Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Kelly Kar Co. was probably the most formidable used car dealer in the country, then they dominated the used car world after they stopped selling cars


Les Kelley starts Kelley Kar Company in Los Angeles with three Model Ts in 1918

During a time when all cars were black, Les and his brother Buster innovate by painting them pink. Sales soar.

 Les Kelley begins circulating a list of cars he wants to buy and what he's willing to pay.

The Kelley Brothers develop the used car bible, the Kelley Blue Book in 1926,

1930s. Every day, the line of cars waiting to be appraised winds around the block. As Blue Book subscriptions soar, Kelley Kar Company moves to the corner of Figueroa and Pico in Los Angeles and becomes the largest used car dealership in the world.

 The Kelleys open their own insurance company and auto club, and sell both with the cars.

early 1960s, now the largest Ford and used car dealership in the world, Kelley Kar Company is sold, and they get out of the actual business of selling used cars to focus entirely on the blue book in 1962.

KBB.com launches in 1995 and within two years becomes the most visited automotive site on the Internet.

http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5338854&postcount=4170
https://www.kbb.com/company/history/

2 comments:

  1. A few additional items:
    Just prior to WWII Les bought up stocks of car parts.
    When car production stopped, and cars needed parts to keep running, he had them.
    By the end of the war, he was financing sales for many of the car dealers in the LA area. At that time it was legal to secure a car purchase by putting up your home as additional security. As a 24-year-old just starting out in the RE world, I was able to buy several of these real estate secured loans at a discount in the early 60s when he was retiring.
    I may be wrong, but I had the feeling that the Blue Book at that time was mainly handled by Buster Kelley.
    He was divorced in the late 60s. The LA Times said it was the highest divorce settlement in dollars up to that time.

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  2. Tonight I stumbled across a 1934 collections notice tucked inside an old composition book that belonged to my great grandmother. The heading was "Kelley Kar Company" and, curious as to what it was for, I took to Google to find out what it was. I discovered your post as a result. Thanks for the history lesson! :)

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