Sudden Chevy dealership closings (2) recently

[GMTruckGuy74]

On January 24, 2013 Bob Maguire Chevrolet in Bordentown, NJ (Burlington County) posted a sign on their dealership's main door that they were closed for good. After 35 years of being in business, plus being one of the first Saturn dealer frnachises in the country and once having the largest GM parts warehouse on the East Coast, they closed suddenly with no advanced knowledge to their customers (many of whom had service appointments that day).

Last weekend I drove by Classic Chevrolet in Moorestown, NJ (also Burlington County). Their lot was empty, with a ring of used cars surrounding the perimeter fence in the back of the dealership. Again, no advanced notice to customers.

So what gives? Is GM pulling franchise agreements again? Did these dealers do something illegal? Could it be that unlike some other Chevy dealers in Burlington County, is it because these dealers have not constructed buildings in the new corporate look?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[hyperv6]

I know GM has been on many dealers to update their stores and their service. Some to the point they were going to force them to close if they did not comply.

Also while car sales are up now the last year or two has taken a toll on some dealers. We have lost several smaller dealers here of various makes.

The ecomomy of late has been to the point a dealer that has not been well run could run into money issues.

The dealers here that lost the Saturn dealers have struggled. Some have been able to pick up Nissan or another make whole others just closed and have hurt the other deals that are associated with them.

We are in a era where not only will the larger auto maker thrive while the smaller ones will merge or die. The same will happen with many dealers as people are looking for price and some dealers can offer price more so than many others. In the case of the dealers it is not so much size dependent as it is how well they are run. My GMC dealer is doing very well and it is only one make. They are doing so well GM is going to pay for most of their refurbish. GM was going to give them money to do it but they finally got GM to pay for all of it less $300,000 they will cover. GM likes the owner and how well he runs things. They want to get him Buick to take the place of Pontiac he lost. The near by Buick dealer is not liked by GM and is on notice. He did remodel but refused to move near a state route as requested. He also plays games with his numbers.

In all there are a lot of reseasons for some dealers to fail and we will see more.

[thedriver]

Some dealers have also made agreements to meet certain milestones and quotas with GM, if they are not met. . .

We have a Chevy dealer near here that is quietly on the ropes.