In 1908 on the dirt road intersection of 8th Avenue and 10th Street in Greeley, DR McCarther founded a small buggy repair shop. In 1910, the business became the first Buick distributor west of the Mississippi. As Greeley was the county seat and the agricultural and cultural center of Weld County, McCarther fittingly named his business the Weld County Garage.
Buick was one of the first American luxury brands, so you can be sure many of the Buicks sold at Weld County Garage could be found three blocks away at the Oasis, a three-story 100+ room hotel known as one of the most luxurious hotels in Colorado.
As both agriculture and city life grew in Greeley, so did the need for automobiles. Weld County Garage responded by adding GMC trucks in 1912 and Pontiac street cars in 1926.
The business grew and thrived even through two world wars, the Great Depression, and 22 presidents. Greeley continued to grow, as well, both in population and size.
In 1982, Lee Yoder purchased Weld County Garage from the third generation of the McArthur and Eaton family. Today, three generations later, it remains a family-owned business. In 2002, Weld County Garage moved to its current location on 11 acres in west Greeley. This location houses Buick and GMC sales, a thriving fleet and commercial department selling Isuzu medium-duty trucks, a service center, and all management offices.
Weld County Garage, being in the collision business since the early 40s, knew that the business was changing rapidly, and in 2008 franchised with Abra Collision Centers of America. And in 2021, Abra expanded by purchasing Coopers Autobody in Fort Collins, a company with its own 60-year heritage.
Truck sales and service have always been a big part of our business and to expand on this, in the 1990s we added Truck City sales and service. Today, Truck City is a thriving truck service and fleet maintenance and repair facility. From our relationship with our fleet and commercial customers, we’ve seen the need for high-quality truck bed fabrication and which inspired the founding of TC Customs in 2021. Moving forward, the company will be expanding into many other areas of metal fabrication.
In the 1980s Weld County Garage entered the buy-here-pay-here business and was the second JD Byrider franchise in the country. From that business, Herbies Automotive was formed and operated until 2017 when it was rebranded and renamed as DriveWise and Driven Financial Services.
Our single location founded in 1908 has now grown to eight companies and nearly 350 employees. As a cornerstone business, we feel strongly about giving back to the organizations that help our community in times of struggle.
As we continue to grow into the future, we are proud to announce the founding of the Yoder Family of Companies to serve as the parent company of all the businesses. Yoder Families of Companies continues our tradition of developing employees dedicated to conveniently serving customers’ automotive needs in a way that honors the Lord.
We want to thank the countless employees and customers who have helped us grow since 1908 and we look forward to continuing to grow for the next 110 years.