Dealerships In Greeley
Despite the closure Tuesday of a longtime Loveland car dealership, dealers in northern Colorado are in better shape than dealers in much of the rest of the country, according to industry experts.
Ferrero Chrysler Jeep Dodge, 4040 Byrd Drive in Loveland, closed Tuesday, but owner Ryan Ferrero said the decision was not directly linked to the current economic conditions. He said he had been in negotiations with Chrysler to sell the dealership to the company for about a year. He said Chrysler plans to re-open the dealership under new operators in December, pending the outcome of the U.S. Treasury Department’s efforts to stimulate the auto industry.
While Ferrero Chrysler Jeep Dodge had only been at its current location for about two years, the dealership had been in Loveland for about 30 years. Ferrero said about a third of the dealership’s employees, along with the majority of its parts and service customers, will go to Champion Chrysler Jeep Dodge at Iron Mountain, another third will take positions at Ferrero’s dealerships in Longmont, and the final third will pursue other careers or wait for the new operators to take over the dealership in Loveland.
“While it is unfortunate anytime a dealer goes out of business, during these difficult times, downsizing is inevitable in the automotive industry,” said John Chamberlain, principle of Champion Chrysler Jeep Dodge at Iron Mountain, in a release about the closure. “The strongest dealers in the market will survive, and the weaker dealers will consolidate or close.”
Despite the closure, Ferrero said he isn’t worried about the state of the car dealership market in the region.
“In northern Colorado, it’s faring a heck of a lot better than it is in many other parts of the nation,” he said. “We have a lot of growth in this area. We have a lot of industry, some good-paying jobs, and we really — in my opinion — did not get hammered on the housing bubble like a lot of other communities have.”
Paul Taylor, chief economist for the McClean, Va.-based National Automobile Dealers Association, said his analysis tells a similar story. He said things have slowed for Colorado car dealers in the past year, but that’s not the whole story.
“We think we hit a bottom in those interior Western states by the end of the first quarter of 2009,” he said. “And things start to get better from there.”
He said the same story is likely not true for dealers on either coast or in the Midwest, who may not see recovery until into 2010.
Taylor said the Mountain West region — which includes Colorado — was not as badly hit by the real estate bubble as much of the rest of the country. He said housing price correction will likely level off soon. He said this is good news for car dealers because if consumers aren’t worried about the falling value of their homes, they’re more likely to buy a car.
“You’re in the section of the country that has the most positive outlook,” he said. “Things have slowed down some, but they’re significantly better than they are in some of these states that have been hard hit by this real estate correction.”
He said Colorado’s economy also is strong because of the energy and agricultural industries.
Scott Ehrlich, who owns the Ehrlich Family of Dealerships in Greeley, said things are not as bad as they may seem.
“Our business has slowed down a little bit, but not by any drastic proportion,” he said. “I think part of that is because of all the speculation in the media.”
Ehrlich said dealerships that were conservative with spending during the good times will likely survive the current economy in good shape.
“I think the dealers that have been a little more prudent are in a better position to survive a downturn,” he said. “They’ve got a lower cost of doing business.”
Warren Yoder of Weld County Garage, 2699 47th Ave., said things are better than they may appear.
“Our business is down, but I still stay optimistic,” he said. “We’re going to survive. We’ve been here 100 years, we’re going to be here another 100 years.”
Ehrlich said despite the downturn, the future looks bright.
“My own belief is that if the market slows down and fewer people are replacing their automobiles, eventually there’s a pent-up demand,” he said. “Eventually people are going to want to replace that car.”
Ferrero said he will focus on his other dealerships after leaving the Loveland market.
“The last 30-45 days, the car business has been really rough everywhere,” he said. “But on a yearly basis, it really hasn’t been that bad. My Longmont store — one of them — is up over last year.”
Ferrero owns a Mazda dealership in Longmont and a Ford dealership off Interstate 25 at the Dacono exit. He said while Congress debates a bailout for the Big Three automakers, he is not worried about the state of the U.S. auto industry.
“I have a feeling that after all this nonsense is addressed with loan packages and restructuring, it’s going to be much stronger,” he said. “The Big Three are going to be much stronger a year from now than where they are today.”
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