Back in April of last year I joked that I had “gone to the dark side” in buying half of a Dodge/Jeep dealership in Sealy TX. Well, the dark side was not for me!

My partners and I did not see eye to eye from the start. We’ll just say they are more “traditional” car guys, and I am not. About three months after closing on the deal I told them I wanted out of the partnership. I looked at buying them out but ultimately we just put the store on the market late last year. We had two deals fall through on it but lowered the price and had a lot of activity early in the year. Then the pandemic hit. All of our suitors vanished, so we closed the store down at the end of March.

As you can imagine, it’s been a hectic few months, even without Covid-19. It was a spanking financially, but the dust is settling and it’s REALLY nice to be home at Brazelton Auto!!!

I learned a TON in the process and was very proud of the team we built out there. One of the most important realizations was just how good we have it here at Brazelton Auto! I talk about the people and processes here all the time, but the Brazelton business model is far superior in my mind;

• Very limited inventory (and therefore inventory costs) while still having access to thousands of vehicles.
• A completely different client relationship. At the dealership I’m a bad guy; here I’m a trusted advisor.
• No deceptive marketing or pricing.
• No manufacturer telling us what to do or not do!
• Saturdays off. Hard to go hunting when you have to work weekends!

So while my dealership experience was painful in many regards, I’ve come out on the other side really focused on taking Brazelton Auto to the next level. Be on the lookout for greater client focus, more service offerings, and even a little marketing budget (look for us on Facebook and Instagram). Around here we call it Brazelton 2.0.

Help us spread the word! If you have thoughts on what you’d like to see added or changed at Brazelton Auto, please let me know (lewis@brazeltonauto.com). Your suggestions, and your business, are always greatly appreciated!

-Lewis