Business Tribute
Whited Ford Auto
marks two decades in vehicle maintenance
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
Whited Ford Auto and Truck Center, located at 17 Houlton Road in Presque Isle, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
The business is owned by Bob Whited, who, according to manager Glen Mahan, wanted to establish a presence in Aroostook County.
“This was an opportunity for Bob to get in this area,” said Mahan. “He has two more locations in the state of Maine — Auburn and Bangor. Bob is from The County; his roots are here and he saw an opportunity to come back and to become part of his local community again. It’s worked out ever since.
“We started with the Ford dealership and the truck repair shop up here 20 years ago,” he said. “This part of the business has always been here, but we used to have the car dealership on Main Street years ago, but this facility has been here since the beginning.”
Whited Ford Auto and Truck Center has 12 full-time employees and one part-time.
“I’ve been with the company ever since it started,” Mahan said. “There are actually five of us who have been here since the beginning.
“We do service and sales on the tractor trailer truck side,” he said, “and we do light duty repair on both cars and trucks. We’re not just a truck center. We still cater to Moms and Pops and grandmother’s little cars, too.”
While technology has changed a lot in the last two decades, Mahan said it’s the repeat business that has kept the company going.
“I have some customers now that I had 20 years ago,” he said. “We really emphasize repeat business. You need repeat business because that brings in more business because they tell people about you and that benefits us in the long run.
“We have many loyal customers. Some of them I’ve worked on their grandparents’ vehicles, their parents’ vehicles and now I’m working on their sons’ and daughters’ vehicles,” said Mahan. “We’re a local community and everybody knows everybody, so if you do something wrong in a small community like this, a lot of people hear about it. But if you do something good, people hear about it, too. We want people to hear about all the good things that we do, and have done for 20 years.”
Mahan said word getting around of quality customer service has served the business well, with longtime patrons who trust the staff at Whited to do the work necessary to make their vehicles work properly, returning whenever they need repairs — be it preventative maintenance and repair needs or the occasional accident.
“We pride ourselves on preventative maintenance. You need to maintain your vehicle to get the longevity out of it,” he said. “If you’re the type of person who buys a car every two years, you’re not worried about it because it’s all warranteed, but if you’re that middle-class person whose working hard and making a payment for five years, you’ve got to maintain that vehicle and take care of it. That’s where we come in.”
Mahan said while he’s not surprised the business has lasted 20 years in the Star City, he is surprised at how quickly the time has gone.
“It’s kind of overwhelming at how fast it went,” he said. “I think back when I started here in 1994, and it seems like only yesterday. But I think the reason we’ve been here as long as we have is because of our customer service. Quality work keeps customers coming back. At Whited, our customers are our priority.”
Business hours are 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m.-noon Saturday. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 764-7300, or anytime at 227-7300.
