Nelson (left) and Neil Cottle at the site of the new Auto Court car yard. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
Auto Court director Nelson Cottle is breaking with tradition by building a new car sales yard off the beaten track and with an emphasis on displaying cars inside rather than having a large outside yard.The more than $2 million South Dunedin car yard on the corner of Burns and Neville Sts, across the road from Carisbrook, was set to open in July, later than scheduled because of some planning delays.
The investment was also a sign of confidence in the city and the market, he said.
The project was designed by Michael Stevenson, of Stevenson Design, and the building contractors were Lund South.
Auto Court has been operating from a site on the corner of Andersons Bay Rd and McBride St since moving from its former premises opposite the Oval, on the corner of Andersons Bay Rd and Crawford St.
Auto Court did not own the site it was currently on and Mr Cottle, with his father Neil, saw the opportunity to try something different with a new, purpose-built site.
The new site will cater for 65 vehicles inside and about 30 to 35 vehicles outside, with the added attraction of having a large indoor area for display, Mr Cottle said.
''When we set up here, we realised how lucky we were with our old site. With the cars on the inside, you reduce the need for cleaning, have a better display and use far less water washing cars - a conservation measure.
''We are reversing the traditional model of a big yard and a small inside display.''
Asked about the decision to move away from the traditional car-selling areas in Dunedin, Mr Cottle said Auto Court, which had operated for 50 years, had a good customer base and received referrals and return business. Good advertising and having a selection of good quality cars at the right price meant people travelled to buy, he said.
Sales in the used car business were buoyant and that helped with the decision to build something new. The strength of the New Zealand dollar against the Japanese yen was helping the company buy and import late-model cars that met tough new emission standards, Mr Cottle said.
Late last year, the dollar was buying 62 yen to 64 yen, but this week the dollar was buying 83 yen.
''That's made buying much easier for us.''
Industry figures from the New Zealand Transport Authority showed the sales of Japanese imported vehicles were exceeding new car sales each month, he said.
Auto Court was focusing on 2004 to 2013 models, some of which were still to be released as new vehicles in New Zealand.
''If we were not buying these cars they would end up back on the road in Japan.''
Auto Court has also bought the block of land on Burns St, next to the new car sales site, and the Cottles were investigating the development of the site. Ideally, they would like a business related to the car industry to establish itself on the site.
Nelson Cottle said having the Dunedin City Council conclude its negotiations with Calder Stewart regarding the redevelopment of the former rugby ground would result in the area going ahead. Already, vehicle traffic in the area was high and there was plenty of parking available for customers.
- dene.mackenzie@odt.co.nz
Source: http://www.odt.co.nz/news/business/258112/cottles-investing-2m-car-yard
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