The grand opening for the new Heywood Auto Sales location will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on that first Saturday in November.
Courtesy Heywood Auto Sales
LUMBERTON – Haywood Auto Sales in Lumberton is preparing for a business move. As part of a cruise-in celebration, a grand opening is planned for the used car dealership on Nov. 4.
The business has shifted locations from 807 E. 2nd St. to its new site at 1965 N. Roberts Ave., next to Lumberton Nissan and AutoZone.
The grand opening is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on that first Saturday in November.
“God has been good to me,” owner Bobby Haywood said Wednesday. “We’ve been here a couple of months trying to get it settled.”
As part of the Saturday event, he said, “I’m going to have classic cars and muscle cars cruise in and some friends with motorcycles. WKML (radio station) is going to be here giving out some concert tickets to a country music concert. I’ve got 60 tickets to give out.
“There’ll be some food vendors, Sunset Slushes will be here. Face painting for the kids. Skating rink passes for the first few kids. Hurricane (Express) Car Wash will have 100 free car washes for the first 100 people who show up.”
Hometown business
Haywood, who was born and raised in Lumberton, started Haywood Auto Sales in June 2005.
“I actually started in a little building across from Dixie Drive-in and had two cars,” he said. “Stayed there 2005 to 2014.”
After that, the 56-year-old Haywood said he moved to the corner of 2nd and Seneca streets by the First Pentecostal Holiness Church, which is where his wife worshipped.
Both Bobby and Lisa Campbell Haywood own Haywood Auto Sales.
A fire destroyed the dealership office on East 2nd Street, and the Haywoods ended up expanding their business by scooping up an adjoining property that had been rented to them as well as buying up some of the older houses around the auto sales operation.
“I had one house to go, and COVID came,” he recalled. “I was going to buy it and take it down and expand the business to about three-quarters of a city block that’s there.”
A friend of his, a pastor, and the minister’s wife — Tim and Sandra Lewis who own United Builders of Lumberton — are contractors and gave him a price on the place. After COVID, I asked, ‘Can we go back to work on it?’ “
The pastor suggested that Haywood look for a better, higher-profile location in the city. And said that Haywood would be better off spending his money on a more accessible spot.
“We moved here a couple of months ago. We’re getting settled pretty good,” Haywood said. “We started renovating after we signed the papers in June ‘22. We moved in June of ‘23.”
Regional market
Lumberton, he said, has been good to him in terms of his car business.
“Yes, sir. It’s home,” Haywood said.
He reported that he draws customers from a six- or seven-county radius and sometimes gets them from out of state.
“I don’t really care if I do or not,” he responded, when asked if he hopes to sell some vehicles on the day of the grand opening. “It would be awesome if I did. I’m pulling all the inventory off the lot.”
That’s in order to make room for the cruise-in celebration.
“We want to have a good time with friends and family and (provide) an opportunity for people to come see us,” said Haywood. “We never dreamed we would move to this location. I think a lot of it is being content where you’re at.”
Haywood said his used car business has done “very well” since the move in June.
“We’ve had a lot more traffic. Newer clientele,” he noted. “I think we’re going to be just fine.”
Reach Michael Futch by email at mfutch@www.robesonian.com.
