New Used Car Lot Brings a Piece of History Back to Glenwood

Uvalda resident Josh Willis, 39, announced the opening of a new used car lot, JW’s Used Autos LLC, in Glenwood on Feb. 3, following in the footsteps of a previous car lot in the area.

Willis grew up in Glenwood in a trailer a short distance away from the building that now houses JW’s Used Autos. At that time, it was a used car lot known as Brooks’ Used Cars, owned by Greg Brooks, a friend of Willis’ stepfather.

“It was Brooks’ Used Cars for, you know, the whole time I was growing up, pretty much [un]til, I don’t know, I think I was a teenager, and then Comcast bought it,” said Willis. 

For the past 15 years, Willis has worked in various power plants, with the past three years spent in a Southern Nuclear power plant. However, the long commute eventually inspired him to start his own used car lot in Glenwood, renting the same building used for Brooks’ Used Cars from Greg’s brother, Rodney Brooks.

“I decided to venture into this,” said Willis. “You know, bring back a piece of history by opening up this car lot and help who I could help out.”

Willis plans to operate his business with a “buy here pay here”model designed to assist customers with “less than perfect” credit ratings, informed by his own experiences with financial struggles. He plans to offer in-house financing when possible, with third-party financing options available to customers when not.

Cars which will initially be present on the lot will be vehicles Willis believes he can turn over quickly, such as SUVs, sedans and small four-door cars. Vehicles will be sourced primarily from dealer-only auctions and dealer-exclusive software, which Willis may use to help customers find a vehicle he may not have on the lot. 

“I’m not a millionaire, so… we’ll do what we can and try to get the people in what they are looking for to start with,” said Willis. “I don’t want to get a whole lot of inventory to sit on.”

Willis does hope to eventually expand with a second lot “a couple counties over,” although those plans would be made after five years. For the moment, his current goal is to sell five cars within his first month, as well as to get locals on the road.

“My biggest goal I can say is to help get people in need, you know, riding,” said Willis.