History – Courtesy Garage Ltd.

Early in 1970, Courtesy Garage Limited was appointed sub-distributors for Nissan Motor Co., Limited, of Japan, manufacturers of Datsun/Nissan motor vehicles, and later that year it was appointed joint distributors for General Motors-Holden’s Pty Limited, of Australia, manufacturers of Holden vehicles.

By the late sixties, it was obvious that the company had outgrown its dealership premises at White Park, and it was decided to purchase a plot of land at Wildey, about 4 kilometers outside the city center, comprising 7 acres approx., on which to construct new and adequate facilities. In March, 1972, the company moved out of the city area to its present premises at Wildey.

In 1978, because of the economic down-turn which followed the international oil crisis of late 1973, and the imposition of import restrictions on motor cars in 1977, it was decided to acquire a car rental business, as a means of buttressing the earning capacity of the company.

The company which today sells mainly Nissan vehicles, has earned an enviable reputation for the fine quality after-sales service and spare parts back-up which it has provided to its customers over the years.

Courtesy Garage was founded in the roaring twenties by the late Louis B. Eckstein at Park House, on the corner of White Park Road and Walrond Street, in Bridgetown. In those early days Courtesy Garage was the local distributor for Hudson and Essex motor cars, and the family business of Eckstein Brothers, which was located on Bay Street, was the distributor of General Motors Corporation, with the franchise for Buick, Pontiac and Chevrolet vehicles made in the U.S.A. Subsequently, Courtesy Garage took over the GM car lines from Eckstein Brothers.

In 1939, Robert Thom Limited, which had been distributors of the British-made Vauxhall and Bedford vehicles since 1934, bought out Courtesy Garage. This brought together under one roof, the wide range of GM products – Buick, Pontiac, Chevrolet, Vauxhall and Bedford. Later, other GM products, Opel cars from Germany, were also distributed by Courtesy Garage.

In the mid-sixties, the owners of Robert Thom Limited, a Scottish family, decided to divest themselves of their Barbados operations, and a group of local businessmen, spear-headed by Sir Kenneth Hunte, floated a company called “Courtesy Garage Limited” in June, 1966, to purchase the assets of Courtesy Garage from Robert Thom Limited.

By late 1991, Goddard Enterprises Limited, one of the original shareholders of Courtesy Garage Limited, had increased its share holding in the Company to more than fifty-one percent of the issued shares thereby making Courtesy Garage Limited a subsidiary, and member of the Goddard’s Group of Companies.

Management strongly feels that our greatest assets for the future growth and progress of the Company, are its employees and customers. Our corporate philosophy is the age-old Golden Rule, “do unto others as you would them do unto you” and every employee is committed to strive, in the conduct of his/her daily work, to live by this philosophy in human relations.

In choosing the name ‘Courtesy Garage’, our founder obviously felt that courteous service should be the hallmark of this business and that ethical business practices and a sense of community leadership would lead to the success and progress we now enjoy.