Sean was born and raised in Canterbury,Kent, England during the the latter part 2nd World War . Thus he is a “Man of Kent” as Canterbury lies to the East of the River Medway. Had Canterbury been situated to the West, he would have been a “Kentish Man” – Now, that should put to bed a question asked by many English folk!

For his schooling,Sean was educated at St. Edmund”s Canterbury after which he enrolled at the Kent Farm Institute to study Horticulture.Having completed his studies,he joined his father’s agricultural business as an agricultural adviser/sales representative.In 1968, Sean decided that it was time to spread his wings and venture abroad to expand his knowledge.

This he did by immigrating to South Africa where he became the manager of a large apple farm in the Western Cape.After a year,he was ready to return to England but just before departing for home was offered a job as a Sales Executive with Brian Porter Motors in Cape Town. At that time they were Chrysler & Fiat agents.

Sean decided to follow his love for cars by staying for a while and try his hand at selling cars. Sean loved the challenge and environment so much that he decided to stay & leave the agricultural scene.Sean quickly rose within the ranks at Brian Porter Motors; the Sales Executive soon became Sales Manager then Branch Manager and eventually Dealer Principal for the Group that the company had now grown into. By this time they handled a number of franchises such as Toyota,Land Rover,Mazda,Ford ,Jaguar.Porsche,Rolls Royce & BMW.

In the years thereafter he ran their prestigious companies handling models such as Rolls Royce,Porsche,Jaguar,BMW and Land Rover.

Following the death of the group chairman,Brian Porter,in 1993,there was a change in company structure. Sean,not being happy with the new structure,decided leave and start his own motor retail business.

Before he was able to do this,he was approached by BMW South Africa to move to Kenya and take over the reins of Mashariki BMW which at the time was in a bit of a recession.Having a love for Africa & after a short visit to Nairobi and Mombasa,he decided to take up the challenge joining Mashariki in May 1994.

His ambition and love for the challenge was evident by an impressive increase in sales.With the help of a good team he had put in place,he increased sales volumes from 9 units per year in 1993 to 120 in 1999 at the time of leaving.Other motor companies were after his secret to such success and before long he was head hunted to join CMC Motors as General Manger of Land Rover Kenya.

This position he held for 2 years before joining DT Dobie as General Sales Manager Nissan in March 2002.

His decision to join DT Dobie was influenced by a major restructuring program in the company following the take over by CFAO of France. This would offer further challenges which appealed to Sean.

A second restructuring program in 2005 saw Sean being transferred to Daimler Chrysler passenger cars as General Sales Manger,a position he held until retiring in February 2007.

This gave Sean the opportunity to full fill a long time ambition and form his own New and Used Car Company.

Finally he could live out his dream and use his experience in the Kenyan motor industry to make it a reality.

Sean became a Kenya citizen in 2005 affirming his intention to stay in Kenya and Africa for good and started Sean Garstin Motors in conjunction with St. Austin’s Service Station on Ngong Rd – a high visibility site with excellent service facilities.

“I have been close friends with the Karmali family for many years (owners of St. Austin”s,Bosch Kenya and Concord Motors) & wanted to working with them,knowing it would prove beneficial to all parties. “Between us all,we make one hell of team!” Sean said.

Because the new venture proved to be more successful than first expected,it was decided to move to Jacaranda Motors on James Gichuru Rd,Lavington. Here he has built a very impressive office with a visible display area for some of the quality used cars he sells.

His first 3 years in operation have been great fun,a huge learning curve & which the help of an old Mombasa pal,Simon McCreed,has become a bit of an expert on importing used cars from Japan.

We only buy live, on auction because that way we get guaranteed by the auctioneers on the authenticity of the vehicles,Sean says.

Since conception in February 2007,  we sold over 460 cars of which over 220 units have been imported from Japan.  Every one has been perfect & we have never had to use the 6 month warranty we give each car!– mind you we do go to a lot of trouble sourcing the correct ones with the invaluable help of our Japanese counterparts,says Sean.

Our move in November 2008 to new premises in Lavington, proved to be very successful. We now have amble display along with a very smart & friendly office,Sean says. Here we have access to a very good general workshop & panel shop – all in all, one stop shop!

His two sons have followed in father’s footsteps and are both in the motor industry,one with Audi & the other with Peugeot in Cape Town.

“The lads both love coming to Kenya and maybe one day they can come and take over the reins from Dad?” Sean says.

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