About Our Buick & GMC Dealership

The dealership relocated to 1215 North Front Street in Mankato. In 1961, Jerry Benzie and Perry Brakke joined together to form Benzie-Brakke Oldsmobile. That same year, Buick and GMC franchises were added. The dealership moved to a larger location on North Riverfront Drive and grew to 20 employees.

After 15 years with General Motors, Don Snell became a partner in Brakke-Benzie. As the dealership continued to grow, two additional buildings were rented – one at 1101 North Front Street to accommodate a body shop and the second at 1103 First Avenue to accommodate the used car inventory. At this time the dealership employed 25 people.

The dealership officially became Brakke-Snell. Don Snell completed his buy-out from Perry Brakke in 1978, making him the sole owner to create what is known today as Snell Motors.

Scott and Todd Snell, sons of Don Snell, joined Don as part owners. To streamline efficiencies the multiple locations housing new car inventory, the body shop and used car inventory were consolidated to one facility at 600 South Riverfront Drive. The new 25,000 sq. ft. building offered additional parking for customers, a new car showroom, new & used parking lot, a service department, parts department and body shop. The move provided space to increase sales and service volume, and generated a need for more employees.

Additional growth continued for Snell Motors in the downtown location and the 228 Poplar Street building site was purchased. This was a stand-alone detail department added across the street, thus freeing three bays for Service in the main location. In 2002, this building became what is now Snell Tire & Lube.

The vacant Menards building, on the corner of Madison Avenue and Highway 22, was purchased and used as a temporary indoor showroom for the Snell Motors. Late in 2002 renovations began on the building. The facility is now the largest indoor showroom in southern Minnesota, boasting 35,000 sq. ft. The entire dealership covers an impressive 80,000 sq. ft. set on a 10-acre lot. There were over 80 employees with continued growth and expansion in site.

Snell Motors hosted its Grand Opening festivities in August 2003 to officially announce and introduce the community to the new home of Snell Motors and a whole new concept in the automobile buying experience.

Pat Steffensmeier joined Todd Snell as part owner of Snell Motors and completed his training at Dealer Academy in July 2005. He began his career with Snell Motors in 1985 as a Master Technician and was promoted to Service Manager in 1988. During the initial years of Service Management, he attended GM Management Training and was later promoted to Vice President/Fixed Operations Director in 1997.

Oldsmobile, the original product line carried by Brakke Oldsmobile in 1951, was discontinued. The Pontiac and Cadillac franchises were acquired, adding to the dealership’s line-up of Buick and GMC.

Snell Motors opened guaranteed credit lot “Mankato Credit Yes,” at 800 North Riverfront Drive in Old Town Mankato. Mankato Credit Yes specialized in pre-owned vehicles and guaranteed credit approval using Credit Acceptance Corp. – a Snell-owned funding source for people with challenged credit. Snell Motors had about 100 employees.

The Mankato Credit Yes closed its doors due to internal changes after a successful run. The vehicles, staff and financing options all remained and were moved up to Snell Motors . The dealership celebrated its 5 year anniversary at the indoor showroom location on the corner of Madison Avenue and Highway 22. With continued years of success and growth in departments, staff and profits, Snell Motors is a top dealer in the Mankato area and surrounding regions. It currently has about 120 employees.

Snell Motors took on another segment of the automotive industry and opened Snell Auto Wash in January 2009. This full-service car wash provides exterior washes through the tunnel and also offers interior details in one of the six detail bays. With state-of-the-art equipment, a water reclaim system that recycles 40% of water used and an Express Lane for VIP customers, Snell Auto Wash proves to be Minnesota’s premier place for vehicle care.

The latest addition to the Snell company line-up was Snell Powersports & Equipment (Snell PSE), a dealer of all season lawn care equipment, powersports products and marine products. In addition to offering new and pre-owned inventory, it also offers full small engine repair services.

Snell Motors receives two GM awards: #1 Overall Customer Retention and #1 Accessory Sales.

Todd Snell was one of 55 select nominees nation-wide for TIME Dealer of the Year. Each year Ally, TIME and the National Automobile Association (NADA) team up to celebrate the many ways auto dealers are doing it right in their industry and giving back to their communities.

