In 2005, Miller Brothers Automotive celebrated our 77th year in the automotive industry. It all began in 1928 when Walter Miller and his brother Charlie opened a Chevrolet associate dealership in Ellicott City, Maryland. Being an associate dealer meant that you couldn't get cars from the manufacturer, rather your inventory came from other dealers. Within one year of their partnership they sold the first Ellicott City and store were joined by their two sisters, Betty and Margaret in the opening of another store on Main St. in Ellicott City. Together they combined hard earned dollars to turn a warehouse into a dealership, and finally in 1935 they were named a direct dealer.
Times were tough in those days and the war began soon after. At which time, Walter began a term in the armed forces in 1941. When he returned, his business ventures continued and he reunited with his brother for a short while. His ambition and desire to grow in the business led him to several other opportunities, partnering with Rea Keech in the opening a Dodge franchise in Catonsville, Maryland. Settling out of that partnership in the early 1950's, he decided to open his own Chrysler dealership soon after.
Meanwhile, the older brother Charlie was growing in stature in the community; serving on the Howard County Council and acquiring several businesses as well. Charlie had opened a second store in Elkridge in 1948, and he had the name Miller Chevrolet Sales incorporated only one year earlier.
In 1962, Charles E. Miller designed and built a 36,000 sq. foot facility at the corner of route 40 and route 29 in Ellicott City, Maryland (home of our current dealership).
In 1963, Charlie moved from the Main St. location to the new store and began the task of coordinating a much larger operation. Walter and his sisters meanwhile had partnered with Charlie on these purchases, but in 1964, the brothers decided to split up and Walter took over sole rights to the store in Elkridge.
In 1967, Charlie's sons Paul and Donald agreed to purchase their aunt's shares in the Ellicott City franchise and helped run the store along with their father. In the late 1970's, Walter did the same, when he gave a share of his franchise in Elkridge to his sons John and Robert Miller. Concurrently, Walter's nephew Henry Miller Jr. had been operating a Chevrolet dealership in Aberdeen, Maryland from 1958 to 1978.
In 1979, Charlie Miller died and left the Chevy store to his two sons, which they ran faithfully until 1986, when Walter's sons John and Robert purchased the franchise from their cousins. Together they have grown this company into a respectable, well run family organization that is always growing and expanding. Their determination to change the perception of automobile dealers is evident in their "NO HASSLE BUYING" philosophy which was started in 1991. "NO HASSLE" pricing at its very core is a buying process that defines openness, honesty and fairness to all. At Miller Brothers, every employee's core values are intertwined with this philosophy and every day we really do make your experience hassle-free.
Along the way, John and Robert have purchased a Ford dealership in 1996 and purchased Oldsmobile and Cadillac Franchises in 1997 and 2001 respectively. Throughout the last 77 years, one constant has remained and that is making the customer first in everything we do.
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