 TS Steptronic Auto.

July 2011

Rockvale continued to sell mainly BMWs including Z3 and Z4 Sports Cars.

e.g. From: BMW Z3 Convertible Manual (Mar 2000) 45,000 miles = £6,495
To: BMW Z4 S Drive 23i 2.5 Convertible Manual (Sep 2009) 24,000 miles = £20,995

Other Cars for sale at this time were BMW 525i SE 3.0 Auto, BMW 325i M Sport 4 Dr Saloon Auto, BMW Z4 2.0 Sport Roadster Convertible, BMW 525i SE Touring Auto, BMW 318i SE 2.0 6V Saloon 6 Speed Manual, BMW 330 Cl Sport Coupe 6 Speed Manual and many more!!!

July 2011

August 2016

Summmer of 2016

Adding the MERCEDES brand to their line-up, as well as the huge demand for the now classic BMW Z3 range, proved to be difficult to accommodate in their existing premises. So, the decision was made to acquire the adjoining premises to their workshop, which was successfully redesigned, to make a second indoor display area.

"I cannot recommend Mark and his team highly enough. Their knowledge and expertise is second to none and they are so friendly and helpful."

H.P. (July 2022)

H.P. Cheadle

"Having just collected my Z4 purchased from Rockvale Motors, I just wanted to say a massive thank you to Mark and the team for their excellent service, knowledge and support given to me, both via phone and email, before seeing the car, and for such friendly and infomative discussions when I actually viewed and test drove.

R.B. Swinton

The most engaging and sumptuous purchase experience ever. I exchanged a few emails with Mark enquiring about the Z3s he was advertising for sale and whether any of them would meet my requirements. We followed up these exchanges with a very productive and informative telephone conversation which lasted circa 60 minutes.

Darren C

Hi Mark, I just wanted to thank you, Danny and David for Saturday. It's sad to say, and very rare these days, to find a gem of a company like yours.

Richard (6 Series BMW)

I cannot recommend Mark and his team at Rockvale highly enough. He and his team are a real credit to their profession, both in terms of sales and after sales.