Family involved with selling Ford vehicles for decades

FITHIAN, Ill. — Don Stallings has experienced a lot of changes in Ford car and truck sales.

“My grandfather bought this dealership in 1925, so it’s been in my family since then — my grandfather, my father and now me,” said Don Stallings, owner of Stallings Ford Inc.

“My grandfather raised 14 children out of this dealership, through the depression,” said Stallings, who is 86 years old.

“We were in Fairmount where we had a DX gas station and repair shop and we sold new Fords under my grandfather,” Stallings said. “We came here when my grandfather retired in 1949.”

Stallings learned job skills from working with his family.

“I laid on the greasy floor and asked my dad how to fix things and that’s how I learned,” he said. “I spent 30-some years in the shop repairing cars and when my father retired in 1980, I took over.”

At the small dealership in the town of 450 people, Stallings has an employee who also has a long history of working with Ford vehicles.

“I got my technician when he was 18 and he’s been with me for 50 years,” he said.

One of the biggest changes Stallings has seen with his business is the price of vehicles.

“I never dreamed I’d be selling vehicles for over $100,000,” Stallings said.

“My father sold vehicles for $800 and $900,” he said. “He used to trade with people and they would get a new car every year for $200.”

Another significant change has been the addition of various features such as navigation, automatic steering and automatic breaking, which is challenging for some people to learn how to operate.

“That’s the reason I sold so many Crown Victorias. They didn’t change them for 20 years,” Stallings said. “It was my biggest seller, because people knew how to turn on the headlights, wipers, heater, air conditioner and radio.”

The Stallings family has gone through lots of tough times, operating a dealership over the past almost 100 years.

“But not as tough as it is right now,” Stallings said. “We can’t get merchandise to sell and parts are terrible. You can get some things, but other things you can’t get.”

Some of the larger car dealerships are going to auctions to purchase vehicles.

“They are buying fleet vehicles so they have something to sell, but I don’t do that,” Stallings said.

“There is merchandise going through the St. Louis auction bringing from $6,000 to $26,000 over sticker,” he said. “People that want certain merchandise are willing to pay the price.”

Although sales of electric cars are increasing, Stallings does not plan to sell them at his dealership.

“If I wanted to sell electric cars, it would cost me a quarter of a million dollars to be able to work on them and to train someone to do the work,” he said. “There is no way I could afford to do that in Fithian, Illinois.”

People have asked Stallings when he is going to retire. However, he plans to continue selling and repairing Ford vehicles in his small town.

“This makes me get up in the morning to come here and meet people,” he said. “You can only spend so much time in a coffee shop.”