James Gibbs Email and Phone Number

Originally from Lake Conroe, Tx, I started my career in construction on Lake Conroe at the age of 18, and for four years I worked building boat docks, bulk heads, boat houses, and learned to weld (stick) so I could fabricate, design, and build boat lifts. At 22, I went to work for a steel pipe company for four years learning a variety of skills, and working in six different departments of the plant (Finishing, All-Thread, Heat Treating, Electrical Maintenance, Mechanical Maintenance, and Quality Control), after the events of 9/11, the plant cut hours, and I went to work for Pepsi Bottling Group for four years where I got my first taste of sales, and then spent three years with Red Bull in Large Format (Grocery Stores) sales. In 2007, I took a huge "Leap of Faith", and jumped careers into the automotive industry where I started in sales, after two years in sales, I landed my DREAM JOB- Automotive Finance and Insurance Manager. As a F&I Manager, I learned credit, evaluating credit, and developing strong relationships with banks. This has led me to specialize in Sub-Prime lending where I work structuring car loans for people with "Less Than Perfect" credit. Where most F&I Managers "sign & go" on these customers, I enjoy taking a little time with these customers, and those "New to Credit" (Such as 'First Time Buyers') and actually spend a few minutes and ask them, "Are you familiar with your credit?", and "If I could help you with some 'free advice' to fix or establish a good credit score, is that something you would be open to?", and I show them a path to help them. With over 10 years experience in Finance, I absolutely LOVE my job still, and yes, even with the average work week being 70+ hours, I still tend to try to work on my day off. I've had the tremendous honor to train three F&I Managers in my career, and that is normally when I find the most pleasure in my career, helping others to succeed, being patient with them while they learn this amazing career path, and showing them the right way of doing things. I consider myself extremely blessed to do what I love and currently working with Lithia, I love the dealership here and the people I work with, and hope this will be my final workplace.