Louis Gandara, second from left, and sons left to right, Ron Gandara, Mike Gandara, and Danny Gandara, outside Gandara Buick at NW 62 and May Avenue in February of 1984. The Oklahoman Archives
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The dealership is long gone, but the men have remained friends since their time together in the 1960s.
Each credits the man who owned and operated Gandara Buick for 23 years — Louis Gandara. They say he had a profound influence on their careers.
Gandara helped Fowler and Ferguson move on to owning dealerships.
Fowler leads Fowler Holding Co., which operates Fowler Honda and Toyota in Norman, Fowler Dodge in Oklahoma City and a Chevrolet dealership in Denver. Ferguson owns Ferguson Pontiac Buick GMC in Norman and Broken Arrow, as well as two dealerships in Colorado.
Self left Gandara Buick to work for Bob Moore, and now owns a Chevrolet Cadillac BMW dealership in Wichita, Kansas.
Coaching car sales
Gandara, an El Paso, Texas, native and former coach, bought his first dealership in Galveston, Texas. Buick was impressed with his work there and the company asked him to relocate to Oklahoma City in 1967. He took over a newly expanded dealership at 6220 N May Ave., selling Buicks and Opel cars (a German car made by GM that is no longer sold in the U.S.).
Gandara had a knack for motivating his salesmen.
"We used to laugh on the sales team that Louis could make you feel 10 feet tall,” said Fowler.
Ferguson said Gandara’s sales philosophy was: treat the customer like you’d want to be treated. He was willing to make a deal with almost anybody.
Ferguson said, "(Gandara) thought everybody that walked in the door was there to do business with us.”
Gandara Buick was one of the first local dealerships to use media advertisements. He developed the catch-phrase "Gandara Buick — Where else?” and it worked.
The dealership became the top selling Buick dealership in the state.
"He was Buick’s golden boy,” said Kathie Gandara, Louis Gandara’s wife.
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Gandara Buick was one of the shadiest dealers in town. If these guys learned from Gandara, give the Oklahoman thanks for the heads up on dealers to avoid.
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