Paul Wilmes and Scott Wilmes, owners of Wilmes Ford Lincoln Mercury AutoMall in Altus, has announced plans to sell their dealership to Jeff Wilmes and Tim Wilmes, owners and operators of Wilmes Super Store and Wilmes Chevrolet, respectively. The acquisition is expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2009, and is subject to approval by Ford Motor Company.

Paul Wilmes opened the family’s first dealership in Snyder in 1972, after serving in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years. In 1984, he moved back to Altus and purchased the Ford Lincoln Mercury dealership. With the help and support of their father, three of Paul and JoAnne Wilmes’ sons decided to follow in their father’s footsteps in the new car business.

Jeff and Tim started their own dealerships, while Scott worked with his father to grow their Ford dealership. With their father retiring, Scott has decided to venture into new endeavors, while Jeff and Tim are creating a new partnership to bring all three dealerships together.

“Although the automobile industry has faced numerous challenges in the past few years, our dealerships have grown and prospered, thanks to our outstanding employees and loyal customers,” said Jeff Wilmes. “Tim and I look forward to continuing our family’s legacy in this community.”

Tim said,“By working together, we will achieve efficiencies in our business that will allow us to offer our customers the best prices in this region, while maintaining our high quality customer service. As General Motors emerges from bankruptcy and the national picture becomes clearer, we will be making more announcements in the coming weeks and months.”

Paul said, “When Jeff and Tim told us they wanted to acquire our dealership, I was extremely pleased. Altus has been a great community in which to build a family business, and I know my sons will continue to provide Altus and the surrounding communities with superior cars, trucks and service at affordable prices.”

Scott said, “I am excited for Jeff and Tim, and for our customers, who I am confident will receive the same level of excellent service under my brothers’ leadership that we have traditionally provided.”

While General Motors is closing 2,400 dealerships across the nation, the Wilmes’ dealerships will continue to sell Chevrolet, Buick and GMC cars and trucks. However, the brands they currently sell will be changing somewhat as a result of General Motor’s restructuring plans. The Pontiac brand is being discontinued and thus will not be part of the Wilmes’ dealerships when they run out of their current stock. In addition, General Motors is reducing the number of Cadillac dealers in the United States by nearly 75%, and has notified Wilmes that their contract will expire in October of 2010.

“We are continuing our discussions with General Motors in regards to our Cadillac contract. We will keep our options open in case the economy and corporate financial picture improves and they allow us to renew it,” Jeff Wilmes said. “Regardless of what happens with our Cadillac contract, we plan to continue to grow both our General Motors and Ford dealerships in the future.”

Wilmes Ford has been owned and operated by Paul and Scott Wilmes since 1984. Jeff Wilmes acquired Wilmes Super Store in 1982. In 1987, Tim Wilmes joined the family industry and opened Wilmes Chevrolet in 1990 with his brother Jeff.

For more information, visit www.wilmessuperstore.com, www.wilmeschevrolet.net and www.wilmesford.com.