Maurie Pickering opens first MG Motor dealership in Southport on Gold Coast in 15 years

A popular ex-V8 driver has opened the first MG Motor dealership on the Gold Coast in 15 years.

FORMER-V8 driver Maurie Pickering has opened the first MG Motor dealership on the Gold Coast in 15 years.

Mr Pickering owns South Coast Automotive Group, based at Tweed Heads. He raced for years on the touring car circuit and and was mentored by motor racing legend Dick Johnson.

Late last year he opened Pickering Luxury Garage on Spendelove Ave in Southport to market pre-owned luxury marques including Maserati and Lamborghini.

He has now added the Coast’s first MG Motor dealership since 2005, located alongside the luxury garage.

Maurie Pickering has opened opening the first MG Motor dealership on the Gold Coast in 15 years.

The MG brand, which dates back to 1924, was last sold on the Gold Coast by Cartwright Motor Group, which went into administration in 2012.

Pickering Luxury Garage dealer-principal Peter Lynton, who previously ran Lynton Fitch Motor Group, said the Gold Coast was fertile ground for an MG dealership.

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He said the business has already reached out to the Gold Coast MG Car Club to see how they could work together.

Mr Lynton said he is confident that with so many luxury dealerships on the Gold Coast, including Maserati and Ferrari, an MG dealership has its place on the Glitter Strip.

“We stand apart because we have existed from 1924,” he said.

“It is a fun thing to own an MG. MG people enjoy motoring.”

Maurie Pickering has opened opening the first MG Motor dealership on the Gold Coast in 15 years.

MG, the initials of Morris Garages, is a British automotive margue begun in the 1920s and now owned by Chinese state-owned automotive design and manufacturing company Saic Motor.

Mr Lynton said there were plans to open a service site on a site opposite the MG premises and also a professional paint correction bay underneath the MG dealership.

“The failing brands are due to bad service and parts. That is something we take pride in,” Mr Lynton said.

“With the paint bay, buyers can come and have a drink and look at how it is being done.”

Mr Pickering’s son, Jack Pickering, has come on board as sales manager.

“We are car people – that is what it comes down to,” Mr Lynton said.

MG has plans to bring back its two-door sports car model next year, meaning fans of the car have plenty to look forward to on the Gold Coast.