A Kaipara Institution
Dargaville Motors – a Kaipara institution
There would be very few 82-year-olds still busting out a full working week – let alone running a decades old business employing a dozen-odd staff and supporting numerous families around Kaipara District
But for Dargaville business icon Lindsay West that’s just what he does.
The man who took ownership of Dargaville Motors back in 1990 still has his exercise book showing the first ever vehicle sale…along with other books and documents recording every sale since August 5, 1966!
Lindsay says it is a good reminder of where he has come from and how the business has tracked in the 45 years he has been working in the business.
The father of two spent five years training as an A-grade mechanic at Alan Tillick Motors to start his career. His apprenticeship started on 29 June, 1959.
“There are two things in life that I am passionate about. Number one is customer service and number two is staff training. I think if you get those factors right, the rest follows suit.”
Somehow along the way he managed to fit in ten years working as a grocer when he purchased Te Kopuru Four Square after going there to sell the previous owner a Ford delivery van!
Lindsay is still not quite sure how he fitted that in with his motoring career.
“There are two things in life that I am passionate about. Number one is customer service and number two is staff training,” says Lindsay.
“I think if you get those factors right, the rest follows suit.”
Lindsay points to the fact that he still has the same number of staff of 14 as the winter of 2025 rolls in, as he inherited when he took over the business in the early 1990s and he believes that is a good indication of a steady ship and a solid business model.
He likes to think he has largely got it right over the decades, despite contending with substantial change in the motoring sector.
“We used to be one of eight motoring franchises in Dargaville. Now we are the only one in the Kaipara District. We have seen lots of highs and lows over the years and plenty of changes to the business.”
Before Linsday took over, it was owned by Keith Louden and prior to Keith’s tenure, D and W Motors were the go-to Ford dealers who took over from Smith’s Garage in the days when vehicles used to come by barge via the Kaipara Harbour and up the Northen Wairoa River.
Interestingly, within Lindsay’s treasure trove of historical documentation, is a receipt as proof of purchase from those bygone days when life was pretty simple in comparison to the complexities of the digital age.
He even won a national award from Ford NZ in the early 1990’s for the country’s second-best promotion of the 1992 Ford Telstar!
Back in the day, Lindsay also sold Ford tractors on his Dargaville car yard.
Now with the help of son Anthony (known to most Westy) who joined the business in 2012, he has a mix of brands including Mahindra, Can-Am ATVs and off-roaders and Sea-Doo jet skis under the Northland Motor Sports umbrella.
Westy picks farm bikes, quads, side by sides, Sea-Doos and cars up all over Northland for servicing.
Branching out is just the reality of doing business in the motoring sector these days.
“A few years ago, we thought we were untouchable as a business and would be here for life but like everyone, we have had to contend with some up and down years and work hard to get through. Today no-one knows what is going to happen in the motoring sector with the evolution of electric vehicles and other changes,” says Lindsay and Westy.
One legacy that won’t be forgotten in a hurry is the wildly popular West Coast Edition Ford Ranger, which locals in particular, have lapped up since launch with the PX1 Ford Ranger in 2012.
Over time, plenty of Kiwis from around the country have cottoned on to the uniqueness of the model as Lindsay and Westy have allowed them to put their own stamp on their Ranger by loading it with the exact specifications they want.
“We have kitted out well over 100 West Coast Editions and they are all around the country. Once people have them, they don’t let them go because they are so personal to the individual and they are a one-off.”
Westy says the unique, personalised twist on the Ranger model has been a hit with ute enthusiasts and the name made sense given their proximity to the West Coast of Kaipara and their last name.
“Is it popular? Yes. We have kitted out well over 100 West Coast Editions and they are all around the country. Once people have them, they don’t let them go because they are so personal to the individual and they are a one-off,” says Westy.
“We started with the most basic of Ranger - the XL - but then we started to up the ante and tackle Wildtraks, where we would rip out the leather seats and replace them with Recaro Sports seats.”
Then there are the lift kits, flared guards, engine tuning, manifold and exhaust upgrades and other modifications.
Among the projects for the winter of 2025 are the modification of three V6 Ranger Wildtraks.
“As standard, they are around $86k but by the time we have finished they will be worth around that $130k mark. And I can tell you now, the owners won’t be parting with them because they are so special to the people who ask us to go to the effort of producing a one-off West Coast Edition for them. There is a big piece of the individual in a West Coast Edition and that’s why we will keep on creating them.”
The pair are also total community champions by supporting worthy causes year in, year out.
Perhaps their best effort was hosting a MoreFM Northland live breakfast broadcast some years back where they live-raffled a car and helped raise over $45k in just three hours for the life-saving Northern Rescue helicopters.
That generosity can’t be underestimated because fundraisers like that provide the money to provide vital rescue helicopter flights that save lives and deliver better patient outcomes for locals and visitors to the Kaipara.
There is a lovely irony to Lindsay’s journey through life.
You see, he was born in Taranaki back in 1943 when the family lived on the Forgotten Highway, which runs through to Whangamōmona. His father was a First World War man and his Mum had relatives at Dargaville, so she made the decision to move the family North when Lindsay was eight-years-old.
As his life has transpired, Lindsay can rightfully be thankful for his Mum’s foresight equally proud of his own efforts in helping create memories for thousands of people cruising on state highways throughout Northland and New Zealand – highway memories far from forgotten – thanks to putting them in the seats of trusty Fords.
And he plans to create memories for a fair few more people yet by providing the wheels they need for as long as he feels useful in the business!
At 82, Lindsay reckons he’s just about a local, so still has a bit to prove to the old-timers of the Kaipara.
Best he gets back to work and fine tunes that customer service of his!