92-year-old man sells cars for 71 years
BRENHAM, Texas (KBTX) – At 92-years-old and 71 years under his belt, Eugene Bothe doesn’t seem to be pumping the breaks.
“I get a day a week off, and I don’t even take it,” Bothe said.
Eugene works at Tegeler Toyota in Brenham. He started selling cars in 1953 and hasn’t looked back.
“It’s just something that gets into your blood. It’s like being a rodeo bull. Once you ride a bull, you keep wanting to ride,” Bothe said.
In his prime, he sold about 300 cars a year, and now he sells around 15 to 20 cars a month.
Tegeler Toyota’s general manager Russell Rogas says some customers come just for Eugene.
“Customers come in, and they are looking for him specifically,” Rogas said. “They only want to buy a car from him. They will let other people assist him, but they want him to do the numbers.”
Selling cars isn’t just a job to Eugene; he’s spent decades building relationships in and around the car lot.
“Most of my people are customers that I know,” Bothe said. “And they know me already, and most of them say I can’t believe you’re still doing it, but I do.”
But he’s not looking in the rearview. There’s plenty of open road still left for Eugene.
He’s the life of the party and doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon.
“I wake up in the morning, and if I ain’t going to the car dealership, I feel lost,” Bothe said.
He even created his own slogan back in the 80s, and it’s used frequently at the dealership.
“There’s no deal like a Bothe deal,” Bothe said.
Eugene says he has and always will have a passion for selling cars.
