B&M Auto Services Keeps It In Town, In the Family

If you're looking for an honest place to buy a used car, there is no need to leave town. The team at B&M Auto Sales, located at 159th and Arroyo, makes it their mission to take good care of their customers.

The business was established in 1999 by Bill Leighton II and Bill Leighton III.  The elder Leighton, who passed away a few years ago, started his first business in Alsip in 1962, selling wholesale to car dealers. The younger Leighton, who grew up in Oak Forest, went into retail sales after high school.

"I had experience selling," said Leighton, "and my dad had experience buying, so we opened up together."

They purchased the building at 6100 W. 159th in Oak Forest. Over the years, the building had housed a liquor store and a martial arts training facility. In fact, Leighton remembers the liquor store from his childhood.  "We used to go up there to get candy," he said.

Now he goes up there to sell cars. 

"We sell about 20–25 cars each month," said Leighton. "A lot of our business now is repeat and referral. We have a lot of local residents as customers, but the Internet listings also bring in customers from out of town."

"Bill takes care of his customers," said sales manager Tom Bauer.  "I've been in this business for 40 years, and I've been with Bill for three years now.  I've noticed a lot of repeat customers since I've been here."

"We're careful about our inventory," Bauer went on.  "We service all the cars, and if they don't check out, they don't go out on the lot."

Bauer is referring to the service center Leighton and his father opened in 2005 called B&M Service. The building sits at 15820 Arroyo, just to the north of the sales building.

"We had a lot of customers who needed maintenance for their cars, so we thought, why let them go somewhere else," said Leighton.  "It also allows us to service the cars we bring in.  Rather than subbing it out to someone down the street, we take care of it."

"The service department gives us peace of mind," said Bauer.  "We don't have to go out and say we don't know this or we don't know that. We know everything about the cars."

The service center is managed by Gary Yaksich, who also grew up in Oak Forest. He is not just the manager, but a master technician, as well. He shares the service duties with James Schreibr.

"We are a no-pressure service facility," said Yaksich. "We assess the situation and make recommendations. We're not going to push anyone into anything that isn't necessary." 

That philosophy comes from Leighton.

"The technicians don't work on commission," he said.  "I don't want them to worry about time and numbers, I just want them to take care of the customers."

"We have a lot of local customers," said Yaksich.  "They like the convenience.  We even supply rides, if necessary."

One of those customers is Oak Forest resident Krista Attreau. 

"They're honest," Attreau said," and their prices are always fair.  We've been going there for a while, and I would recommend them to everyone."

One of the services offered in the sales department is that of personal car shopper. 

"If someone comes in looking for a car that we don't have," said Leighton, "we can probably find it for them within 2–3 weeks."

So what about the M in B&M? 

"It used to stand for Marie, who is my mother.  Now it stands for Michelle, who is my wife."