Used-car operation near RIC closes
Owners of Airport Motor Co. have closed its used-car sales operation and put the property on South Laburnum Avenue up for sale for $5 million. The 4.9-acre site in eastern Henrico County once housed Airport Chrysler Jeep.
The Lawrence family, which owns the property, had been Chrysler dealers in the Richmond area for about 75 years.
In May, the family was notified that it was among the 789 Chrysler dealers losing their franchises after the manufacturer entered bankruptcy.
Pearson Dodge on Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield County was also closed, though Pearson retained the rights to its Chrysler franchises on West Broad Street in Henrico.
The Lawrences sold the Broad Street Dodge franchise last year.
After losing the Chrysler franchise, Mark Lawrence, general manager and co-owner of the dealership, said the family would turn the property into a CarMax-like used-car mega dealership. He could not be reached yesterday.
The store closed about two weeks ago.
Millard Jones II of commercial real estate firm Thalhimer/Cushman & Wakefield said the Lawrences will be hard-pressed to find a dealer as a buyer: "It's a nice location, but I don't think it will you'll see another dealership."
Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or
.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
This has nothing to do with cash for clunkers. The cars that were traded in were all worth less than $4000 Do a search of most used car dealers such as Carmax and you will not find any used cars under $8000. This is more of a response to the economy. Besides in a couple of months when all of those cars people bought under cash for clunkers are reposessed, there will be plenty of used cars back on the market.
You couldn’t ask for a Better Car dealer or person than Mark Lawrence. What Chrysler did to them and all of the other dealerships is a travesty. It makes no sense at all. They put VERY GOOD people out of work and didn’t even blink. I have bought my last two vehicles from Airport Chrysler Jeep and have had two great experiences. From the Mechanics to the Owner it was hands down the best experience that I have had buying and owning a car. You cant put a price tag on Good Customer Service. If I had a problem Mark always took care of it. He was always available to listen to his customers concerns. I can say with absolute certainty that I will NEVER buy another Chrysler product again. That is what’s wrong with this country today, that the government cares more about Big Business then it does about the Smaller businesses. The Government should have stepped in and said NO to the wack jobs running GM and Chrysler when they said they wanted to do that.
I just would like to thank Mark Lawrence for all he has done for me as well as countless others during his time as a Car Dealer and wish him and his family the best in there future endeavors.
I think it’s awful what has happened to some of the hard working smaller dealerships. I had bought two cars from the Lawrence Chrysler (most recently about 2 years ago at the airport location). It was still the best two experiences I ever had buying a car…something you don’t often find at a dealership: honesty and the desire to “do right” by the customer.
I was sorry to see that Chysler dealership close and I surely would have trusted buying a used car from them as well.
Sounds like another adverse reaction to the cash for clunkers. There are now fewer used cars for dealers to sell to remain in business. Most private owned cars are now offering cars with excess of 200,000 miles on them and people are buying them because there is nothing else affordable to own. I hope the local government makes enough on the personal property tax to offset the closing of many unprofitable dealerships.
Post a Comment(Requires free registration)
- Please avoid offensive, vulgar, or hateful language.
- Respect others.
- Use the "Flag Comment" link when necessary.
- See the Terms and Conditions for details.
Advertisement