Over 55 years ago, two men opened a business selling Ford vehicles in Hamburg, NY. In 1950, Joseph Herr Jr. and Harold West began selling Fords under a tent near the corner of Clark Street and McKinley Parkway. The dealership soon found a more permanent location down the road on Clark near Buffalo Street. The dealership remained at this location until 1966, when the doors were opened at its present location at 5025 Camp Road in Hamburg.

Brad Hafner joined the dealership as a salesman in March of 1959. Through his efforts, the dealership grew in volume and prominence. He became a partner in 1970, sole owner in 1975 and Chairman in 1997. In 1975, Scott Bieler joined the Sales Team at West Herr Ford. He quickly rose through the ranks and became the #1 Ford salesperson in New York State.Scott was named partner in 1983, President in 1997 and became majority owner in 2000.

Both of our Vice Presidents: John Wabick & Bill Loecher started with sales as well at West Herr Ford in 1981 & 1982 respectively. They were made Vice Presidents in 1988 and as of 2000, became partners of the entire West Herr group.

West Herr built its reputation on excellence and customer satisfaction. Dealing fairly and honestly with our customers as well as our employees is all we have ever known. This philosophy, which is the key to our success, is shared throughout our organization in Sales, Parts, Service and the Collision Center. In 2006, we serviced nearly 250,000 vehicles and sold or leased over 23,000 new and used vehicles. Despite the large volume, we typically respond to all customer inquiries within 24 hours. As a result, we are consistently ranked among the top dealers in the Nation in Customer Satisfaction which has earned us countless awards and recognition. To date West Herr employs 1,200 Western New Yorkers; is the number 1 largest automotive group in NYS and is the 38th largest automotive group in the nation.

Photo: from left to right: Scott Bieler, Brad Hafner, Bill Loecher. John Wabick Sitting in front.

West Herr is continuously recognized, by nearly every major vehicle manufacturer we represent, for the quality of service our staff delivers to our customers. These achievements are attributed to the high level of dedication put forth daily by our team. Some of the things we are most proud of over the last several years include:

• The West Herr Auto Group received the Better Business Bureau's Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics in 1998, 2001, 2004, runner-up in 2002, and very proud to say we have received this award again in 2007. The Torch Award recognizes those businesses that have an outstanding commitment to conducting their business practices in an ethical manner, and is rarely given to the same organization twice. Applicants are judged in four areas: organization practices, relations with customers/vendors/and suppliers, marketing/advertising/communication and sales practices, and reputation within the community and industry.
  
  
• The West Herr Auto Group has earned the distinction of being the "Best Place To Work In WNY" through Business First in the category with 401 and more employees for 2005, 2006 and 2007. Business First turned to the employees to identify the companies that are succeeding in retaining and recruiting good people and making them feel engaged in their work. Talk to any of 1,200 employees and you will hear one common theme, our employees are our family, we care about their lives, their personal growth and above all their careers.
  
  
• Ford's Presidents Award: 2006 marks the 23rd time West Herr has received this prestigious award, 7 consecutive times for our Amherst location and 16 time for our Hamburg location. Recognized for outstanding customer satisfaction through progressive management, dedicated employees, and high standards of operational excellence. Presented by Ford Motor Company, this award is given to only the top 2% of the dealerships in the country.
  
  
• The Toyota Presidents Award for 2005 & 2006: West Herr Toyota is the only dealer in WNY to win this award twice since its inception in 1986. The President's Award is one of Toyota's most exclusive and prestigious award honoring dealers who excel in all facets of their operations, those dealers who have proven themselves to be the very best.
  Click Here to see the awards required to win the Toyota Presidents Award
  
  
• The 2006 Pride of Jaguar Award goes to West Herr Jaguar for the 8th time. The Pride of Jaguar annually honors the top 12 dealers in the nation based on sales and service satisfaction, market penetration and best business practices.

• West Herr Subaru receives the 2006 Stellar Performer designation - 4 years running. This process recognizes those dealerships that have achieved a high level of customer satisfaction through continually striving to improve dealership processes and is granted to only a few dealerships nationwide.

• General Motors awarded the Mark of Excellence in 2005 to both of our West Herr Chevrolet dealerships for their superior performance in overall customer satisfaction and sales. This award is given to only 4% of dealerships nationwide.
  

• Saturn of Clarence and Saturn of Orchard Park were consistently the number 1 and number 3 Saturn retailers in the country in 2006. Saturn's most prestigious award, The Saturn Summit Award, is exclusive to those who have excelled to the top 25% in: community involvement, training completion, sales performance, sales and service standards, financial performance and warranty administration.

Receiving these awards is indication that everyone at West Herr understands that our reputation as a fair and ethical business is paramount to our success and conducts business accordingly. Because without a culture of honesty, integrity and strict business ethics, these awards would not have been possible.