Belle Mead Garage Takes a Page from History to Re-establish Itself

When Chrysler announced in May of 2009 that Belle Mead Garage was one of 800 dealerships that would be losing its franchise, closing the business didn’t enter  Christopher (Kip) Higgins’ mind.

After all, the business had been in the Higgins family for 82 years.

“My first thought was ‘how do we make it work’?” recalled Higgins,  president of the family-owned business.

They found a way. Today, the Route 206 business is servicing all makes of cars and selling pre-owned vehicles, much like when Higgins' grandfather Leroy Higgins bought the business in 1927. At that time, the original owners feared that the roadway—then known as Route 31— in the area of what was called Station Square in Belle Mead would “go away.”

After living in the attic of the original building and supplementing his income driving a school bus and pumping gas, Leroy purchased a Chrysler-Plymouth franchise in 1935 and kept the business going through the Depression and World War II.

Higgins' father Roy (Murph) Higgins grew up pumping Esso and Exxon gas at the site and took over the business when he completed college in 1959. It was only natural that Kip, who also grew up pumping gas, joined the business when he graduated in 1982.

To accommodate the addition of the Jeep franchise in 1996, Higgins purchased the adjacent property that had housed a firehouse.

“Things picked up quite a bit at that time,” he said.

In fact, the numerous awards and plaques hanging in the showroom and service area are testaments to the business’s success over the years and to Belle Mead Garage’s ongoing involvement in the community.

When Chrysler gave Belle Mead Garage three weeks’ notice before ending the franchise, there was no time for self-pity. During those three weeks and thanks to a special Customer Appreciation Day, Belle Mead Garage sold all but about 10 of the 80 Chryslers left on the lot.

While the walls of the business are lined with memories of days gone by, Higgins knew he had to turn his attention to the future.

“We had to find new ways to do things. It opened more doors and more opportunities,” he said.

Recognizing that the area doesn’t have a dealership that specializes in pre-owned vehicles—ideal for younger members of the family and those who don’t want to spend money on a new car, Higgins noted—he decided to stay independent and sell all makes of pre-owned vehicles. A new certification process will provide customers with a longer warranty and a thorough vehicle check.

In the service area, where the focus had been on servicing mainly Chrysler products, there are new tools and diagnostic equipment that enable the team to service other makes as well.

But one thing has remained constant throughout Belle Mead Garage’s 82-year history.

“The customer is Number One,” Higgins stressed. “I learned that from my grandfather and my father. It helps to keep customers coming back. It creates a strong community for our customers, which helped us through difficult times. That made all the difference in the world.”