About Us

OUR FAMILY HAS BEEN SERVING FAMILIES LIKE YOURS FOR THREE GENERATIONS

IT ALL BEGAN MORE THAN 75 YEARS AGO

 Clinton Shell opened one of the first automotive garages in Dexter Missouri.  As time passed in the 1920's he started buying and selling used cars.  He traveled to Michigan to purchase vehicles and brought them back to Dexter where he set up a used car lot, Shell Motor Company.

In 1944, Shell purchased the Ford Franchise.  He moved it to its present location at the intersection of Highway 25 and Business 60 in 1944.  The dealership's motto was treat customers with respect, offer them a fair deal and back every sale with quality service.

The business continued to grow and in 1977 Bud Shell, along with his sister Sue Shell Morlan and her husband John purchased the Ford Mercury dealership in West Plains, MO.  Since that time Sue and John opened a Toyota dealership and the Southern Hills Pre-owned Supercenter in West Plains.  They are now the sole owners of the West Plains Dealerships.

In the 1980's the third generation of Shells, Robert and John, joined their dad at the dealership in Dexter.  In 1996 they opened Bud Shell's Auto World (visit website) in Cape Girardeau, becoming the largest pre-owned center in the state.  And in January of 2003 they expanded even more when they opened Bud Shell Auto Center in Kennett to better serve the bootheel and the northeast Arkansas area.

Today "Bud Shell" and his family still operate their business with the same simple values Clinton Shell relied on to build his business from a single automotove garage to a multi-dealership corporation.  They feel their success is a direct result of treating their customers like family, they care about more than just making the sale, when you walk out the door, they want you to feel like you got a great deal, but also that you were treated cordially and with respect.  It's no wonder they have grown to be one of the largest small town dealers in the country. 

THIS SIMPLE PHILOSOPHY IS WHY BUD SHELL FORD IS THE #1 VOLUME DEALER IN SOUTHEAST MISSOURI