Building relationships, not selling cars and trucks, is our first priority, and it has been for more than a century. “Customers for Life” – that is our aim. Generations of customers have bought their vehicles from our dealerships. The secret is in how we treat others, and each other. Sewell is still the family-owned business it always has been. You never get the feeling that “it’s just business”; a sense of family and the importance of long-term relationships always come through. You can experience our service at 19 dealerships in Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio.
Established: 1911
Number of Stores: 19
Number of Franchises: 20
Annual Vehicle Sales: 50,000+
Number of Associates: 3,500+
Austin, TX
Dallas, TX
Fort Worth, TX
Grapevine, TX
Houston, TX
McKinney, TX
Plano, TX
San Antonio, TX
Sugar Land, TX
Audi
BMW
Buick
Cadillac
GMC
INEOS Grenadier
INFINITI
Land Rover
Lexus
Mercedes-Benz
MINI
Subaru
We will provide the best vehicle sales and service experience for our customers. We will do this in a way that will foster the continuous improvement of our people and our company. We will be a top-performing, thoroughly professional, and genuinely caring organization in all that we do.
We will be at the top when measured against appropriate business standards of performance in every function, in every department, in every dealership.
We will pursue quality and profitability with the aim to stay in business and provide jobs for our people.
The development of our people is essential to our growth and future success. We will provide training and education to encourage the long-term employment and professional advancement of all our associates.
We will strive for constant improvement and innovation in all that we do.
We will earn and re-earn the goodwill, trust and confidence of our customers and colleagues every day.
The highest ethical standards will guide everything we do.
Our suppliers are important to our success. We will establish long-term relationships with suppliers whose values and quality are consistent with ours.
Sewell begins life as a car dealership. And general store. And movie theater. And livery stable (Nobody is sure yet whether cars will catch on).
The Great Depression hits. The three banks in which Carl Sewell Sr. has cautiously placed his money all close on the same day. Rather than give up, he heads to the tiny town of Crane in the newly discovered West Texas oilfields. The move pays off - he starts a successful car business and meets his future wife, Louise.
Despite the nation's hard times, the Sewell business thrives in West Texas, thanks to Carl Sr.'s philosophy of service. But Dallas is calling and Carl and Louise decide to bring the Sewell way of serving customers back to the area where it all started.
Through the 40's and 50's, Sewell builds a loyal following with its existing dealerships. Then the Sewell Village Cadillac sign is installed at Mockingbird Lane and Preston Road. The dealership that defines service and the Marque that defines luxury are together at last.
On May 5, Carl Sewell Sr. dies - but not before selling a Cadillac earlier that day. His legacy of leadership passes to his cousin, John, and his son, Carl Sewell Jr. Carl Sr.'s principles of service live on. Customers become repeat customers. They send their friends. Soon, Sewell Village Cadillac is outgrowing its home.
Sewell is on the move, opening a Cadillac dealership in San Antonio and, in Dallas, heading for bigger quarters: 8.6 acres on Lemmon Avenue, across from Love Field. Sewell's unique brand of obsessive service remains consistent throughout. Customers love it.
By decade's end, a new luxury marque is born. Sewell is selected as one of North America's charter Lexus dealers. Dallas' first Lexus dealership opens on Lemmon Avenue, and north Texas streets and highways are filled with new cars bearing twin badges, "Lexus" and "Sewell."
Carl Sewell shares his service secrets and creates an international bestseller, Customers for Life. Carl's book sells over 1 Million copies and is still in print (and as an e-book) today.
The Sewell family welcomes three new additions: GMC, Pontiac and Oldsmobile. Lemmon Avenue has never looked better.
Sewell expands into Cowtown with the acquisition of Hillard Lexus in Fort Worth. Meanwhile, back in Dallas, Sewell acquires the Rodger Meier dealerships, bringing INFINITI and another Cadillac location into the family.
Sewell INFINITI, a member of the family since 1998, is ready for more room and a more prominent place at the corner of Lemmon and University in Dallas.
The Sewell service philosophy expands to Grapevine, Texas, with the opening of Sewell Cadillac of Grapevine near DFW International Airport.
Inspired service meets high-performance luxury in Houston. Sewell INFINITI of North Houston opens in a newly acquired showroom on I-45.
Sewell expands in Houston by acquiring Audi North Houston, bringing sophisticated service to a sophisticated brand. In Dallas, Sewell opens its first Subaru dealership at Lemmon and Lovers next to Love Field.
Sewell celebrates 100 years in business by unveiling its latest Cadillac dealership in West Houston.
An era of unprecedented growth begins with the opening of the first of four new stores. Sewell opens a second Houston-area Audi dealership southwest of Houston in Sugar Land and the first Sewell Mercedes-Benz dealership in the energy corridor in West Houston.
Sewell opens two new stores in Dallas-Fort Worth. The first Sewell BMW dealership opens in the growing community of Grapevine just west of DFW airport, and a new Audi dealership opens in McKinney by year's end.
In July of 2020, Sewell expands into Austin and acquires Land Rover North Austin. Located at Highway 45 and Parmer Lane, the dealership had been newly constructed in February the same year.
In October 2021, Sewell brings their legacy of outstanding service to even more Dallas-Fort Worth area BMW owners through the acquisition of Classic BMW. With the acquisition, Sewell returns to Plano and serves MINI customers once again at MINI of Plano. Sewell BMW MINI of Plano is set on 24 acres at Dallas North Tollway and Spring Creek Parkway.
Sewell was honored to be selected by INEOS Grenadier as one of only 19 charter dealerships in the United States. In September 2023, Sewell began construction on a world-class INEOS Grenadier dealership in Plano.
We build exceptionally nice facilities because we judge ourselves not against other car dealerships but against all the other fine retail and service organizations that serve our customers. It is important to us that you enjoy your experience and feel the respect and appreciation you deserve. See how we are expanding the Sewell experience while maintaining the same value for outstanding facilities.
As Sewell grows, we look for leaders. The formula is pretty simple. When we do a good job with our customers and associates, we grow. When we grow, there is more opportunity for advancement. That is how we have been building our business for over 100 years. We hire the best and the brightest, so it only makes sense that we would listen to what they have to say and learn from what they do. We invite you to learn more about opportunities at Sewell.
Career Opportunities
From entertainment and navigation systems to comfort controls, safety systems, and performance features, your vehicle puts an amazing amount of advanced technology at your service. At Sewell, we consider it an important part of our own service to help you take full advantage of everything all that technology has to offer.
Whether your vehicle is brand-new or one that you have been driving for years, make the most of its capabilities by attending one of our regular technology clinics. Hosted by your dealership’s technology specialist, these hands-on sessions are held monthly or, at some locations, even more often. Topics include Bluetooth, satellite radio, memory seats, voice-activated navigation, sound system, automatic crash response systems, and more.
Have a question about any of your vehicle’s digital or mechanical features? For answers, look no further than the dedicated technology specialist at your Sewell dealership. A true enthusiast and a clear communicator, he or she is expert in every feature, large and small, of the brand of vehicle you drive. Call or come by anytime.
Carl Sewell Sr. may have written the book on service, figuratively speaking, back in the early 1900s, but it took his son, Carl Sewell, decades later, to write the book on service literally. He did it in response to the untold hundreds of visitors, callers, and correspondents who asked how a car dealership, of all things, could be one of the most effective service companies in the world. The principles work in any industry – a fact that made Customers for Life an international bestseller. It has been translated into 19 languages and has sold over 1 million copies. Want to read it for yourself?
