Our History
In 1905 Max Paul, through the help of his uncle, started a small bicycle repair shop in Old City Philadelphia. With the introduction of mass-manufactured automobiles, Max's reputation as a master mechanic had become legendary in Philadelphia and his business now required offering more services, including dent repair, alignment, painting and upholstery repairs. After having the Auto body business passed on from their father Max during the war years of the 1950's, Edward and Harry Paul grew the operation out of the depression and war years into a thriving entity in West Philadelphia. Buying out his brother Edward, Harry became the sole owner of the Paul Brothers Auto Body business in 1961.
In 1963, Harry's son Maxwell was introduced to the business. A former Marine, Max was well organized and disciplined and became involved in the daily operations of Paul Bros. Young Max had seen how the original business, auto radiator repair, expanded with the automobile becoming mainstream. Looking for further opportunities in the automobile industry, Max began to interview with car manufacturers for potential dealership interests.
In 1968, Harry and Max were approached by Toyota Motor Corporation. Max saw a tremendous opportunity to not only further his collision business, but to introduce a niche automobile agency into the Philadelphia area. On February 17th, 1969, Harry and Max introduced Central City Toyota, the first Toyota agency in Philadelphia. In keeping with the family tradition of excellence, Central City Toyota became a thriving agency. Capitalizing on the gasoline crisis of mid to late 1970, Central City Toyota gained considerable market share due to their introduction of low priced, fuel efficient vehicles. The import craze of the 1970's positioned Paul Bros. as a leader in import vehicle repair in the Philadelphia area. However, Paul Bros. was now at a crossroads due to tremendous expansion.
Harry and Max implemented innovative production and repair methods to help expedite the transition to the exploding import car collision repair market. But disaster struck in November 30, 1981 as a massive fire damaged Paul Bros. and Central City Toyota. With tremendous determination, Paul Bros. never missed a beat. Opening up the day after the fire, Paul Bros. completed renovations on their current location at 49th and Chestnut in the spring of 1983. By 1985, Max became more involved in the daily operations as his father Harry went into semi-retirement. Sadly in 1991, Paul Bros. mourned the loss of Harry Paul at the age of 78, ending a brilliant era of innovation and advancement.
The 1990's continued to be successful for Paul Bros. Wilmington Lexus was founded by Max in 1992 and has become a premier agency, winning the Elite of Lexus seventeen consecutive years. Paul Bros. received national recognition for dedication to the collision repair industry, and Max, always a strong supporter of community services, was spotlighted in People Magazine, amongst other publications, for his outstanding achievements in the community. The new millennium began with the introduction of the fourth generation Paul family member, Bradford, into the business in 2000. Like his ancestors, Brad quickly became involved in the family business and immediately added Main Line Saab to the Paul Group of agencies. Under Brad's direction, Main Line Saab became the number one producing Saab dealer in the region. The Saab agency was sold in December, 2004 to make room for yet another agency, Ardmore Toyota.
In 2006 Max and Brad premiered Ardmore Toyota, one of the largest Toyota dealerships in the Tri-State area. We serve Philadelphia area for new cars, used cars, service, parts, finance and rentals. Ardmore Toyota offers a unique blend of comfort and amenities, combined with an extensive inventory of new and pre-owned vehicles. Max and Brad Paul have always committed themselves to providing customers with outstanding products and premiere service. Community Involvement is vital in both Max and Brad's business and personal life. They have built a very successful business with the understanding that even the smallest accomplishments are born from humility and grow through their charity. With over 100 years of dedication to automotive excellence and community service, the Paul family looks forward to serving the city of Philadelphia and surrounding areas with the finest automotive services for another 100 years.