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ON THE ROAD
ON THE ROAD
BY ROBERT LAIDLAW
Darwin Land Rover
A MARRIAGE MADE IN THE WORKSHOP It wasn’t quite a marriage made in heaven, but Leigh and Rachel McKay have made a success of their nuptials through working together as mechanics. And how they originally met was serendipitous, as Rachel applied and won a job as a mechanic where Leigh had just handed in his notice to go overseas. On his return from his holiday, Leigh started Nightcliff Service Centre and in time convinced Rachel to join him and they eventually rebranded to L R Automotive NT in 2019. “Our business name incorporated the initials of our first names, but when we had a business opportunity with Land Rover, we knew we had to move to bigger premises, and change to ‘Darwin Land Rover’,” Leigh said. “Originally, we were working out of a small area next to a service station, which was built before Cyclone Tracy hit, in 1975. “We were fortunate, as it all started when I bought a Land Rover County for $1000. Consequently, Land Rover owners were asking us to fix theirs, so it was a niche market and it has just grown from there.” In February last year Leigh and Rachel were asked by the Land Rover manufacturer to become Darwin’s authorised repair and spare parts supplier, which ‘blew the couple away’. With the reputation the couple had developed, mainly through customer satisfaction and word of mouth, it
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made them an ideal target for Land Rover – it was a rare opportunity, as most international brand companies don’t usually go into partnership with independent businesses. “Yes, those types of opportunities are unheard of. We were looking at changing the company name because of our relocation to Winnellie, and as it was a condition of the franchise agreement, it wasn’t a problem. “For us it was about closing one business and opening another, which offered so many more opportunities. “Our customers are a good bunch, and loyal. We have worked hard from when we started the business, with honesty the backbone of the trust we have won with customers and has helped us get to where we are now.” There have been so many great stories from their ‘adventures’ on the job for the McKays, including helping people who have been stuck in the Simpson Desert and the Kimberley Ranges. They also have been bogged once or twice themselves, so have ‘hands on’ experience. Both have family influences on their path to becoming mechanics. Leigh’s dad, Ian, was a fitter and turner, while his grandfather, Jack, did his mechanic apprenticeship in Snowtown, SA in the 1950s. As for Rachel, her grandfather, Peter Mohi, was a diesel fitter and truck driver, but she points to her brother Simon’s influence through his interest in tinkering with cars when she was young – he’s now a wind-turbine technician, while Rachel ended up as the car mechanic!
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