Our
Dealership company started in 1939 in West Brooklyn, Illinois as a
garage & service station. It sold Pontiac & Dodge, along with
Conoco fuels through Central Oil Company in Mendota. the Business was
founded by Harry Schimmer & Operated until January 1942.
The
service business was moved to Mendota in early 1942, In partnership
with Jack Klinefelter. In June of 1945, the dealership was moved to the
corner of Sixth Street & Sixth Avenue in Mendota & again
operated as a Pontiac dealership & a Standard Oil gas station. Don
Schimmer joined his father, Harry, in the dealership operation.
In
June of 1949, the dealership was move to 1503 Washington Road in
Mendota. In June of 1950, Don Schimmer became the operator of the
business. From 1958 to 1960, the dealership sold Voxhaul automobiles in
addition to Pontiacs at the Washington Rd location. In November of 1979,
Schimmer's acquired the Buick & Oldsmobile franchises from Harvestside Chevrolet & combined the old Harvestside Chrevrolet building with the Pontiac/Olds/Buick operation.
In
June of 1984, Jeff Schimmer joined his father in the dealership
operation. in 1988, Dona Schimmer-Scharff also joined. In 1989, a new
dealership location was established on Route 251 south of Mendota.
In
October 1991, our Peru dealership was added, selling Ford, Lincoln
& Mercury vehicles. In 2001, Hyundai vehicles were added to the
lineup. Valley Ford in Spring Valley was purchased by the Schimmer Group
in 2001, becoming Spring Valley Ford, & R&R Ford in Mendota was
purchased by the Group in 2012, becoming Mendota Ford.
Our
dealerships put a specific focus on customer service: Being a part of a
small community for so long means we absolutely must maintain the
highest level of service, respect of our customers, & to make sure
we provide a great experience, in every part of our operation!
That's why we want to say Thank You! to all our customers!
