This year, Auto Advantage and McDonald Jones Homes will celebrate a 12-year business partnership that has delivered fleet management services for more than 300 vehicles across Australia’s eastern seaboard.
Auto Advantage General Manager, Simon Duwner said the partnership began when the builder was a relatively small business.
“The very first time Auto Advantage worked with McDonald Jones was in the old East Maitland office,” Simon said.
“The first car we sourced for the team was a Holden Commodore station wagon back in 2006… things have changed a bit since then.”
Now in its 30th year, the MJH Group is the third largest residential home builder nationally, with brands including McDonald Jones, Mojo Homes, Brighton Homes and Wilson Homes. From humble beginnings, the group today operates across most states on the eastern seaboard of Australia, employees around 650 people (excluding trades) and has a turnover in excess of $700 million.
For the past 12 years, McDonald Jones Homes has trusted Auto Advantage to assist in the buying and management of all fleet vehicles as it has grown and expanded its services. This service goes well beyond the initial purchase of a motor vehicle; it also includes assistance in managing all vehicles in the fleet, such as when to service them, when to maintain them and when to change them over.
“McDonald Jones’ expertise is building houses; ours is to help them buy and sell vehicles and maintain them in that process,” Simon said.
MJH Group Chief Financial Officer, Nick Elkington said that Auto Advantage currently managed about 180 vehicles for the group.
“One of the key benefits in using a trusted car buying service is that we don’t have to worry about the process. Auto Advantage do everything that we need to make sure that we’ve got vehicles for all our employees,” Nick said.
The partnership has also seen the two organisations join forces for a great cause. When Bill McDonald and the team embarked on the Build for a Cure initiative in support of the Children’s Cancer Institute in 2016, he asked if Auto Advantage could assist by finding a car that could be raffled to raise some additional funds.
Auto Advantage and Mitsubishi have now donated two Mitsubishi Mirage vehicles since that time.
IMAGE | MJH Group Chief Financial Officer, Nick Elkington and Auto Advantage General Manager, Simon Duwner.
