After a painful experience, Kevin John is now owner of latest Black-owned used car dealership in Charlotte

Kevin John recalls when he was young, his mother used her entire savings, $800, to buy Pontiac Sunbird. The joy of buying a vehicle lasted for only a week as it started having thermostat issues and the head gasket blew.

“We were left on the side of the road, and I remember the sadness and the disappointment in her face vividly. I felt her pain,” John tells Black Business.

Now 38 years old, John doesn’t want anyone to go through the traumatic experience that his family, particularly his mother, went through. He also doesn’t want anyone to become a victim of disingenuous car dealers who deliberately sell faulty cars to unsuspecting customers.

In February 2020, he launched his own auto company called Vendu Auto Group in Charlotte, North Carolina, to sell cars. According to Black Business, John is very honest about the type of cars he sells as he doesn’t want to put anyone through the traumatic experience his mom went through. 

John started his company by taking some seed money. He then found a lot, applied for a dealership license, bought some cars, and started re-selling cars. He encountered some setbacks but has still managed to triumph.

“I myself have had had plenty of setbacks and bumps in the road, including a bankruptcy now a decade in the rearview. I’ve made my share of poor choices, but the future looks bright and I don’t spend much time looking back. I haven’t had anything handed to me.”

Besides his car dealership, he has other businesses including two tech companies and a real estate company. Those two businesses were motivated by his grandparents, especially his grandfather, Little Willie John, who was a well-known Black entertainer in the 1960s.

John’s Vendu Auto Group “employs new and innovative technology built into solid, traditional methodology and it’s core principles – Value to Every Customer,” its website says.