Secondhand Porsches 'sell to people with humble beginnings'

"We don't really tend to deal with footballers, we deal with business owners," said James Walker, who sells used cars that can cost up to £300,000.

The 35-year-old started in the motor trade in 2010 working at a car supermarket and now runs a dealership in Stoke-on-Trent selling the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche and Rolls-Royce.

Most of its clients are "people with a fascinating story, and they've started off generally from humble beginnings.. and worked incredibly hard," said the managing director.

And many of those customers are local: "it's almost like a bit of community now, we've got a lot of very successful people in and around the Stoke-on-Trent area."

Walker's own interest in the motor trade was sparked on a family trip to Edinburgh as a boy, when he walked past a brand new supercar.

That prompted him to ask his dad what job he should do when he was older, and his dad said city trader, estate agent or car sales.

After college, he worked in telesales and did not enjoy it, but said it was hard to get into car sales at the time, as main dealers wanted people with experience.

He eventually got a job at a local car supermarket with long hours and a high volume of work, but with a chance to learn the basics of sales.

He went on to work for mainstream and luxury car brands before deciding it was time to set up his own dealership, with support from a local investor.

They began with three cars and it was a mix of everything, said Walker: "we had Ford Fiestas to start off with, then a Rolls-Royce Cullinan and a Bentley Continental."

Today the average price of a car in stock is around £90,000.

In comparison, the average price of a house in Stoke-on-Trent in 2026 was £147,000.

The first time he sold a car for more than £200,000, Walker said he "was absolutely buzzing" but now it has become the norm, "which is a bit crazy."

As the garage is run by three people proud to be from Stoke-on-Trent, Walker said it was really important to trade from the city, and provide opportunities for other local companies.

"If we're going to be dealing with millionaires from Scotland, London and all over the world, we want to bring their business to Stoke."

He said he loved the industry, but admits that selling such high-end cars is not always easy.

"The hard days are really, really hard, and you just kind of want to go to bed and put the bed covers over and go to sleep. But the good days are just so good."

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