The official closing date for Car Circus, 500 W. Plank Road, is Friday, “but the dealership is really closed,” said business manager Jane Montgomery, who has been running the business for the last several years.

The business is closing due to the retirement of owners Mark and Patricia Montgomery, Jane’s parents, who had joined the business in the late 1980s.

“It was an extremely difficult decision because of the customers. … It is sad to see it go, we are heartbroken even though it was the right decision,” Jane Montgomery said.

The automobile business has been in the Montgomery family since 1926 when Jane’s great-grandfather Tom started Montgomery Service Station in Newry. Through the 1930s and 1940s, he was a dealer for Plymouths and DeSotos in Cresson and he had Auto Mart in Altoona and sold Studebakers.

Car Circus business manager Jane Montgomery stands outside the business at 500 W. Plank Road, Altoona.

Robert Montgomery, Jane’s grandfather, came into the business in the 1960s and 1970 as owner of Montgomery Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi and Toyota, site of today’s Fiore Toyota Volkswagen Audi. He also was a dealer for Chevrolets in Huntingdon and Altoona.

“Bob was the youngest franchise owner for Volkswagen in the United States,” Jane Montgomery said. He founded Car Circus, which sold only used cars, in the early 1980s.

“Car Circus was really designed to be a service to the community; it was buy here, pay here. It gave access to people who couldn’t afford to purchase a new vehicle. We did all of our own financing, went away from using traditional credit scores, we took on people who had bad credit, bankruptcies, we were able to get them into a vehicle,” Montgomery said.

At one time, Car Circus also had locations in Johnstown, Harrisburg and York, and had a repair facility on Fairway Drive.

Car Circus purchased its vehicles to sell from auto auctions in Harrisburg, Lock Haven, Pittsburgh and Manheim.

Car Circus at 500 W. Plank Road, Altoona, was founded in the early 1980s to sell quality, affordable used cars. Courtesy photo

During the 1990s and early 2000s, Car Circus sold more than 500 vehicles a year; the number had dwindled to 200-300 in recent years.

“The used car market has got very difficult to keep prices affordable and keep mechanically sound, COVID was very difficult,” Montgomery said.

Car Circus has had many loyal customers over the years, such as Glenn Barbis of Johnstown.

He said he had bought nine vehicles from Car Circus over the last 20-plus years.

“I can’t say enough good things about Car Circus in Altoona. The entire staff, especially Melissa (Evanskey, credit manager) have always treated us very well and took care of us when purchasing, and we can’t thank them enough for all they have done for us over the years. We really liked their service and will miss them a lot. It was nice knowing we could get a good car when needed through them,” Barbis said.

Longstanding success

Montgomery said there were a few reasons for Car Circus’ success over the years.

“The key to success was the personal connection we had with customers. Financing — we had hundreds of people making payments and we knew them by name. Melissa was the heartbeat of the business. She had a special way of doing collections, it was unmatched,” Montgomery said.

The business was willing to work with people, Montgomery said, “not like a corporation on the hill.”

“We offered low prices and had high interest rates for short term loans,” Montgomery said, adding that the company operated as its own financing agency, with maximum loans for three years. “We got people through their loans.”

The company didn’t qualify customers based on traditional credit score, Montgomery said.

“We were willing to meet with customers and not put them into a payment plan they could not afford,” Montgomery said. “We were able to put them into a plan they could afford really well.”

Car Circus staff, in particular four staff members, were also a key to success.

“We had two with over 30 years and two others with over 25 years. They were the heart and soul of the business,” Montgomery said.

They included Stephanie Wertz, business manager before Jane, who retired five years ago. Brian Estright, service manager, who retired three years ago; Evanskey the credit manager, and Jason Eichenlaub, who took over as service manager after Brian Estright.

Although closed, Car Circus is offering support to its customers.

“We are still here to support you during this transition. If your loan remains with Car Circus/Cornerstone Credit, you can continue making payments as usual. If your loan has been transferred to

MidAtlantic Finance, you make payments to them. MidAtlantic will also be reaching out with your account information,” Montgomery said.

As for Montgomery, she is moving on to another career.

“My background was not in business, I was helping out to run the family business. My background is in social work, I will return to that,” she said, adding that she was recently hired as the Bedford County Treatment Court coordinator.

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.