Meet Justin Cole | CEO at Don’t Trade It in, Accelerate Auto Group and Accelerate Auto Repair

We had the good fortune of connecting with Justin Cole and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Justin, what do you attribute your success to?
Life Experiences. They say that there’s no replacement for experience and I agree, both personally and professionally. Like most other people, I’ve been through a lot throughout my life and career. My experiences while experimenting with various degrees in college and refusal to graduate just to graduate led me to leave the first college I attended to get a degree from one of the best business schools in the country. However, I didn’t get into the university that school is in right off the bat. I was told no and had to come back multiple times before finally getting in. I then had to go through another very difficult application/admission process to get into their business school. I actually secured funding for and opened my first vehicle-related business when I was still in college, got off to a typical rocky start, hit a good stride and then was devastated by the Great Recession. However, we fought for years and learned a lot throughout the process. I then spent about five years making my way through the ranks at a few different large dealership groups, one of which was Berkshire Hathaway Automotive. Again, I learned so much from the countless experiences. My businesses’ mission is to help our clients have significantly better than average vehicle buying, selling and repair experiences.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Accelerate Auto Group/Don’t Trade It In/Accelerate Auto Repair has evolved quite a bit over the last five years. We started out as a one-man show in a small trailer out in Princeton, TX just after Cinco De Mayo in 2016. We’ve fought VERY HARD to end up where we are now: a well-equipped 20,000+ square foot facility in Rowlett (on the East side of Dallas, TX) and have a big team of top-notch members. First and foremost, we’re a full-service auto dealership. We locate, buy, sell, consign and finance anything from inexpensive commuter cars to eight-figure investment grade classics and exotics. We opened Don’t Trade It In as a response to the intense competition that exists for good pre-owned vehicle inventory. We buy vehicles directly from the public and other companies for more than they’d get if they traded them in at a conventional dealership.

Accelerate Auto Repair is here to help with anything from routine maintenance/repairs on your daily driver to a lift kit for your truck/SUV or a custom-built engine for your hotrod, muscle-car, racecar or pretty much anything else that you want to haul butt in. Mild to wild is probably the best way to describe our paint and body department. We’re staffed and equipped to handle anything from small paint chips or door dings, including paintless dent repair, to complete bumper-to-bumper custom jobs on vehicles from the 1800s to the present. We’re about to launch our new auto retailing arm called FAST (at FAST.CARS). It’s going to the best place to go to buy a vehicle, in person or online, very quickly!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Since I’m a car guy and my best friend who doesn’t live in the Dallas area is too, the week would be automotive themed. I’m also assuming the budget is unlimited since I’m showing him the best time ever. We’d get started by going to race the fast go-karts out at Dallas Karting Complex. We’d follow that up by racing real cars at Eagle’s Canyon, Cresson Motorsports Ranch and Texas Motor Speedway. The racing would be accompanied by great food at Truluck’s, Nick and Sam’s, Pappas Bros Steakhouse, various BBQ spots and at least one Jake’s Special at Jake’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family definitely deserves credit and recognition. I wouldn’t be here without their support!

Website: donttradeitin.com, accelerateautogroup.com, accelerateautorepair.com, fast.cars, dallascarappraisals.com, tuckerconvertible.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/accelerateautogroup/, https://www.instagram.com/donttradeitin/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinjcole/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/accelerateautogroup, https://www.facebook.com/donttradeitin