PassionAuto France - Dealer Profile

Not just for Fords…

PassionAutoFrance – or PAF as is it often refered as in France – only started trading in late 2010 but has already carved itself somewhat of a reputation on the continent as the place to source parts for your classic restoration or competition car preparation.

Founded and managed by a Frenchman who has worked for over 20 years in motorsport both in the UK and on the world scene (including a 4 year stint with the Bleu Oval), PassionAutoFrance was originally set up to cater for the Ford Classic car market in France but has recently branched into other brands such as BMW, Lotus, Porsche, Fiat and others.

"It all started when I helped a friend sourcing parts from the UK for his Lotus Elan and Cortina MK1 builds as he just could not get the right parts in France, or at least not at a reasonable price" says PAF Owner Franck Marie. "A coupe of years later my friend, my Dad and I purchased a fully race prepared Anglia fitted with a Lotus Twincam that needed a litle bit of work to go historic racing. I was based in the UK and the car was based in France, so I never really got much chance of driving it. So I decided to build myself an Escort MK1 to have some fun on UK tracks, especially with Silverstone being just a stone throw from me. French Classic Ford owners followed the build of the car on a few French forums and started to ask me for parts and after a couple of months I gave up my day to day motorsport job and started PassionAutoFrance".

Following a meeting with GAZ at the Autosport show in 2011, PassionAutoFrance started to distribute the GAZ range of products on the French market. "I like to work with selected exclusive suppliers in each area of a car whom I can rely on and can deliver quality. I had installed GAZ suspension myself on my own cars and therefore knew their products firsthand and could recommend them to my customers without any hesitation. From supplying kits to a few classic Ford owners to start with, we have now entered the classic BMW and Lotus scene as well".

But rather than being just another online supplier of classic and competition parts, PAF strength lies in its passion to help owners getting their cars back on the road and sourcing the best parts or set up for its customers specific needs and applications. "Language can be a big problem when ordering specific parts and even if a lot of my customers do speak a little bit of English, they are not confident enough to order parts online. More than often they need to discuss specifics before ordering to ensure they are getting the right parts. Anyone who knows a little about classic Fords will tell you that it can be a real minefield to identify the right part. Another challenge that faces us is that the a majority of cars we deal with are German built - which can vary a lot from their English counterparts - you need to be aware of the differences!"

"90% of our business is based on recommendations from customers and word of mouth and there is nothing more satisfying than getting an email from a customer who has finally been able to get his car back on the road or improved its performance in a race thanks to some parts we have supplied them with, which they just could not, or did not know how to get hold of".

Contact Details :

Tel : +33 (0)1 82 88 11 64 +44 (0)7850 479 979
Email : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.passionautofrance.com