Auto giant Lithia slowly buying up locally owned car dealers

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eomaha
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Auto giant Lithia slowly buying up locally owned car dealers

Post by eomaha »

Omaha World Herald wrote: Lithia to purchase Jim Earp dealerships

Longtime Omaha auto dealer Jim Earp has agreed to sell his Chrysler-Jeep and Dodge franchises next month to national retailer Lithia Motors Inc., managers with his company said.

The sale to Lithia is expected to be complete by Jan. 31, said Charlie Miller, customer relations manager at Earp's Chrysler-Jeep dealership, 5500 L St.

The sale is subject to approval by Chrysler, Miller said Thursday. The Dodge store is next door at 5402 L St.

A Lithia official declined to comment.

Lithia, based in Medford, Ore., is among the nation's largest auto retailers, with 86 company-owned stores and 163 franchises.

The company entered the Omaha market in 2002 with purchases of the former Jay Wolfe Ford - previously H.P. Smith Ford and now Lithia Ford - and Mercedes-Benz of Omaha.

The publicly owned company, known for standardizing operations at its new acquisitions, had revenues of $2.51 billion in 2003.

Bob Murray, who handles advertising for Earp, said negotiations began a few months ago. He declined to comment on details of the deal, including whether the property where the Chrysler-Jeep franchise is situated would be included in the sale. Chrysler owns the Jim's Dodge Country real estate.

"We can't make any kind of official statement until after the first of the year. It's part of the agreement," Murray said. "Until everything is signed, nothing is signed."

Murray said Earp, who is 80, would have no comment on the pending sale.

Employees have been talking about Earp's planned sale and about pay cuts that took place just before the current agreement was announced, said a longtime customer.

Pat Venditte, owner of Cornhusker Driving School, said he wrote to Earp about his concern that the employees might lose their jobs when Lithia takes over.

Venditte said he purchased most of his company's eight vehicles from Earp's dealerships and takes them there for service because of Earp's employees.

"The entire Jim Earp family has treated me and my business well. But the employees concern me as a customer," Venditte said. "I said in a letter to Jim Earp that if the employees go, so does my business. I hope it gets to Lithia."

Dan Retzlaff of Lithia said the company usually rehires most employees when it acquires a dealership. Lithia added employees after buying its two other Omaha stores.

A former employee who agreed to comment only if he was not identified said he left his job after Earp cut salaried employees' pay by 20 percent after an announcement in late September that a deal with Lithia had fallen through.

"He explained that (the pay cut) was to keep the dealership. That was my third pay cut in five years. That was enough. That was my reason for leaving," the former employee said.

A few weeks after the pay cuts were implemented, Earp announced the Lithia deal was back on, the former employee said.

The pay cuts were in contrast to Earp's generosity in previous years, said the former employee, who worked 15 years for Earp.

"Everybody always got a Christmas bonus, which is pretty unheard of in the car business. . . . I had gotten bonuses anywhere from $500 all the way up to $2,500," he said.

He said employees now are "in limbo" about whether they'll have jobs and about renegotiating salaries and benefits, such as the number of vacation days.

Retzlaff, the Lithia spokesman, said he didn't have details on how salary and benefits are handled when hiring people who worked for a dealership's previous owner. Lithia's slate of benefits generally is larger than individual owners can offer, he said.

"As a larger employer and a public company, Lithia can offer more benefits, better insurance, a 401k and a career track," he said. "Those opportunities exist within our company. We're very active in promoting people throughout the company."

