DELAVAN — After more than five decades as Delavan’s Ford dealer, Roland Rich has officially ended his Ford franchise, marking the close of an era that began more than 51 years ago.

While new Ford vehicle sales have come to an end, Roland Rich Automotive Inc. will continue operating as a pre-owned vehicle dealership while also providing parts and service for area motorists. However, because the business is no longer a Ford franchise, it will no longer be able to perform Ford warranty repairs or administer recall programs.

Rich said the decision was driven by rising operating costs and the ongoing challenge of finding and retaining qualified employees.

Despite the change, he remains committed to keeping the service department open for as long as community support and staffing allow.

“Rather than just lock the door, I felt that I owed it to the community to try and provide some service until somebody else comes along,” Rich said. “Because if I close up there’s no place to get a tire patched.”

“We’ll keep it going as long as people support it and we can find the mechanics to do it,” Rich said.

One encouraging development has been the recent addition of service technician Ed Niederhauser, who brings more than 25 years of experience working on a wide range of cars and trucks in Pekin.

At more than 80 years old, Rich is also looking toward the future and hopes to find someone interested in carrying on the business.

“Somebody that’s had experience selling cars and would just like to have their own business,” Rich said. “I think there is quite a market area out here. There’s nobody going east. You have to go clear to Bloomington. In the south, there’s nothing in Emden, nothing in San Jose, nothing in Mason City. If you get down here, it’s a big wide-open territory.”

Rich believes demographic changes have made it increasingly difficult for small-town dealerships to survive.

“We used to get quite a few younger people come back to the area,” he said. “That doesn’t happen anymore. They’re the ones that have their babies and then trade their sporty car in for a van. That kind of market just kind of left us.”

He also expressed concern about the impact the loss of new vehicle sales could have on Delavan’s sales tax revenues.

“The city council needs to come up with some game plan to get sales tax up,” Rich said, noting that a recent fully loaded vehicle sale carried a price tag of $92,000. “Six and a quarter percent of $92,000 is a nice size piece of change. You don’t make that up quickly.”

As Rich reflects on more than five decades in business, he considers himself blessed to have spent 51 years serving local residents.

Though the Ford name has come down from the building, Rich hopes the dealership’s next chapter will continue serving Delavan for years to come.

 

CORRECTION

Due to a typographical error, the article "FORD FAREWELL" in the print edition of the Delavan Dispatch incorrectly stated that service technician Ed Niederhauser has more than two-and-a-half years of mechanical experience. In fact, Niederhauser brings more than 25 years of automotive service experience working on a wide variety of cars and trucks. The Dispatch regrets the error.