McFadden Family Motors cuts the ribbon on new lot
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 months, 1 week AGO
RJ McFadden, surrounded by friends, family and members of the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce, cuts the ribbon on McFadden Family Motors Wednesday.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
RJ, right, and Teri McFadden opened McFadden Family Motors in December.
McFadden Family Motors had 32 vehicles in stock Wednesday. The lot is located at the corner of Broadway Avenue and Cedar Street in downtown Moses Lake.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | February 9, 2026 3:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — The little lot on Broadway in Moses Lake is again full of cars. Owner RJ McFadden officially cut the ribbon on McFadden Family Motors Wednesday afternoon.
“We’re super excited to be here … in the heart of Moses Lake, surrounded by all my family and friends,” McFadden told the crowd as he wielded the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce’s oversize scissors. “And of course I’m going to start crying, because that’s what I do.”
McFadden has owned Basin RV for the last two years, but his career has mostly been in car sales, he said.
“I’ve been 18 years in the car business world, and I’ve always wanted to own my own dealership,” he said. “The opportunity for this property came up and I decided to put McFadden Family Motors here and give her a run.”
McFadden and his wife Teri still own Basin RV, he said; he has a manager handling the day-to-day work there while he concentrates on the car lot. Teri McFadden will pitch in at the dealership the same way she does at Basin RV as well, he said. The dealership held a soft opening in December and has been building up inventory and online presence in the meantime.
The location at 401 W. Broadway has been a car lot for a long time, most recently R&M Auto Sales, and before that Russ’s Used Cars since 1997, according to Columbia Basin Herald archives.
Many people think of an auto dealership as an outlet for new cars, but more than 80% of Washington dealers are smaller, independent dealers, according to the Washington State independent Auto Dealers Association. McFadden isn’t worried about competing with the big boys, he said.
“Us small dealers, we’re not in it to make a whole bunch of money,” he said. “The more cars we sell (at a good cost), the more plate frames are on the road, the more people are happy.”
McFadden Family Motors had 32 vehicles in stock Wednesday, of a variety of makes and models. “We’ve got a pretty good selection,” McFadden said. “All of our cars go through an inspection, we change the oil, top off the fluids. If anything needs service, we service them … down at Basin RV.”
Reputation is important in the used car business, McFadden said.
“(Our slogan is) ‘McFadden Family Motors, where small-town values matter,’” he said. “People aren’t just buying a car; they’re buying a name as well.”
McFadden Family Motors
401 W. Broadway Ave.
Moses Lake
Monday-Wednesday 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Thursday 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Friday 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
509-350-2277
RJ, right, and Teri McFadden opened McFadden Family Motors in December.
McFadden Family Motors had 32 vehicles in stock Wednesday. The lot is located at the corner of Broadway Avenue and Cedar Street in downtown Moses Lake.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
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