REMEMBERING
I
n 1967, Harry Howell founded
Scotland Motors on North Main Street,
Laurinburg with 12 cars and the motto
“Go Look At The Rest Then Come Buy The
Best!” Today, H. Lee Howell Jr. upholds
his father’s legacy as president of Scotland
Motors with an inventory that averages 400
cars on the lot at any given time. Scotland
Motors outgrew its original location and
expanded to its current location in the
heart of Laurinburg at 1609 S Main St,
next to Hwy. 74 at Exit 184. A full-service
department is also available to handle all
makes and models along with a car rental
agency on site.
Lee Howell knew that he wanted to follow
in his father’s footsteps at a young age.
When he was around four, Lee recalls
playing with Matchbox cars on the hearth
beside his daddy’s chair, lining them up to
make his own car lot. Harry saw that Lee
had organized the cars by color reds with
reds, blues with blues, etc. and he used the
opportunity to teach Lee his first lesson
about the car business: alternating the colors
will make each car stand out.
That was only the first of many lessons Lee
learned from his father. Lee started working
with his father as a young boy washing
cars and eventually moved up to sales. At
fourteen, he made his first sale. At age 20,
Harry made Lee general manager, and in
76 • PROGRESS 2020
A LEGACY
1996, following Harry’s passing, Lee became
president of Scotland Motors.
“We had a great partnership,” Lee said. “Not
only was he my father and best friend but
he was also my business partner. We had
a great working relationship and we still
consider this as his company.”
CONTINUING A LEGACY
Lee still operates Scotland Motors on the
founding values his father taught him
integrity, hard work, and giving back to the
community along with selling a good car for
a fair price and giving better service.
Another motto from Lee is that customers
do not have all day to buy a car, so he wants
to make it as simple and as fast as possible.
“We want to make it easy and convenient
for those looking to buy a car,” Lee said. “We
realize your time is important and buying
a car should not be any harder than going
through the drive-thru at McDonald’s.”
Lee attributes the success of Scotland
Motors to the company’s founding values,
to the support and loyalty of his customers
and the loyalty of his employees. Several of
his customers are fourth and fifth generation
customers, and some customers have moved
away but still drive back from all over the
country to buy their vehicles from Scotland
Motors. Several of his employees have been
at Scotland Motors for 25 and 30 years, and
one has been there for 45 years.
To thank the community for all their
support, Lee has sponsored a car giveaway
at Scotland High School. Students with good
grades and no absences are given tickets to
participate in the drawing for the car along
with a bonus ticket if they are on time to
class.
“It was only supposed to be for the 50th
anniversary since we shared an anniversary
with the high school,” Lee said. “But we
had such a great response from students
who were saying thank you for doing the
giveaway that we decided to keep it going.”
Although a love for cars drew Lee into the
business, the people have kept him in the
business.
“It’s the relationships and there’s something
new and different every day,” Lee said. “I
love what I do, but the people make it count
Ö we would not be where we are today
without the community support, our loyal
team at Scotland Motors, and the good
Lord.”
From the everyday ride to an anniversary
gift, a child’s first car, or a Christmas present,
Scotland Motors is here for Scotland County
and the surrounding area as a go-to for your
car purchases. Remember “Go Look At The
Rest Then Come Buy The Best!”