James F. DeVoe
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| James F. DeVoe | |
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James F. DeVoe
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| Born | 1944 Marion, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | 24 March 2006 Brevard County, Florida |
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[edit] Personal life
James F. DeVoe was born into a family of Car Dealers. He took over his father's new car dealerships. He married Andrea L. DeVoe and was the father of six children.
[edit] Business
In 1979 James F. DeVoe opened a used car and special finance department within his Chevrolet-Cadillac dealership in Marion, Indiana. As with his original dealership, his goal was to do business the right way—the family way.
Experience has taught us that no business will be successful without putting the customer first. That customer focus led Jim to see a need. The country was in a recession in 1979; the prime rate had soared above twenty percent; unemployment and gas prices were both extremely high. And consumer finance companies had abandoned the market.
He said that he recognized working people with credit challenges were being underserved. So he put a small ad in the local paper, offering good used cars and an opportunity to "buy here and pay here".
The response was instant and almost overwhelming. As Jim became a recognized expert in this new business model, he began hosting seminars in Marion, teaching more than 700 car dealers from the United States and Canada. His business growing, Jim DeVoe envisioned an even broader opportunity. Across the nation, working people who had experienced a financial setback in life were being underserved by other dealerships. Again, putting the customer first, he fashioned an answer compatible with his family’s professional philosophy:
Treat the customer with dignity and respect. Consistently deliver dependable used cars; expert servicing; and affordable, on-site financing. And offer it all in a friendly and professional atmosphere.
With that personal commitment as a foundation, and nearly a decade of refinement, J.D. Byrider was born in 1989 with the sale of its first franchise.
James DeVoe continued to head up the J.D. Byrider Corporation for seventeen years, growing it from one store to over 124.
[edit] His death
James F. DeVoe was surveying land for a new J.D. Byrider store, in a small plane with his son-in-law and a pilot when the plane crashed.