Murray said employees would be given more details about the ownership transition and their jobs when the deal was final.
Sodak
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Post by Sodak »

Omaha'a market is coming down to Woodhouse, Tal Anderson's Performance Auto Group Performance Toyota and Lithia. I wonder how long Stan Olsen, Reagan and Huber will survive?
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

Just like everything else in the modern day. Big companies just taking over. sucks
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TitosBuritoBarn
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Post by TitosBuritoBarn »

Sodak wrote:Omaha'a market is coming down to Woodhouse, Tal Anderson's Performance Auto Group Performance Toyota and Lithia. I wonder how long Stan Olsen, Reagan and Huber will survive?
How long they can survive? Stan Olsen dominates in the Omaha auto market, they just haven't been expanding. They sell 10 different brands of cars (down from 12, they sold their Pontiac and GMC franchises to Reagan by a sort of request from GM for Pontiacs, GMCs, and Buicks to be sold together). In comparison Woodhouse sells 8. Though their Ford and Chrysler dealerships in Blair are huge. Speaking of Reagan, after selling their Mazda franchise and turning the Infiniti franchise over to his son, they are moving location to a new dealership twice the size of their current one with the Pontiacs and GMCs they bought. Huber is currently building a new showroom to house the state's exclusive Hummer dealership, which is currently located in their Cadillac show room that they only built several years ago after buying Classic Cadillac.

You're making it sound like the Omaha area has only six car dealership comapanies. You're forgetting:

*Sid Dillon, a dominating force in GM sales with dealers in Fremont, Wahoo, Blair, and Lincoln

*Rhoden, who work mostly in Council Bluffs with a huge lot but also own Superior Honda, Acura of Omaha, and Kia/Isuzu of Omaha in Omaha

*Edwards-Archer who sell 4 brands of cars in CB and Suzukis in Omaha

*Metro Mitsubishi, but they are owned by a company from the Twin Cities

*O'Daniel Honda who I wouldn't count on selling out

*Gorges Volvo, who just moved to a new dealership at least three times the size of their old one (I went to school with his son, I think his dad loves the busienss too much to sell out)

*Beardmore who sell Chevys and Subarus in Bellevue

* Honda Cars of Bellevue

* Saturn of Omaha and Saturn of Bellevue

* Schrier Ford who I can't see selling out either

* Markel Ford/BMW

* Greg Young Chevrolet

* Plaza Pontiac/GMC

* Sheridan Mazda who just opended in CB, I could see them selling out if business isn't good though

* Tincher, who owns three dealerships selling cars from the "big three" down in Platsmouth

*Hawkins-Marsh Ford in Pacific Junction, IA

*Infiniti of Omaha, which is under ownership of Reagan's son

*Tim O'Neil Chevrolet

* H&H Chevrolet (went to school with his son too, I think he enjoys it too much to sell out as well)

*Lake Manawa Nissan/Kia of CB

* Ratigan Motor Center of Missouri Valley, IA, who are also huge

* Atchley Ford

* Charlie Diers Ford/Mercury of Fremont

* Old Mill Toyota

* Bellevue Toyota (after Tal bought Southroads Toyota and moved them to La Vista, this new locally owned Toyota dealer went right in to where Southroads was.)

....there's probably even more.

See, I've been religiously reading the Motor News in the World Herald since 1994. :D I've learned a lot about what's been going on in the Omaha auto business. It'll be a while before big business saturates the Omaha auto market, not that I think they even will. Lithia and Metro are the only non-locally owned big business auto dealers in Omaha anyway, so even if Woodhouse and Anderson continue expansion, the money still goes back into Omaha companies.

I'm still surprised you mentioned Stan Olsen as a dealer you are skeptical of surviving. They are ginormous and a huge force in the Omaha auto market. The only thing with them is that they are not expanding. I'd be pretty surprised if Lithia could get their hands on them.
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Post by DMRyan »

That Woodhouse dealership advertises in the DSM market too. That's smart too because it probably catches viewers in the western fringe of the DSM TV market.
OmahaRules
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Post by OmahaRules »

I had an experience at Edwards/Archer that was unlike any other. A kid who was washing cars backed into mine and since it was on private property the General Manager didn't want to do anything about it he actually told me to get a lawyer because he wouldn't do anything. Anyways we finally got it worked out but thats the last time I shop at a car dealership in CB. I would suggest everyone stay away because the car that they backed into me with they didn't even tell the buyer they just told them the "check engine" light came on and they had to keep it overnight to fix that. When they were fixing the bumper from a kid that backed into me.
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Post by Coyote »

Thread Revival - Another Auto takeover:

