After 18 years selling cars and trucks Luke Hanneysee is joining his cousin Justin at one of Geelong’s oldest and most respected dealerships.
Luke joined Mike Hanneysee Car Sales in December, bringing his years of expertise with him.
“It’s great working with Justin,” he says.
“We’ve got interesting cars and we meet a lot different people.”
Car sales runs in the Hanneysees’ blood – Luke’s dad ran a dealership for 28 years, while his uncle Mike started his 56 years ago.
Having grown up around cars, Luke and Justin know exactly what to look for in a quality vehicle.
“We make sure we buy them with low kilometres, service books and a good service history,” Luke says.
He adds that the key to the business is his and Justin’s relaxed approach to selling cars.
“We don’t believe in pressure sales.”
And it appears to be working, with roughly 60 per cent of the customers coming from repeat business.
“We get a lot of people coming back in – or their parents, kids or grand kids,” Luke says.
The cousins hope to pass on their family legacy when they retire.
“It’s a business we hope we can keep going in the family for another 50 years,” Luke says.
“Depending on how many of my kids or Justin’s are interested.”
Justin has been the dealership’s director for a decade during which time he has been involved in his local community.
This year the dealership is supporting St Josephs Football Club, the Cancer Council, and magic show for children with a disability.
“We just try to put back in,” Justin says.
The RACV green light dealer still trades as Mike Hanneysee Car Sales, despite Justin’s father retiring some time ago.
“Some people ask me why I don’t change the name but it’s the name by which people have come to recognise our quality service,” Justin says.
While the dealer specialises in European cars, it’s also got a wide range of four wheel drives, utes and Japanese cars.
“We accept all sorts of trade ins including jet skis, motorbikes, caravans and boats,” Justin says.
And the company makes sure it sources all its work from nearby mechanics and traders.
“All the people we use for electrical work, roadworthies and everything else are local,” Justin says.
“Dad’s done that since day one.”
