Jim Fair
Quick Lane Tire and Service Center at 13645 E. Wade Hampton Blvd. had its grand opening and ribbon cutting today.
Jim Fair
The free car wash offered to Quick Lane customers is a perk, some suggest, for getting their vehicles serviced there.
Jim Fair
Opening Oct. 1 that will celebrate D&D Ford's 75th anniversary is a state-of-the-art showroom and expansion costing $7 million.
Jim Fair
The smell of hotdogs and hamburgers were enough to draw two stray puppies to Quick Lane. Employees say the dogs find their way to the service center each morning from a field near the store and D&D Ford's new showroom.
D&D Ford will open its state-of-the-art showroom Oct. 1 and has tentatively scheduled Oct. 18 for the grand opening of the dealership that will celebrate its 75th anniversary at the same time. The $7 million showroom and service facility will be 36,642 square feet and located on 6.19 acres of land.
“We’re really excited offering this all new (Quick Lane) concept with our customers,” Davenport said. “It offers more convenience and flexibility and allows us to broaden our customer base.”
The service center is a new entity owned by Davenport but not affiliated with the automobile dealership. “Our mechanics are trained to service any make of car or truck,” Davenport said. The service center uses brand parts and tires.
Davenport said it helped to open Quick Lane first to work through the kinks of opening a new business and getting the processes in place. The service center is ahead of its goal to service 50 percent of the vehicles as non-Fords. “We’re pleased with how fast it has grown and we feel we’re where we wanted to be in servicing non-Fords at this time.
Among the amenities Quick Lane provides is a free car wash after servicing. “A lot of folks like that,” Jack Elvington co-manager with Bill Bannister, of Quick Lane said. “We make our tire prices less than competitors and our service department and staff are professional and extra friendly.”
Quick Lane and D&D Motors is the property line between Greenville and Spartanburg counties. “The drive by traffic has seen the signs.”
Davenport said the service center has given passersby the opportunity to watch the new D&D building move forward in its assembly stages. “We feel that people are getting to know where we will be and are seeing an extension of the services we will be offering,” Davenport said.
The service department at the old facility will close Saturday Sept. 29 and open the following Monday at 8 a.m. Haulers will move the vehicles from its former lot to the new one on Sunday, Sept. 30, making Hwy. 29 somewhat busier with hauler traffic throughout most of the day.
Dan Davenport and Earl Duncan founded D&D Ford in 1937 and originally located it in Greer’s historic downtown. D&D Ford was moved to its present location on Wade Hampton Blvd. as one of the original businesses to locate on Highway 29 in Greer.