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Barrington is Home to Family Tradition

Family pride is part of the Barrington makeup for residents and businesses alike. Homeowners go that extra mile to make sure their home gets the best possible care and maintenance. The same holds true with businesses. When a business has found that perfect location to call home, it too wants to give it the best possible care, creating a showpiece the community will come to know and respect and one that will last for generations. Wickstrom Ford is just such a proud owner, community citizen and good neighbor.

Tim Wickstrom entered the automotive industry at an early age. In 1963, his father opened Dick Wickstrom Chevrolet in Roselle, Illinois. Tim, during his high school and college years, did everything from cleaning cars to delivering parts. In 1969, Tim and Gail, his high school sweetheart, married. She became his wife and business partner. The same year duty called and Tim went to serve in Vietnam as a United States Naval Officer. Upon his return in 1971, he became part of the Dick Wickstrom Chevrolet team, alongside his father and brothers. As he worked his way up to general manager, Gail also joined the dealership in 1979. That same year, a recession hit the country that deeply affected the automotive industry.

Barrington Ford closed its doors due to that recession. In 1984, Tim and Gail Wickstrom decided to purchase the closed dealership. The original Ford dealership in Barrington, owned by D.C. Schroeder, dated back to the 1920s. Its original location was at 208 South Cook Street. In 1968, it would move to its current home at 600 West Northwest Highway. With 20 years of experience in the auto business, Tim and Gail scraped their savings together, borrowed from Ford Motor Credit, hired an initial staff of 16 employees and created Tim Wickstrom’s Barrington Ford. The dealership was a family venture belonging to Tim, Gail and their two children, Colin and Richard. In 1985, the family decided to rename it Wickstrom Ford.

In 1986, The Wickstroms survived a major challenge. A fire struck the dealership’s service department. The true character of the entire Wickstrom Ford team shone through as employees rolled up their sleeves, worked non-stop and restored the dealership. Thanks to this personal commitment by all, business resumed in a week.

By the late 1980s, Wickstrom Ford had over 50 employees. In 1991, the Wickstrom’s oldest son Colin graduated from college and joined the family business full-time. Richard, their youngest, joined in 1993.

With strong sales and service growth throughout the 1990s, Wickstrom increased its acreage by more than 30 percent. In 1996, a $2 million expansion/renovation project to the facility was completed and in 2003, purchase of the neighboring Lincoln Mercury Dealership helped expand its product offering to customers. Today, with 80 employees, Wickstrom Ford not only services their own line of products but also performs light maintenance and repair on ALL makes of vehicles. Colin and Richard, who share their parents’ passion, continue to provide customers with outstanding purchase and service experiences. They are now the key leaders of the entire organization, overseeing and modeling the commitment to Wickstrom Ford Lincoln Mercury’s Core Values.

“Customer satisfaction,” “quality service” and “solid reputation” are words that any business wants customers and community to think of when people say their name. The real satisfaction lies in the fact that Wickstrom Ford Lincoln Mercury goes that extra mile, giving the best of itself for a community it calls home – Barrington.