In August, the final roundabout went in. In the fall, the Powersports dealership was relocated to a bigger space, which enabled future dealership expansion. Snell Motors was named the top CPO Dealer in Minnesota. In December, Snell Motors held the last Fire and Ice Gala, raising over $600,000 for Greater Mankato United Way over the past five years. The first haunted car wash was held at Snell Auto Wash, and over 3,500 people were invited into the dealership for safe and fun indoor trick or treating.

Snell Companies now has over 120 employees and continues to grow. We are thankful for all of those people who helped create Snell and make it into the great company it is today! We look forward to the many more years of growth and are so happy to have you part of it!

Snell Motors was no stranger to the adversity and unique challenges the global COVID-19 pandemic presented.

Although we had to close many of our departments for several weeks, we kept the safety of our employees and customers a top priority. We pivoted our business model to offer at-home pick-up and delivery for both sales and service customers.

Our community has always been important to us, and not being able to host our annual events that support our teachers, children, the homeless and many others in our community in need was a difficult part of 2020. We once again pivoted, and instead of hosting large events, we found different ways to give back to the community and support those in need. We did so by delivering food for the BackPack Food Program and delivering a little bit of joy to local health care workers. We held our second annual Haunted Car Wash which benefited Feeding our Community Partners and raised more than the previous year. This 3-weekend event put on by the Snell Auto Wash staff was a huge success and allowed many families to have a fun Halloween experience from the safety of their own vehicles.

To close out the year, General Manager, Melissa Bradley became a partner and co-owner in Snell Motors. The mission of Snell Motors has always been to give an honest, caring, and quality experience, and Melissa looks forward to carrying on that legacy for many years to come.

2021 Brought back the opportunity for the in-person events we love hosting for our community. Our Teacher Appreciation event returned, along with our third annual Haunted Car Wash and Trunk-or-Treat events. The Haunted Car Wash and Trunk-or-Treat brought in record-breaking attendance. We were so excited to invite people back into the dealership.

With Hockey Day Minnesota coming to Mankato in early 2022, Snell Motors was one of the sponsors for this iconic event which celebrates the sport of hockey in the State of Hockey. Owner/General Manager, Melissa Bradley, served on the Hockey Day Local Organizing Committee, managing Risk Management + Contracts. Many employees volunteered at the 8-day event! Snell Motors and Snell Auto Wash sponsored two youth teams and we were so excited to see 6 employees’ children play during the week on the Hockey Day Minnesota ice! Snell was proud to be part of Hockey Day Minnesota which brought over 22,000 people to Blakeslee Stadium over the course of the event.

In October, Snell Motors partnered with The Car Mom to become a Car Mom Preferred Dealership. Elaina Doeden also became certified as a Child Passenger Safety Technician, able to help ensure our customers’ car seats are installed properly.

Snell Motors began the EV process this year, getting ready to sell, service and charge electric vehicles.

After many years of hard work and training, Snell Collision and Glass became a member of the GM Collision Repair Network. GM recognizes our facility as meeting its highest standards of technical training, equipment quality, and customer service excellence. As a member of the GM Collision Repair Network, we’re committed to promoting the safe, proper repair of GM vehicles with GM-approved repair procedures and GM Original Equipment Parts.

For the 9th year in a row, Snell Collision and Glass has achieved the highest standard of training and is once again I-CAR Gold Class certified.

In 2022 Snell Motors became fully EV Certified. This includes having trained technicians and sales professionals, completed installation of four charging stations, one of them being a DC Fast Charger that allows an electric vehicle to fully charge in less than an hour.

In early fall, we delivered our first Electric Vehicle – The Edition 1 GMC Hummer EV.

Snell Motors is proud to call Mankato our home. As a locally owned dealership, community involvement is at the core of our business model. We are happy to support organizations that share our vision and make Mankato a great place to live and work! In 2022 we donated over $55,000 to local non-profits, including:

We are lucky to have a 70-car indoor showroom to call home. In 2022 we continued hosting our events, including Teacher Appreciation, Trunk or Treat, and the Haunted Car Wash. Each of these events is a unique way for Snell Motors and our staff to give back to the community. We look forward to continuing these traditions well into the future.

TEACHER APPRECIATION

TRUNK OR TREAT:

HAUNTED CAR WASH