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!

This Years Light Vehicle Level 3 graduates

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.

Free petrol off a Duxback

IF you look at glass under a microscope, you see not a smooth surface, but lots of little bumps, and it is those bumps that hold water when it’s raining, mud when it’s mucky and ice when the temperature dips below freezing.

When you fly in the winter, you may have sat on the runway while crews de-ice the wings of the plane, to ensure that the shape is not even slightly deformed by the frozen water, which could have a dangerous effect on the lift.

Technology is coming to the aid of both those who want clear windscreens and plane wings, in the form of Duxback (as in “like water off a”) The product has been in the USA – where it is extensively used by planemakers Boeing – for several years, and it was introduced to the UK in 2008.

Garages around the country are now offering to apply the coating when your vehicle is serviced, and that’s what happened to Susan Goldsworthy of Ryme Intrinsica.

And not only was she delighted with the result, but she became the first winner in the national Duxback competition, winning free fuel for a month.

Mrs Goldsworthy was presented with her prize at the garage where her car was serviced, F.J. Chalke Ltd on Wincanton Business Park, last week.

And she was able to tell JJ Edgell, the man whose company imports the product to the UK, that she was also pleased with the results.

“It’s eerie. You can be travelling at 40mph in the rain, and you don’t need the windscreen wipers. The water just falls away,” she said.

The logo of the company is, predictably, a duck, and he’s called Seymour (geddit?). Because Mrs Goldsworthy was the first winner, she was presented with a Seymour Duxback umbrella as well as her fuel vouchers.

She is pictured with Chalke’s after-sales manager Paul Maskell, and with JJ Edgell of PTTP.

Customer Testimonials

Yeovil

Wincanton