West Orange Motors founder and dealer principal, Bob Craig, said Mercedes-Benz was “the most magnificent company to deal with for 40 years but in the past few years “have been very difficult”.

Mr Craig has now sold his land and franchises for Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Jeep, Mitsubishi, and Toyota passenger cars, together with truck brands Hino, Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, and Fuso, to Tony White. 

It boosts Tony White Group to almost 60 locations and about 45 brands, operating in four states.

West Orange Motors (WOM) is Australia’s longest continual Mercedes-Benz dealership and the longest with all Mercedes-Benz products, from cars, trucks, vans to buses. Over the journey, Mr Craig has been dealer of the year for Mercedes-Benz nine times. 

Mr Craig, who is involved in the current dealer-driven legal case against Mercedes-Benz as the brand begins its move to an agency model, said that in dealing with the brand, “the obfuscation has been unbelievable.”

He said although Mercedes-Benz said it consulted with dealers prior to the plan to an agency model, “I’m one of their biggest rural dealers and they never spoke to me.”

“After 48 years, I don’t recognise this company,” he said of Mercedes-Benz.

“I don’t understand their strategy. Decisions are being made by people who obviously don’t understand retail. 

“I’ve got to be careful at my age that I’m not seen as one of those silly outsiders who says ‘that wasn’t the way we used to do it’. 

“But my staff and myself have always embraced change or we wouldn’t have lasted this long. We love change and we recognise Mercedes-Benz’s right to it. 

“But there’s probably 1000 other ways they could have done it (change to an agency model) with a better outcome.”

Mr Craig said that no matter who wins the impending court case, “the relationship (between dealers and Mercedes) is gone”.

“I’m not dirty on Mercedes. I love the brand and I don’t want this to be a bitter and twisted story, but I want to point out that the industry needs people to just stand up and say ‘stop it’; ‘just stop it and start being reasonable’.”

Mr Craig said “on the other side of the ledger was the 36 years with Toyota” who he described as “fantastic.” 

“It’s certainly the best run car company in Australia,” he said.

“In the 1990s, Toyota, Ford and Holden were all about 17 or 18 per cent of the market, and swapped places every year or two for a while.

“It was possible that I could have added more dealerships to get economy of scale. But I chose to just stay in the town as we had already achieved about 40 per cent of the (Orange and surrounds) market.”

Mr Craig was also complementary of Volkswagen “which was a lot of fun and very good to deal with” and Skoda (which was handed back recently because though he loves the product, the volumes didn’t make it viable), as well as Mitsubishi and Jeep.

“I have always wanted to leave the motor trade in a better state ate that what I found it but were not. Unfortunately we’re going to lose some great kids out of the industry and that’s a tragedy.”

Mr Craig said he sold his first car in about 1969 when working part-time at a Ford dealership while studying at university to become a surveyor.

He never became a surveyor, starting West Orange Motors in 1973 with Mercedes-Benz and a split franchise with Toyota (commercials under Thiess Toyota and passenger cars under York Motors) before adding Toyota as a full franchise in 1985.

“It’s been a fantastic, fantastic ride,” he said.

“On reflection, my life in the industry has just been a bit of luck and a lot of help from good people.”

By Neil Dowling