Seattle Press on Line - 40 Years in Ballard for Carter Volkswagen

40 Years in Ballard for Carter Volkswagen

Wade Carter with a new 2000 VW beetle.

Nov 01, 2000 -- Carter Volkswagen in Ballard celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. The business was started in 1960 by Wade Carter Sr., who started his automotive career in 1954 working at the parts counter of a VW dealership in Oregon. He became a salesman within a couple of years and moved to Seattle in 1960 to start his own dealership with borrowed money. He had been out of college four years.

The VW bug was popular from the beginning. In 1960, Carter says, "people were tired of more of the same kind of cars every year. The VW bug was economical but fun.
"It was a very simple business. We had eight employees and we sold just three models, the bug, the microbus and the Karmann Ghia," Carter said. They all had the same engine and the same transmission. They were entry level cars for lot of drivers. The VW bug cost $1,700.

Today it would take $2 million to start a car dealership, Carter said, not counting real estate. The average selling price of a new VW today is $20,000 with a choice from a wide variety of engines and models. Carter thinks demand for four-wheel-drive cars will be increasing and VW has just started selling a four-wheel-drive model.

Wade Carter with a new 1960 VW beetle.

He doesn't think car sales will be much affected by the current rise in gas prices, "unless availability is affected. If there are shortages and lines at gas stations, people will start demanding small cars again.

"I enjoy cars. I've had a lot of fun in this business."

Carter drives a Saab convertible in the summer, and a four-wheel-drive Subaru in the winter. (He also owns Carter Subaru at Aurora Avenue and 172nd Street in Shoreline.)

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