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Heesh, on the other hand, studied accounting at university and was customer goes to, they will be told the exact same thing,” he says.
working as an accountant at a dealership when he was given the Customer satisfaction is very important at Garston Motors, which is
chance to sell cars. It wasn’t long before he became general man- why the dealership offers a full certification process for each vehicle,
ager of the dealership. not just a typical safety check.
“Having that accounting background really helped him,” says Andy. “I think the way we treat customers is different from the average.
The brothers found the opportunity to open their own dealership We try not to be a ‘stuffed shirt’,” says Andy. “We want people to
when they purchased Garston Motors in 2013 from John Dimeck. be comfortable and happy to ask all their questions without hesita-
Dimeck, who opened the dealership in 1999 on Victoria Street in tion.”
Kitchener, sold high-end vehicles but was looking to make a change
and now operates his own warranty business. Andy says the dealership also approaches its community commit-
ments using the same philosophy and supports a wide variety of
The Lebada brothers had already purchased the property on Eagle
Street several years before and decided to move the dealership to
Cambridge. At the time, they had approximately 30 vehicles in stock.
“We saw an opportunity here and already knew Cambridge after
looking at previous properties,” says Andy. “It was the perfect op-
portunity.”
They retained the name Garston, which is the name of Dimeck’s
hometown in England.
“We kept the name because it had meaning to him and we respect-
ed that,” says Andy, adding Dimeck remains an important mentor.

But that first year in business was not easy for the brothers who
were still commuting daily from London and had to deal with traffic
issues caused by major roadwork on Eagle Street.

“Our first year in business we could barely have people come in and
out of the dealership,” he says. “The first year is stressful as it is but
having that obstacle to deal with was even more stressful.”
However, Andy says they persevered and remained motivated.
“You keep positive and look forward to the future and things hap-
pen to you.”

He says clients they had in London began following them to Cam-
bridge and the business began to build.

Their cousin, Ash, who also had a background in the car industry, charities, including the Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region,
joined them in the business about a year and half after they opened. Make-a-Wish Foundation, Morningstar Family Ministries and Ron-
The rest of their team began to arrive shortly after, including office ald McDonald House, to name just a few.
manager Jenn Matthews and her husband, John, the dealership’s
accountant. “We’ve become part of the community very, very quickly and try to
give back as much as a possible,” he says.
“Jenn is a critical part of this and we’re grateful to have her,” says The Lebada brothers and their cousin also give back to each other in
Andy, adding the whole team has been instrumental with the suc- terms of advice and support, especially in those early days.
cess of Garston Motors.
“We kind of all taught each other. We would keep each other mo-
The dealership is now finalizing plans to move to a much larger lo- tivated and help each other out,” says Andy, who admits it’s not al-
cation just up the road at the corner of Industrial Road and Eagle ways easy for family members to work side by side.
Street.
“But no matter what, we’re still family and the love and is there and
“It all kind of evolved on its own by having people who look out the relationship is there.”
for your business as much as you do,” he says of his employees.
“They’ve put as much work into this as we have since Day 1.” PHOTO: The Garston Motors team remain a tightknit team that operates their dealer-
ship like no other. ABOVE: Garston Motors owner Andy Lebada, says the concept of
Andy says consistency and believing in their products have been key family means a great deal to his team.
for the Garston Motors team.
“That’s the model we try to instil here. It doesn’t matter who the

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Spring 2019