100 YEARS SERVING THE UPSTATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

Since 1923, the Burns family has provided the best new and used cars, trucks, and SUVs to the Upstate of South Carolina.

OUR HISTORY

The Burns family of dealerships spans 100 years and four generations. Learn more about our 100 year history selling the best new and used vehicles in South Carolina. 

The Burns Family of Dealerships: A History

1923
C.W. Burns attends a two-week training to become an automobile dealer. He opens a Chevrolet dealership in Pageland, South Carolina on July 15, 1923. Chevy’s biggest seller that year was the 1923 Chevrolet Superior, known as the Series B. 

1927
The family business expands for the first time as Lancaster Motor Company opens in Lancaster, South Carolina.

1959
C.W. sends his son, C. Weldon Burns Jr., to open a dealership in Rock Hill, South Carolina. This begins the legacy of Burns as a multi-generational family business. 1959 was also the year Chevrolet introduced its iconic El Camino. 

1984
Weldon promotes his eldest son, Claude W. III, to dealer of the Rock Hill store. Weldon continues to grow the family business by opening a Chevrolet-Oldsmobile, Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge dealership in Gaffney, South Carolina. Sam, Weldon's second son, is the dealer, beginning the legacy of selling new Chevrolet cars and trucks and offering used vehicles for sale in Gaffney.

1990
Sam Burns comes to Gaffney, bringing nearly 70 years’ of Burns history offering new and used vehicles for sale in South Carolina. In 1990, Chevrolet had an interesting lineup of vehicles for sale, including the Chevy Astro Van, the Chevy Beretta, the popular SUV Chevrolet Blazer, the Camaro, Caprice, Cavalier, and Celebrity, Of course, Chevrolet also offered the Corvette as well as Chevy trucks like the C1500, K2500, and economical S10 Pickup. 

1994
Lancaster, South Carolina sees its second Burns dealership, this time, a Ford store offering new Ford trucks and cars for sale. Ford had popular models in 1994 like the F-series and Ranger pickup trucks, and cars like the Taurus and Escort all in the Top 10 vehicles sold that year. The second-best selling vehicles in 1994 were the tough and dependable Chevrolet C-K full-size pickups. It would be 5 more years before Chevrolet introduced its top selling truck, the Chevy Silverado. 

2013
After 30 years on Limestone Street in Gaffney, Burns Chevrolet of Gaffney moves to its current position at exit 92 on I-85 where they still offer new Chevrolet cars, trucks, and SUVs, as well as Chevrolet service and genuine OEM parts. For over ten years in this location, locals have found a dependable place to buy used cars for sale, get their oil changed, or explore the newest Chevy trucks, SUVs, EVs, and cars.  

2017
Another Burns Ford dealership opens in York, South Carolina. Soon to follow are Burns Auto Credit in Spartanburg and Burns Buy-Here, Pay-Here in Lugoff, South Carolina, offering those with credit challenges to obtain auto financing and car loans that fit within their budgets. 

2020
Sam Burns passes the dealer title of Burns Chevrolet of Gaffney to his son, Charlie Burns. Of course, 2020 was the year everyone and every business faced obstacles they’d never imagined. And although new car availability was a challenge and finding good used cars for sale was sometimes rare, Charlie and the team continued to focus on serving the Burns Chevrolet customer and the Gaffney community. 

2023
The Burns Family of dealerships celebrates 100 years of business in South Carolina!

Thank you to all of our customers for 100 great years!