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Tom Hartley: The Dealmaker
£9.00£19.00 (-53%)
The car world is full of fascinating characters, but few have a story to tell quite as remarkable and inspirational as Tom Hartley. Walking out of school at the age of 11, unable to read or write, Hartley set up his own business buying and selling cars. From that moment on he defied logic and ripped up the rule book on his way to the top.Today, he heads one of the most successful independent family-run luxury, performance and classic car businesses in the world, and has built an unrivalled reputation as ‘The Dealmaker.’ Tom has been at the top for over 40 years, survived and thrived through four recessions, and overcome three life-threatening illnesses. In his own brutally honest words Hartley tells his gripping story of a boy from a traditional Romany family who swapped the classroom for the cut-throat world of Glasgow’s car auctions, buying and selling his first car at the age of 12. Having decided to illegally drive himself, he was only 15 when he had his first car crash, and they don’t come more spectacular than writing off a Ferrari Dino – nothing has ever been mundane in the world of Tom Hartley! Hartley had made his first million by the age of 17, but soon suffered major setbacks as his business went bust, and he found himself at risk of losing his sight without major surgery. Hartley started all over again, living with his wife in a mobile home, and working from the back of a car. He had gone from hero to zero, but his burning desire to be the best saw him climb his way back to the top. His ability to clinch deals in some of the most bizarre places has become legendary, like buying a car in a sauna, while stuck in a traffic jam on a motorway, and even in a swimming pool! Family has played a key part in the Tom Hartley story: his wife, Priscilla, has been at his side all the way, and his two sons have followed closely in their father’s footsteps. Indeed, Tom’s belief in family is just one of the inspiring messages that comes through in his book. Hartley’s inspirational story is about his unshakeable belief in his own abilities, from a precocious schoolboy who had a dream, and then through sheer hard work and a burning desire made the dream come true. This is not just a book for car enthusiasts but for anyone who has dared to dream. It’s a story that will inspire and motivate, and proves you can make the wildest dream come true if you want it badly enough …
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Additional information
| Publisher | Veloce Publishing Ltd (18 Jan. 2021) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 240 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1787117200 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1787117204 |
| Dimensions | 14.86 x 1.57 x 20.85 cm |
by Mikk67
Absolutely brilliant book, read it cover to cover as soon as it arrived. I was in the same business for a while so I know that it’s a hard business where no-one works a 40 hour 5 day week anyway, so to succeed to the extent that Tom has & to do it twice is an incredible achievement. He’s clearly confident in what he does & always comes across that way on social media but his confidence is well founded. There are no shortcuts to success at the pinnacle of such a hard business & the book explains the huge amount of work that goes in to acquiring the detailed product & market knowledge required & then turning up every day determined to maintain such high standards. TH actually creates the market in some of the most exotic cars in the world & anyone who’s ever dealt with him will tell you that in a business where people are regularly reluctant to commit themselves, he absolutely puts his money where his mouth is, and his accounts of buying cars that the rest of the trade would find hard to value are always interesting & sometimes very funny.
There’s so much more to the book than just that but you can read that for yourself. I would highly recommend this book to everyone as a great read about a fascinating man, but particularly for anyone who works or wants to work in the motor trade. It’s a very easy read but leaves you under no illusions as to what’s required to survive & succeed. 5 stars all day long ????
by M. N. Bindon
Tom’s books is a really easy reading insight into an amazing journey and piece of history about the evolution of the motor trade and the part he has played in it. A great range of personal and professional insights, and stories make this a fascinating look into this world. What Tom has achieved for aspirational car buyers like myself is that not only do we dream of buying a supercar one day, Tom has made it his life’s work to make where you buy it part of that dream. As a Headteacher my dream of buying a Ferrari might be a long way off but one day I will own one and now after reading this I won’t be able to buy it from anywhere other than Tom Hartley cars as having a my dream car from the ultimate dealer is the only way! Well done Tom!
by Harvey Khaira
I really enjoyed reading TH’s book and had pre-ordered it once it was finished and available to order. Having followed the Hartley story and Tom and Carl’s updates via social media for some time, it was great to read more about the family and the business, and how it became what it is today. It shows what hard work and dedication can achieve, never giving up, and keeping on going, despite what life can throw at you. This is a great read for any car enthusiast and highly recommended.
by Amazon Customer
As a die hard petrol head and having read this book in a single sitting, may I highly recommend it.
It is true to say Mr. Hartley might appear (on paper) not be to everyone’s taste but that is the point. He doesn’t care what you or I think and he tells it as it is. So often we are sold “hacks” to success but the reality is it takes hard work over a number of years.
A wise person once told me to only take advice from those who have demonstrably succeeded in life. Mr. Hartley has certainly done that and you don’t have to be a petrol head to both enjoy and learn from this book.
by S. Roberts
Full disclosure: I have only reached page 32. But already I am tiring of reading the same insights over and over again. Page 11, talking about an early auction house encounter: “…words that could be foreign until you understood the unique language of car auctions.” Page 13: “…auction jargon, which was like a foreign language at first”. Page 26: ‘… the lingo of the auction halls, which was very much like learning a foreign language.” I mean, seriously? I got it the first time. Surely the ghost writer or the editors should have spotted this? There a few other grammatical issues too but I won’t go into those. I’m sure I will find this book of interest overall from skimming it all, but if auction house jargon comes up again me and this book are going to fall out.
by Amazon Customer
Had this book for my birthday and have just completed reading it and what a read and true inspiration which goes to prove you can start with nothing and build a family empire. In some ways it reminds me of my own business with my dad and mum and my two brothers ! Of which was successful without having university degrees just common business sense and being kind to others and your staff. Tom I take my hat off to you and intend to buy a car of you one day and bare the Tom Hartley name on the bottom of the reg ! Ideally it would be that GT2RS Porsche Miami Blue you have in. Getting back to your book it’s a must read for any family man who wants to do well in there life it’s inspirational. All the best to your family and full credit to you all . Best Regards John W Dillon
by Harvey Khaira
What can I say “Absolutely Fantastic !”
This autobiography has destroyed my limiting beliefs because it made me realise that what I think is right and has enforced and laid the foundation that I am not the only one who thinks in this way , so does Tom Hartley !
When asked who is his mentor Tom said it was his father and like myself I completely understand the respect and discipline needed to lay the foundation for success.
Well done Tom this is an endearingly fascinating personal and business journey full of quirky fun facts Love of family and cheeky wheeling and dealing.
Thoroughly enjoyed it
HK
by Paul
Really was a good book and inspiring. His Work ethic is second to none, my only qualm about the book is the repetitiveness of certain aspects. Certain story’s repeated again over chapters. Also I loved how in some chapters it felt like a over written promo for his business/s
Also quite disappointed to not have read more from Tom Hartley Jnrs perspective? I’m just guessing there has been a falling out of some sort but would have been interesting to read his output. As he was first to graduate in the School of TH.
Also was expecting it to be a build up in Toms career was shocked to find out he started with a New Range Rover and Rolls Royce’s. Genuinely was expecting him to be trading more normal cars then finding the gap in the market or working his way up the ladder. Hats off to him however he’s created his own market however.