When Leon (Dad) started Wagonmaster a little over 25 years ago, he never dreamed that:
- One day we would reach 1,000 restored Grand Wagoneers through the little shop on Memorial Blvd in Kerrville, TX. But on July 9, 2004, he sold Unit #1000, a Midnight Blue 1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer, with 58,000 miles on it, to Francisco Oliviera of Portugal, for $21,950.
- He would continue to work in the daily operation of Wagonmaster until he was 82. He was 61 when he developed the plan to keep the Grand Wagoneer alive, after Chrysler Chairman, Lee Iaccoca, pulled the plug on Jeep's longest running design model in 1991. This was to be Dad's 'retirement job', but turned into a second career.
- Wagonmaster would sell far more Jeeps annually outside of Texas than in our Great State. In his first year, 1993, Wagonmaster sold 8 of the first 10 Grand Wagoneers to buyers in Fredericksburg, Texas, about 25 miles away. In our 25th year, 2017, Wagonmaster sold 8 GWs in Texas and 42 others in states from California to New York, Florida to Washington, along with exports to Canada, The Netherlands, Italy, and Germany. (A total of 50 were sold in 2017)
- The sales price for a Wagonmaster Grand Wagoneer would exceed $40,000. I remember when we priced the first one that way in 2010. It was a Spinnaker Blue 1991 with 10,800 miles. It sold almost immediately to a gentleman in Darien, CT for $45,600. That year, 2010, was the first year we averaged over $30,000 for every Grand Wagoneer sold, (which totaled 48 that year). In our 25th year, 2017, the sales price average topped $62,000 on the 50 GWs sold.
- We would reach 1900 restored Jeep Grand Wagoneers by our 25th year in business and add at least as many great and wonderful new friends to the Wagonmaster Family. Wagonmaster ownership is like being a part of a big family. It truly is. We assist each other, stay in touch with each other, respect each other & care about each other.
We are grateful to a loving God for good health and longevity, and to our extended family for allowing us a special freedom to be available sometimes 24/7 to our customers. As we enter the next 25 years, we hope you'll join us here to see what we're doing and check on our progress.
