PENDLETON — Legacy Ford of La Grande has opened an automotive dealership in the city of Pendleton.

Legacy’s owner, Greg Colozzi, signed a lease Sept. 6 to the former Pendleton Tire Factory, 25 Highway 11, got a paint crew and rolled in with a fleet of preowned vehicles on Sept. 10, during the week of the Pendleton Round-Up, to open Legacy of Pendleton.

At the time, the store was not officially open but anyone could have walked onto the lot and purchased a vehicle.

Legacy of Pendleton general manager Chris Huxoll said it all happened fast.

“It’s one thing we love about the guy that owns the dealership,” Huxoll said. “He’s not afraid to take chances.”

Once the phone lines and computer systems were hooked up inside the car showroom, the dealership opened to the public Sept. 17.

“Pendleton’s needed a dealership for years,” Huxoll said. “It’s frankly a shame that there’s nothing here. We’ve been talking about it for quite a few years.”

On a sunny afternoon, Huxoll, of La Grande, who has 25 years of auto sales experience under his belt, strolled through a cavalry of shiny preowned pickups and cars outside his lot.

“Everything’s negotiable,” he said. “That’s the beautiful thing about this business.”

The lot offers a full spectrum of brands, makes and models. To get business rolling, the Pendleton dealership stocked 25 cars on the lot, including Chevrolet Tahoes, Ford Explorers and Dodge Rams.

If a customer is searching for a vehicle that is not sitting in the stable, the company is able to access more than 100 vehicles from its inventory in La Grande.

Huxoll said the company has a driver who is available and would provide free delivery to Pendleton within 45 minutes.

The dealership also can help arrange full-service financing and has 50 lenders available to offer financial options to customers who have subprime to 800-plus credit scores.

Huxoll also said the company plans to open a service department to provide tires, oil changes, maintenance and inspections.

Although this is new, he said, the company is working to continue the charitable legacy of its La Grande dealership to help the Pendleton community.

“The big thing for us is, it’s really about creating a partnership with the community,” Huxoll said. “We love to give back to the community. If the community is going to support us and be here to help us establish this business, we want to be able to give back.”

Huxoll said every year La Grande Legacy Ford donates to the Festival of Trees and spends about $15,000-$20,000 buying animals from Future Farmers of America and 4-H students to help with their programs. The company also offers 12 passenger vans at no cost to help community organizations, local churches and youth programs to move around.

The Pendleton dealership is open Monday though Sunday. Customers can go to www.legacyford.net to stay informed on the latest vehicle inventory and business hours.