Made in the 956: How Boggus Ford got started
From TV commercials to billboards, you’ve likely seen the name Boggus if you're from the Valley.
On this week's Made in the 956, Channel 5 News Anchor Trey Serna explains how this family-owned business has been operating in the Valley since the 1930s.
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"So, my great grandfather, J. Lewis Boggus, went to an accounting school and was hired at a dealership in Weslaco to do bookkeeping and he also did that for a dealership in Harlingen, “ said Jacob Boggus, general manager of Boggus Ford in Harlingen. “And so that's why he had already established—his family was here, he had a home on Taylor Street, so he was already in the valley and then that's when the opportunity arose in the Valley to buy a dealership."
As the Valley grew, so did the company.
“The growth of the Valley's been just instrumental in our growth,” Boggus said. “The McAllen area has exploded, and we were very fortunate to be in that part of the Valley all these years since 1934. Harlingen's also been able to move to this building here back in 2001, and we were able to grow into the Brownsville area recently at Boggus Tipton Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram."
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Over the years, the dealership has remained a family affair.
“J. Lewis Boggus was the founder of the dealerships, and his son, Frank Boggus, took over after his passing in 1965,” Boggus said. “Then in the 80s, my dad and my uncle Jack and Bob bogus got into the business. My dad passed away in 1992, and my uncle is now the dealer principal for the stores, and I'm a fourth-generation car dealer, and so I plan to continue the legacy if the market allows. So, we'll see what happens in the future."
Despite challenges brought on by the pandemic, the company remains focused on its staff and customers.
"We try to do everything we possibly can to ensure that our employees — whether it be their work life or their home life— that we stay connected to them,” said Robert Lucio, general manager of McAllen Boggus Ford-Lincoln. “And if they need anything, we're there for them. So when we say it's better at Boggus, it goes both ways. It's for our customers, but it's also for our staff."
Boggus Ford: Made in the 956.