31 Aug Business Profile – DB Motors

At Finestream, we want to profile businesses that we have worked with who inspire us! DB Motors is one such business, that’s why we have chosen them for our next Business Profile. You can view our first Business Profile on Adelaide Hills Lawns & Gardens here. 

As you walk around the showroom at DB Motors you get the sense that these guys live and breathe elite European cars. The showroom boasts premium Mercedes, Ferrari, and Brabus vehicles that get the heart racing. And, out the back in the workshop, the professional DB team are servicing vehicles, ensuring they get back up and running as the manufacturer intended.

Adelaide’s premium Mercedes-Benz and European car specialist, DB Motors was established in 1968 (formerly Krause Motors) and is a South Australian family-owned business.

Found on Main North Rd, Medindie. DB is unique, with its combination of dealership and in-house servicing. Director, Tim Pitt says, “I saw the potential of the dealership, it was always a workshop but it was very stagnant. Now we’ve turned that around, we’re doing triple the amount of servicing work and the sales have become massive. We’ve expanded into the next building and its become the main part of the business.”

We sat down with Tim to discuss the journey of DB Motors.

What’s the origin story of DB Motors?

It all began because I was in the right place at the right time. An opportunity arose to buy Kraus Motors which was in a bit of a pickle. We bought it and renamed it DB, which stands for Daimler-Benz.”

What makes DB Motors different from other European car specialists?

“We’re very personalised, we’re family owned, it’s a small business. Most people will be talking directly to me, being able to talk to the owner and deal with me is a massive advantage for people.

A big difference is our in-house workshop. Being able to sell cars and have our own workshop means we can offer more that just a service or sales shop can. There’s not a lot of places that are service and sales like us, unless you go to a large dealership like Mercedes Benz, then in that case there’s many advantages of going to us over them.”

What’s been the biggest challenge of growing your business?

“Educating people. Showing them that you don’t need to take their car to a Mercedes Benz dealership (for servicing), you can bring it to us. We do a better job than they do. We charge less than what they do. That’s been a massive hurdle for us. There’s this stigma around you’ve got to take your car back to the dealership, but it’s entirely not true.

The reality is you can take your car wherever you want to. It doesn’t void your warranty, or anything like that.

There’s obviously many challenges in small business, but for us that’s our main challenge.”

What’s been your greatest triumph of running DB?

“The general growth of the business. Small business is hard, particularly in Adelaide, and especially when we’re competing against large dealerships. It’s been very challenging dealing with Covid, but we’ve come out the end with a very strong brand that has built a great reputation.

Yeah, the overall success of the business is our biggest triumph – we’ve survived and we’re going strong!”

It takes a lot to build a brand and a company, especially a trusted one with a reputation for excellence. This is even more true in the motor industry, where the majority of the pie is owned by the top end of town, and you have to fight your way in to win clients, and carve out a niche that is recognised and sought after. This is exactly what DB Motors have done, and it impresses us to no end.

Tim and the team have cemented themselves as the go-to ‘dealer alternative’ for all things Mercedes.

No task is too big or small for these guys, they will make you feel like family, and you’ll feel like you’re part of something that’s more than just you and your car.

Tim closed out our chat by explaining how similar DB Motors is to Finestream, and how much Finestream has helped them over the years.

“Finestream is so similar to us. We share the same passion and philosophy.

I deal with Matt, who shares the same passion as I do – personalised service and cars. That connection has made it very easy to deal with Finestream. I talk with Matt, I don’t get palmed off to someone else, my clients talk to Matt and they don’t get palmed off to anyone else.

It’s the personalised and professional service that make Finestream the best company for us.”

Thanks so much to the whole team at DB Motors. You can get to know them by visiting their website www.dbmotors.com.au and following them on Instagram.

If you need assistance with business or asset finance talk to us today. Experience Finestream.