Rusty Eck Ford adds Omaha site
BILL WILSON The Wichita Eagle wrote:The national economic downturn isn't slowing Les Eck's auto group, which has purchased a dealership in Omaha and risen into the top 10 among 3,500 national Ford dealers in new car and truck sales volume. Eck this month bought Anderson Ford in Omaha, now Rusty Eck Ford Omaha. Eck said the Omaha dealership fell into his lap as he searched for a fourth site in the Midwest. "I'd been looking for a new opportunity, and I got a call about this dealership that wasn't doing much. OK profit, but not a lot of business."
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

The Rusty "Neck" sounding commercials are non stop.
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

Performance buys Mercedes-Benz of Omaha

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1 ... d=10477365
JOHN KEENAN WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER wrote:Omaha's Performance Automotive Group has purchased Mercedes-Benz of Omaha at 144th Street and Hillsdale Avenue.

Lithia Motors, based in Eugene, Ore., sold the dealership. The company announced last summer that it would sell or close a number of stores.

With the acquisition, Performance now owns 12 dealerships carrying domestic and imported vehicles in Omaha, La Vista, Lincoln and the Kansas City area.

The Mercedes-Benz franchise, once owned by Omaha auto titan Jim Earp, will remain at its current location.

Tal Anderson, chairman of Performance, said in a press release that the Mercedes-Benz franchise strengthens the company's luxury car lineup.

"We're proud to offer our customers this premier brand, one of the most respected names in the nation," Anderson said. "It's a great fit for the Omaha community, which represents a strong luxury market that continues to expand."
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

It didn't take Rusty Eck long to start dancing around in a husker hat...
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nebugeater
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Post by nebugeater »

Rusty Eck's run in Omaha is over.  The dealership they bought in 2008 has been bought from them by Performance Auto Group.  Surprises me a bit.  I would have thought that the Rusty group would have went after more in the area but with the downturn that may have dampened that.  That being said, a lot of dealerships have changed hands and they never grew.  


http://www.omaha.com/article/20120114/MONEY/701149926

Performance Auto Group now has its second Ford dealership after purchasing Rusty Eck Ford this week.

Mickey Anderson, president of Performance, said the dealership on South 145th Street, just off Interstate 80, is now Performance Ford and will offer more than 400 new Ford cars and trucks along with used vehicles of all makes and models


Coyote wrote:Thread Revival - Another Auto takeover:

Rusty Eck Ford adds Omaha site
BILL WILSON The Wichita Eagle wrote:The national economic downturn isn't slowing Les Eck's auto group, which has purchased a dealership in Omaha and risen into the top 10 among 3,500 national Ford dealers in new car and truck sales volume. Eck this month bought Anderson Ford in Omaha, now Rusty Eck Ford Omaha. Eck said the Omaha dealership fell into his lap as he searched for a fourth site in the Midwest. "I'd been looking for a new opportunity, and I got a call about this dealership that wasn't doing much. OK profit, but not a lot of business."
For the record  NEBUGEATER does not equal BUGEATER    !!!!!!!
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jessep28
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Post by jessep28 »

It makes sense that Performance would buy a Ford dealership after shutting down their 120th and Dodge location.

On Rusty Eck not surviving in the Omaha market, I wouldn't be surprised if their ad agency played a role:

[youtube][/youtube]
Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum
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Post by almighty_tuna »

There can be only one...
bigredmed
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Post by bigredmed »

I bought a truck from Eck.  Wonder if Performance will honor the tires for life deal that Eck promised us?
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Post by HskrFanMike »

jessep28 wrote:It makes sense that Performance would buy a Ford dealership after shutting down their 120th and Dodge location.

On Rusty Eck not surviving in the Omaha market, I wouldn't be surprised if their ad agency played a role:

[youtube][/youtube]
They didn't shut it down. They moved it to Village Point and rebranded it Baxter since their second Chrysler/Dodge dealership in that area also operates under the Baxter name.
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Asten
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Post by Asten »

bigredmed wrote:I bought a truck from Eck.  Wonder if Performance will honor the tires for life deal that Eck promised us?
If you have a contract, they shouldn't have much choice in the matter.
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