In today’s world of multiple employers over a lifetime, Dunedin’s Bob Woodford is somewhat of an anomaly, as he looks to begin his ‘‘self-managed lifestyle’’after 55 years as a car salesman at Auto Court.
The ‘‘r’’ word doesn’t fit with Woodford’s way of thinking, because the 75-year-old has plenty of motorsport and motoring interests to keep him busy when he finishes up his six-day-a-week job at the Cottle family-run business next week.
‘‘I am not going to be bored. I’ve got enough cars now to last me forever,’’ he said.
Unsurprisingly, for someone who has spent the bulk of his working life around them, Woodford has amassed a selection of special interest cars.
‘‘They need a bit of tender loving care. They are required to be driven and the more they are driven the better they go,’’ he said.
Despite everything he is looking forward to in the future, there is much that he will miss about his car yard career. First and foremost will be the customers, many of them long-term repeat buyers. Woodford recalls a few regulars that he sold their first cars, before then selling their offspring a vehicle and more recently helping to source a set of wheels for their grandchildren.
Another set of clientele he will be sad to farewell are those with physical disabilities that he has assisted in buying hand-controlled vehicles, or cars with wheelchair hoists. It was heart-warming to see firsthand the sense of freedom these customised cars provided, he said.
They are a far cry from the type of cars he was selling when he first began working at Auto Court in September 1964. Back then, a heater and a radio were considered optional extras. Over the years he has seen the introduction of a handy feature called power steering and the explosion of safety technology.
Driving aids such as ABS and lane departure had became standard in most new models, he said.
Finance has also undergone some huge changes.
He recalled the Muldoon era, when half the car’s purchase price was required as a deposit, the balance to be paid off in 18 months and customers were saddled with crippling 25% interest rates.
‘‘Now you can pay no deposit and spend up to five years paying a car off,’’ he said.
As far as working for Auto Court owners Neil Cottle and his son Nelson, for all these years goes, Woodford concedes he has put all his career eggs in one basket but ‘‘they’ve been a good basket.’’
‘‘They’ve treated me more or less as part of the family and have been very good to work for.’’
Woodford does not see his final day on the yard next week as retirement. Instead, the ‘‘r’’ could refer to random returns, because if he’s needed, he’s more than happy to come back and help out.
- Catherine Pattison
Photo: Gregor Richardson
