Our Story 2025

Early Years & Hands-On Learning

Bently’s involvement in the dealership began at just ten years old, spending summers commuting with Tom in the early morning hours to wash cars and stock parts. After college, he started reshaping the parts and service departments. While Tom often said, “Nothing happens until you sell a car,” Bently focused on what happens after the sale. For Classic, earning a customer’s business once is only the beginning—the goal has always been to maintain customers for life.

Leading Through Crisis
As Bently learned the business, he witnessed Classic’s rise to become the #1 GM parts seller in the nation. He contributed to the expansion of service operations, including building the largest Chevrolet service center in Texas, and relocating the Collision Center to create one of the largest body shops in North Texas.

Bently’s desire to “do things right” led him to law school in 2005. After earning his law degree in 2008, he returned to Classic during a precarious time: the global financial crisis and GM’s impending bankruptcy. His legal background taught him discernment, while his business upbringing gave him the skill to make a deal.

One such deal led to the creation of the mile-long bridge through Classic Chevrolet’s campus. “It was in the best interest of the community to have a bridge,” Bently recalls, “so it was in Classic Chevrolet’s interest to find a way to do it.”

Community First, Always
Community involvement is deeply ingrained in Bently’s leadership. As a director with the Grapevine Chamber of Commerce, a volunteer at local festivals, and a constant presence in community life, Bently brings the values he learned growing up in Granbury to Grapevine.

“We take a modest but constant budget, and invest in the community every month,” he explains. “We help the football team get helmets and the volleyball team get nets. We support the band, the cheerleaders, and the A/V club that films the games. Then we dive deep into the soul of the community with the Tom and Susan Durant Foundation—so we can feed the hungry and rehabilitate the broken. My father never questions the funds we spend here, because the community invests it back into us year after year.”

Building from Within
In 2012, Bently transitioned from General Counsel to Chief Operating Officer of Classic. “Working as an attorney for a company that always does right by the customer left a lot of free time on my hands,” he says with a smile. “I wanted to be back with the employees—helping grow and guide them to the next level.”

Bently spearheaded the development of internet sales, marketing, and the customer experience team. He also led initiatives to improve employee benefits, insurance, and technology infrastructure, ensuring the team had everything they needed to succeed.

“The customer experience department was an easy choice,” he reflects. “We had such long-tenured sales associates—some still preferred flip phones to smartphones. When customers started emailing, we gave those associates assistants to empower them and keep them thriving in the digital age.”

A Living Legacy
If Bently’s work could be summarized in one word, it would be “continuation.””

“My dad built something amazing—a store that achieved the highest customer experience ratings and held the #1 selling dealer position in the nation for nine consecutive years. My job was to keep that going while the entire world changed around us. What made it easier was the values he instilled in his employees. They adapted to the times on their own. I only had to enable them to succeed—and then get out of their way.”

Tom and Bently still make a remarkable team. They work out together each morning and arrive at the dealership early to lead meetings. Their best conversations, they say, are always about the people of Classic—customers and employees alike. While they often discuss ways to improve their culture and values, they never argue about dollars and cents.

Together, they returned Classic to the #1 spot nationally in both 2023 and 2024.

Serving the Industry
Outside of Classic and the local community, Bently is also a leader in the automotive industry. He serves as:

·       Director, Texas Auto Dealers Association

·       Chairperson Elect, North Texas Auto Dealers

·       Advisor to the DMV’s Motor Vehicle Industry Board

·       Member, National Association of Dealer Counsel

“Every leadership role—whether for your HOA, your city, or your State—deserves 100% dedication while you wear that hat. My father taught me that integrity is the only thing of true value that, once lost, can never be regained. When you serve in leadership, you can’t cross your fingers during the oath and then engage in conflicts of interest. That’s the path to corruption of the mind and soul.”

Classic Chevrolet’s story continues not just with dealerships, but with people. With values passed down, communities uplifted, and a promise that integrity and customer experience will always come first.