MARTINSBURG — For 29 years, Heffle Motor Company has served as a reliable presence in the Eastern Panhandle, providing local residents with high quality used cars and customer service.
In Oct. 1997, Martinsburg resident Richard Heffle embarked on a major new step in his life — to open a used car dealership that held itself to a higher standard than any of its competitors. The Martinsburg High School alumnus had, by that point in time, been working for several years at Wagner Chevrolet and Opequon Motors, where he found himself winning numerous salesman-of-the-year awards. With encouragement from his father-in-law and wife, Mary Jane, Heffle purchased a house and some land at 993 Hedgesville Road in Martinsburg, which became a temporary home for him, his wife and their two sons, along with a longterm home for his dealership.
“We were there for 28 years,” Mary Jane said of the dealership.
In 2020, Heffle was approached with a generous offer to sell the house and property. He saw the potential benefit the sale could give his company, as it would provide enough funds for a larger property with room for expansion to be purchased just a short distance away, at 1821 Hedgesville Road. Unfortunately, Heffle passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack in 2023, at the age of 58, before this new dream could be actualized.
“It was a big shock to all of us,” Mary Jane said. “Rich and I were together for 30 years. We did everything together. He was such a hard worker and so good to people — he went out of his way to help those in need.”
According to Mary Jane, it was the support of the community that helped her and their business make it through the dark days following his passing. Members of the community would regularly stop by, not to purchase or sell a car, but to simply make sure Heffle’s family and company were doing all right. And those same community members could be found making an appearance at Heffle Motor Company’s new location on Saturday, to celebrate the grand opening of its new location and completion of Heffle’s dream.
“We do want to grow, but we never want to be so large that we lose our attention to detail or customer service. That is something we have seen happen with other businesses that have expanded a little too much,” said Heffle Motor Company Finance Manager Chase Heffle, who is Heffle’s second son. “This is the second most traveled road in Berkeley County. We moved just a half mile down the same road, both because this is such a high growth area and so that we could stay close to the place in which people associate us being located at.”
Chase’s older brother, Jordan, lives in Florida, but Chase himself anticipates taking over the business from his mother in a few years. In the meantime, he is excited to see it taking this next step and is working closely together with his father’s righthand man, Kent Waldeck, who followed Heffle from their former workplace to Heffle Motor Company, where he has served as its sales manager ever since.
“Not many people stay in the same position for 28 years, but I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else,” Waldeck said. “We all get along well with one another and take pride in what we do. We’re really picky on the kinds of vehicles we sell — we don’t just put any cars out there.”
Heffle Motor Company is open on Mondays through Fridays, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, call 304-267-7172 or visit https://www.hefflemotorcompany.com/.
