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An Introduction to Javel - Garage Courtier


Javel

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First, Thanks to everyone involved with 505Turbo.com for providing this opportunity for the Peugeot parts vendors to have this access and exposure to your website... as well as Peugeot enthusiasts ! It has long been my belief that sites like this and the Yahoo groups should be focused on the enthusiast needs and not abused by any commercial interest. I applaud the addition of a "Vendor" section to define that separation.

Second, an introduction to Javel and Garage Courtier.

My name is Rob... Rob Courter... no, not a typo... my grandfather removed the "i" from the last name when he came to this country. I grew up living all over the US, but spent my high school years living in The Netherlands. There I fell in love with french cars, most especially Citroen. My first car was (and I still own it !) a 1950 Citroen Traction Avant 11 B Normale. Living in The Hague, I apprenticed at Garage Van Vliet. The owner, Ometoon Van Vliet, started the largest Traction Club in the world... Traction Avant Nederland. The foreman, my mentor, is Frank Bijlsma... who now owns and operate Garage Bijlsma in Poeldijk, Nederland. By now you obviously understand the orgin of the garage that bears my family name.

I started Garage Courtier in downtown Dallas in 1976, at the age of 20, to serve the Citroen owners after the demise of the local dealer, Huckaby Motors. That was the same year that Peugeot purchased Citroen from the Michelin tire company, which had owned Citroen since soon after Andre Citroen's death. Being part of the same family as well as the only part that had a presence in the US at the time... we opened the doors to service the ever growing population of Peugeots as well.

Along with the tremedous success and popularity of the 505, we moved to new facilities in north Dallas in 1984. With the expanding demand for parts and the inability to rely on the existing Peugoet parts network, I formed a new parts division called Javel... named after the first Citroen factory located on the left bank in Paris.

So when, in 1992, Peugeot decided to join Citroen in pulling out of the US I was faced with a question of what to do. Luckily for me, I had gotten into the radio business... first as a weekend disc jockey because I had a 'set of tubes'... and then into talk radio. So now I engineer, syndicate and co-host a "Hip Home Improvement" Show called 'Ask Andrea' aired on the USA Radio network... as well as host my own locally broadcast show called "The Green Green Show"... based on ways to make every day decisions about your own environment that are both ecologically friendly (Green) and economically viable (Green). It just goes to prove that driving a Citroen 2CV van for the last 22 years and growing up surrounded by windmills can have an effect on you !

But I still had all those parts... dealers were closing... and the people who bought them out didtn't know what to do with the inventory ! So I started buying them up. I know the parts, I've twisted the wrenches, I drive the cars, I have the time, I have the facilities and I know how to talk almost anyone through almost any problem they might encounter. Not to mention all the other great people in the Peugeot parts business that have worked cooperatively to make sure you get what you need to keep that "Lion" roaring down the road.

If there is EVER ANYTHING I can do do to help you in that endeaver... please... call on me

972.669.2425

or emal

[email protected]

[email protected]

or even my personal email at [email protected]

Thanks for reading through all this... and I wish you well !

~Rob~

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  • 7 years later...

Just weird..... I have been looking for parts everywhere including ebay UK! A gentleman that works on BMW. On Floyd circle told me about you but I could never find you. Yesterday I'm on here and decided to look you up and turns out you're like 4 doors from the shop where my vehicle is located. I paid yup a visit and spoke to your friend at the shop and told him I would be back. Looking forward to meet you.

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