Frederick Chevrolet has embarked on a somewhat bold and ambitious move to turn the recently vacated property at 1509 Quentin Roadโright next to the current home of Frederick Chevroletโinto an oversized lot that will create the capacity to feature nearly 400 pre-owned vehicles.
The building there, which recently housed the Bennett Toyota dealership, will be turned into a processing center.
The goal? To simplify car purchasing in the Lebanon area. If successful, the plan will produce more profits and save consumers money.
But to execute the plan, Frederick needs room for its inventory.
โItโs a very standard process, if someone has done the research,โ said general manager Rob Giroux of Frederick’s current used car buying experience. โThereโs no negotiating. We can get you in and out in an hour. Thereโs no haggling, no back and forth. Itโs simple. We decided a long time ago to make the process more simple.
โEvery used car is a little different,โ added Giroux. โBut I donโt want to play any games. I think eventually, more dealerships are going to have to change their mentality.โ
In the middle of September, the lot and building adjoining the new Frederick Chevrolet, directly south of the long-time Lebanon dealership, became vacant when Bennett Toyota moved to its new location on West Cumberland Street. Bennett Toyota had occupied the building and car lot for about two years, after taking over for Diamond Toyota.
Read More: Online shopping may be hot, but Bennett believes car sales is a people business
The former ownership of Frederick Chevrolet began leasing the property to Diamond Toyota in 2014. Giroux said the hope is that the new used-car business will be up and running in the next few weeks.
โThere arenโt a ton of dealerships out there who have a large inventory of used cars,โ said Giroux. โOur business model is different, itโs based on value and not gross net. Weโll have 400 used cars on the premises, everything from a Ferrari to a Ford Focus.
โObviously, thereโs a little risk involved,โ Giroux added. โWe spend a lot less money on advertising. Youโre relying on an educated buyer to do the research, and word of mouth. We sell vehicles all over the Northeast (United States), and pricing is the driver.โ
The current remodeling being performed inside the former Bennett Toyota building is just about finished. But to completely rebrand the new enterprise, the โToyotaโ sign must be taken down.
โThe inside of the building is being renovated now,โ said Giroux, a 44-year-old resident of Mohnton. โBut with the logistics behind this much inventory, the system has to be fine-tuned. The Toyota sign is still on the building. Weโre waiting on Toyota to take it down. We donโt want that sign on the building. It confuses people. Hopefully itโll be done in the next couple of weeks.
โWeโre getting ready to run a lot of vehicles through that building,โ continued Giroux. โThereโs a lot of work to it, and there remains a lot of work to do. Logistically, itโs a ton of work. Everybody is working off selling 16 to 20 cars a day. But itโs a chain reaction.โ
In June of 2019, not long after Bennett Toyota had moved into the building at 1509 Quentin Road, local businessman and Afghanistan war veteran Jeff Ferris purchased the property, the Frederick Chevrolet dealership, and Frederick Pre-Owneds in Lancaster and Hershey from Fred Laurenzo. Laurenzo started the Frederick family of dealerships in 1984, and the business on Route 72 South is one of the best-known and longest running vehicle dealerships in Lebanon County.
โJeff (Ferris) has lived in Lebanon all of his life,โ said Giroux. โHeโs been a businessman for quite awhile, but he hasnโt been in the car business all that long. Heโs committed to the area.”
Giroux said that Ferris’ business model was different than Laurenzo’s.
โI think the biggest thing to know is that itโs no longer the old Frederick,โ Giroux continued. โJust give us a shot. Do your research. Itโs all about selection. How many places can you go to look at 400 cars? Itโs just easy to do business here.โ
For Griroux and the new Frederick, the timing of this new venture will be key. The pandemic continues to impact the economy, and internet car buying services are continuing to grow. Nonetheless Giroux is committed to the process.
โInventory across the board is limited, and cars are certainly not an exception,โ said Giroux. โWith COVID-19, everything was shut down. Howโs the market today? The market is suffering from inventory supply. The inventory is just not there. I think itโll probably relax after this spring. We had some really good months when the state opened up. People still want to go out to a dealer. You want to be able to drive it before you buy it.
โRegardless of your party preference, I have to get through this election,โ added Giroux. โBut I can tell you I donโt foresee my system changing at all. You canโt do this halfway. When I say I donโt negotiate, I donโt negotiate. I wouldnโt expect you to buy a car from me if it wasnโt a great deal. If youโre really good at it, youโre probably going to come here first.โ
Since the onset of the coronavirus crisis in March, many consumers have been staying home more and driving their vehicles less. That fact has certainly had impact on the simple laws of supply and demand, especially in areas where car ownership was already at relatively high levels.
โThe auto industry changes on a frequent basis, and everything affects the auto industry,โ said Giroux. โWeโve found by becoming more streamlined and efficient, you can sell cars for hundreds of dollars over invoice. Itโs all about โturnsโ.
โFor us, itโs about turning the product, and giving consumers an easy process,โ Giroux added.
โMy deal will be one of the best deals that youโre going to find. My overall goal is to sell a thousand cars a month, between here and Lancaster. As consumers figure it out, itโs just going to get bigger and bigger. Itโs a proven process.โ
The power of combining volume and value.
Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using this contact form and weโll do our best to get back to you.
Free news isnโt cheap. If you value the journalism LebTown provides to the community, then help us make it sustainable by becoming a champion of local news. You can unlock additional coverage for the community by supporting our work with a one-time contribution, or joining as a monthly or annual member. You can cancel anytime.