Scheberies Used Cars, San Leandro, CA

            Scheberies Used Cars, 4412 MacArthur Boulevard, San Leandro, California.  From the Oakland Tribune, dated July 8, 2012:

The used car dealership with the vintage aqua-and-white sign in East Oakland has survived 70 years in business without ever advertising. But after selling more than 20,000 cars, Scheberies Inc. will close this year, according to Jerry Scheberies, owner and son of the founder. "It's been a great business," he said. "I wouldn't mind being here for years longer but the cars are not coming in as they used to."

The family-run business has been operating the same way it always has since Fred K. Scheberies sold his first car, a 1937 Plymouth Sedan, for $350 in February 1942. The used car lot has always relied on being honest and courteous to customers. "You do business the right way or you don't prosper," said Ronald Ferreira, who used to wholesale cars to the Scheberies. "(The Scheberies) are an institution."

Jerry Scheberies defies the stereotype of a used-car salesman. Instead of using flashy and fast-talking commercials to draw customers in, the 73-year-old owner relies entirely on word-of-mouth. "Why spend money on advertising when the best advertising there is to treat people correctly?" said Scheberies, sitting in his office adorned in thank you notes, photographs of customers and their families, and plaques from his car racing career in the '60s.

Scheberies has built upon his family's business with a steady stream of customers attracted by his refusal to use credit scores and his philanthropic efforts as wrestling
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coach at Skyline High School. "It's not only a car business," he said.

For a used car lot, Scheberies Inc. has a storied history. Founder Fred K. Scheberies, a German native, came to the Bay Area in the 1920s after serving in the German army in World War I. He worked with the F.H. Dailey Chevrolet dealership in San Leandro and Dodge Motor Company, so it was a natural fit for him to start his own dealership, according to Jerry Scheberies. Jerry and his older brother Jack Scheberies, a Bay Area championship boxer, helped sell cars and eventually took over the business in 1973 after their father died. The brothers ran the business together until Jack died in 2000.

Jerry Scheberies has appreciated the consistent business of those looking to buy vehicles under $6,000 and managed to see the business through such lows like the oil crisis in the 1970s. However, the federal "Cash for Clunkers" rebate program negatively effected his business because many cars were sent to junkyards instead of used car dealers, he said. "The business is not profitable anymore," he said. "I can sell whatever I get. The economy isn't the problem."

Scheberies sees this as an opportunity to end what has been in his family nearly his whole life. "I've been coming here every day," he said. "It's really strange to wake up and not come here."

Taken on: July 5, 2012

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Sets appears in: • Outer Bay Area 2012

Groups appears in: • Sign City • Sign, sign, everywhere a sign.... more » • Signs, Signs, everywhere are signs • I Love Old Signs! • American Signs • Signs. • Automobile / Car Lot SIGNS "O N L Y" • I see a sign • PLANET EARTH BACK IN THE DAY • Sign of the Times (All Types of Signs) • PLANET EARTH VINTAGE ADVERTISING « less

Camera: Canon PowerShot ELPH 300HS, f/11.0, 1/200 sec, 6.7mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot ELPH 300HS
Lens:	4.3-21.5 mm
Aperture:	f/11.0
Exposure Time:	0.005 sec (1/200)
Focal Length:	6.7mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	QuickTime 7.6.6
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