By Mike Finney

MILFORD — The numbers of years that Steve Warren and his late father Bill managed to accrue while working at i.g. Burton & Company Inc. are astounding.

Consider that fifth-generation-owned i.g. Burton & Co. is one of the oldest auto dealers in the United States, having been founded in 1908.

Over that time period, one of the two Warrens worked for the company in various roles for 90 years.

The amazing streak came to an end just last week when Steve Warren retired from the auto body shop at i.g. Burton in Milford, ending his 42-year run with the company.

“It was kind of surreal, actually,” Mr. Warren said, of his last day at i.g. Burton. “I left some good people behind. But on the other hand, you start a new era in my life. I guess there’s more things to come. I have enough to keep me busy.”

Mr. Warren started working with i.g. Burton as a kid.

“My father Bill started working here in 1938 and retired here, too,” he said. “So, I grew up around the business. In the late ’60’s I would come into the old Seaford store where my dad was the general manager and wipe cars off in the showroom, wash cars — just about anything that needed to be done.

“It was just a fun place to be. That’s back when Camaros and Chevelles were big. And eventually, it turned in to being a real job.”

Mr. Warren said the best thing about his many years working at i.g. Burton are the people he’s met and the relationships he’s built.

“The Burton family has been great,” he said. “I’ve known them all my life from back when I was in school and a lot of people that I’ve worked with became really good friends. We still have a few of them.

“It’s always. You can even learn more, learn different things from everybody really, if you really press them to find out something that they know that you don’t.”

Mr. Warren has a shop at his house where he will continue to paint and tinker on vehicles even after his retirement.

“Body shop people are getting scarce. That’s a dying breed,” said Charlie Burton, the current and fifth-generation owner of the family business. “Steve Warren is a very good painter, and we got a lot of business from people that wanted him to paint their cars.

“But he’s still going to be knocking around. He’s got his own shop at home and those old tech and body shop guys seem like they always work forever. It’s just what they do. He’s still going to be banging on some metal and there is always another project.”

Mr. Burton oversees i.g. Burton dealerships in Milford, Seaford, Lewes and Smyrna, as well as Berlin, Maryland. They sell vehicles from Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram Fiat, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. They are also the oldest Blue Bird bus dealer in the country.

Mr. Burton was astounded when his father informed him of the extended length of time that a Warren has worked for the company.

“To be honest with you, I think it’s great,” he said. “You know, we’ve been around forever. I’m a fifth-generation car dealer, which is very rare. Usually, the first one builds it, the second one enjoys it and then the third one destroys it.

“Our focus has always been on our people and developing and building them and we hope they stick around. We want the great ones to stay and Steve’s father Bill Warren, he was a great one, and Steve was a great guy. They stuck with us for a long period of time, and we really appreciate that. Businesses like ours need guys like the Warrens.”

Mr. Burton said the company celebrated Steve Warren’s retirement with a nice luncheon. He said there are several 20-, 30-, and 40-plus-year employees across his family’s dealerships.

He said the COVID-19 pandemic has made the company miss many employee milestones, but he is hoping to have a big celebration this fall to mark the anniversaries and retirements that might have been ignored.

Mr. Warren said coming to work at i.g. Burton every day was just a natural thing for him. He never really thought about going anywhere else.

“You can come and go and leave,” he said. “You know, leave your job and go to another job, but I never really saw where it was better to do that. Prove it to me that the grass was greener on the other side.

“The people that work there … I’ve always had plenty of support. There was always somebody that was able to help me do whatever I was trying to do.”

Mr. Warren has a pair of sons but neither of them followed him into the automobile business. So, the family’s remarkable streak will come to an end at 90 years.

Mr. Burton said the Warrens have been model employees for the company.

“The best thing about our company is our people” he said. “Our company has been in business since 1908. We hire great people who maintain strong core values like honestly and integrity. Then we train and develop them so they stay with us.

“Of the 113 years that i.g. Burton has been in business, the Warrens were with us for 90 of them. This is something my family is very proud of. I thank Steve and his family for all they have done for ours.”