Rod Milner Motors Ltd

On Dec 1st, 1982 Rod Milner Motors opened for business at its same existing site in Greenlane in Auckland. Rod Milner, the new owner, has now been in the motor business for 57 years. He has been involved in all facets of the Motor Business starting as a young man aged 16 in the office of a Morris/Nuffield dealer in a small country town Ngatea in the farming area on the Hauraki Plains. Rods parents owned a farm and Rods mother wanted him and his twin brother to have a career away from farming; his brother became a mechanic at the same company. Rods aspirations were to become a salesman and he achieved this at the age of 18. The company sponsored him to Outward bound school which Rod loved. At the age of 20 the Milner boys had to go into the Army and the Vietnam war was in full swing but they both refused to volunteer when called to do so to fight in Vietnam. After the Army, Rod went to Australia for 2 years, jobs were hard to find so he worked in service stations managing these. At the end of 2 years he returned to NZ and joined British Leyland and was soon appointed Sales Controller. British Leyland were sold to NZ Motor Corporation and Rod was transferred to their Head Office as Product Manager for Land Rover. After a year he transferred back to Auckland as Area Sales Representative for the Northern Dealers. He then sought a new career with opening the Subaru brand to NZ and later appointed General Manager. After 6 years Rod decided to start his own business. In 1995 Rods wife died of cancer and as she was in a wheelchair which he could not transport he decided to assist those who needed to transport wheelchairs and is now the largest supplier of these vehicles in NZ. His son is now General Manager and has expanded the services even further. For further information, please visit: www.rodmilner.co.nz