Duke Automotive, the #1 independent CARFAX dealer in Augusta, is having a huge 3-day sale event this Memorial Day weekend with thousands in savings on over 100 vehicles and a free lunch on Saturday. Tim Duke grew up in the car business, learning from his grandfather who founded Duke Buick in 1956 and set high standards for quality. Now Tim owns his own dealership and focuses on thoroughly inspecting vehicles and providing customers with honest service rather than pressuring sales.

1. Beyond Casual Notes
Summer 2010 Issue No. 1
Bill Duke created the Duke Automotive legacy Lisa and Tim Duke pose with a vintage Buick at a General Motors event
Duke Automotive:
Augusta’s No. 1 Independent CARFAX Dealer
Kicks Off Summer with Huge Three-Day Blast
Duke Automotive, Augusta’s No. 1 Independent how well they were cared for) could have issues. To
CARFAX Dealer, is having a blast this Memorial Day minimize the effects of time as well as wear and tear,
Weekend with thousands of dollars in savings on more Duke’s Automotive Service Center repairs or replaces
than 100 fresh, super-clean cherry-picked cars trucks every single worn part including but not limited to:
and SUVs as well as a big Rhinehart’s Low Country tires, belts, brakes, and hoses.
Boil Saturday at lunchtime. Also before your future vehicle ever hits the lot the
To kick off a great summer in Augusta, this three- Duke team performs a drivability road check and ultra
day summer blast features ridiculously low prices on thorough check for any visible fluid leaks. To ensure
premium CARFAX vehicles from all the major manu- that you, as their customer, are purchasing the best
facturers in an array of colors and styles with options possible product, the service team at Duke Automo-
to suit just about any need. And to top it off, every car tive personally inspects the power windows, power
sold this weekend, until the final customer leaves locks, power sunroofs, air conditioning systems, cool-
Monday, will include a full one-year warranty. ant systems and even the 4-wheel-drives (the guys in
Tim literally grew up in the car family car business service especially enjoy this one).
and one of the things Jim Duke taught his grandson at
an early age was how to cherry pick a used vehicle.
Today, Tim Duke is still cherry picking cars and he
will not even look twice at a car unless it is CARFAX
Certified.
CARFAX Certification means a lot of things. One
is that the vehicle doesn’t have any salvage history.
Sadly, a lot of used car people out there specialize in
rehabilitating cars that were in floods or total loss ac-
cidents. Not at Duke Automotive.
With your CARFAX Certificate you will know ex-
actly how many owners the car has had and you can
count on the fact the odometer has been checked and
there has been absolutely no tampering.
But to be honest, all pre-owned vehicles (no matter A young Tim Duke with grandparents Bill and Lillian Duke

2. Tim, Payton, Tyler and Lisa Duke at Key West, Fla. Frank Gibbs Jr., Tim Duke and Ron Parrish
Auto Business in Tim Duke’s Blood Most times Mr. Duke’s buddies Tommy Jones (the
If business could be said to be in someone’s blood CPA) and Cliff Channell (the entrepreneur and real
then Tim Duke is a “Car Man” by blood as well as by estate developer) would meet him there and they
inclination. would settle down to a hearty breakfast of eggs, grits
Tim’s grandfather was the beginning of his auto- and either sausage or country ham.
mobile heritage and at six foot six and 250 pounds, Tim Duke was 17 years old when he sold his first
Bill Duke was a giant in the car business in more ways car (a beautiful brand new Buick LaSabre) and ended
than one. As founder of Duke Buick Incorporated in up selling three cars in his first week while he was not
1956, Mr. Duke set the standard in Augusta for quality on commission. His grandfather put him on commis-
and class in Automobile Salesmanship. Tim’s grandfa- sion from then on, but Tim never forgot the special joy
ther had such a charismatic presence about him that he had in merely finding the perfect car for his cus-
when he walked in the door of anywhere, people tomer without even thinking about how it would bene-
thought he was the governor and many tried to con- fit him personally.
vince him to run for that office. Now, 30 years later, Tim is grown with two
It’s been said that you could have eaten off the children and a dealership of his own and at Tim Duke
showroom floor at Duke Buick and Tim found out Automotive no one on his staff works on commission.
firsthand about his grandfather’s penchant for cleanli- Tim doesn’t like the idea of commission because he
ness and perfection when at 10 years old he started feels like it drives the price up. Instead, everyone on
working for his grandfather washing cars. It was a lot Tim’s highly informed yet “down-home” crew are on
of hard work, but by the end of the summer Tim had salary with their only focus - taking care of the wants
earned $500 - which his grandfather matched – and he and needs of the customer.
felt like he had won the lottery. The Duke Boys are the real thing, so don’t step on
Tim’s fondest memories of both his grandfather their lot expecting a bunch of double-talk or run
Bill Duke and his grandmother Lillian Duke were of around. Come in and relax in the knowledge that not
spending the night almost every Friday night with only are they going to help you find the best car to suit
them. After picking up filets at Lamb’s Market, butter- you, but with Guaranteed Credit Approval they are
flied by Mr. Lamb (“pound, pound and a half, two going to help you get the lowest interest rate and the
pound”), his grandmother would make the salad and most “do-able for you” financing.
he would grill them out while Mr. Duke got situated in Stop by any time during this big three day event
his favorite chair to watch the news. and don’t forget to join the Duke’s for lunch Saturday
Every once in awhile he would hear the voice of at the Rhinehart’s Low Country boil featuring buffalo
Trooper Terry (Terry Sams) calling out from the tele- and lime-butter-garlic grilled shrimp, chicken fingers
vision set, “Duke Buick in beautiful downtown Au- and more. There will be food and fun just down the
gusta” and he would run into the family room to see road at Duke Automotive at 3118 Washington Road
the tail end of his grandfather’s TV commercial. (next to Krystal) from Noon to 4 p.m. .
Bill Duke was known as quite the ‘Jim Dandy’ and
Tim loved to watch his grandmother laying out his
clothes in starched and ironed faultless perfection
every Saturday morning. Then the two of them would
first stop by the dealership for a quick look-over and
then he would take Tim to his favorite restaurant and
sacred gathering place, Duke’s on Walton Way (no
relation).