When Melvin Cooper heard {that a} distressed service middle for medium- and heavy-duty vans was up on the market in 2014 simply minutes from his rising Chevrolet dealership, he jumped on the chance.
Shopping for the enterprise, now referred to as Nationwide Truck Gross sales & Service, has allowed Cooper to liberate service division capability on the Chevrolet retailer. The operation, which is now worthwhile, additionally has helped diversify his rising automotive enterprise.
Cooper, seller operator of Watsonville Auto Group in California, was acquainted with servicing medium- and heavy-duty vans at Chevrolet of Watsonville, which he acquired in 2008. Cooper had a longtime relationship with giant fleet prospects, together with the native beer distributor, a faculty district and a number of other agricultural prospects.
The one downside? The Chevrolet dealership, which had two service retailers, together with one dedicated to industrial vans, was working out of room. So Cooper purchased the 15,000-square-foot restore middle about 3 miles away and spent between $80,000 and $100,000 to renovate it.
Immediately, Nationwide Truck Gross sales & Service has seven service bays and 9 staff, together with 5 technicians. It affords upkeep akin to oil modifications, tire rotations and alignments, plus restore work. Regardless of its identify, the operation does not promote vans proper now. However including that functionality for manufacturers akin to Worldwide and Mack is on Cooper’s radar.
The middle providers 80 vans a month, up from about 15 when he purchased the power.
“It is introduced us part of our enterprise we would not in any other case have the ability to attain or service out of a retail dealership,” Cooper informed Automotive Information. “We do not have a sufficiently big footprint at our retail dealership to deal with the quantity of enterprise that we’re doing as a result of these vans are a lot larger.”
By shifting medium- and heavy-duty service away from the Chevrolet retailer, Cooper was capable of develop service capability for the dealership’s retail prospects, which has grown considerably over time. When Cooper purchased Chevrolet of Watsonville, it averaged gross sales of 9 autos, new and used, per thirty days. By 2019, gross sales had elevated to 85 per thirty days.
Watsonville Auto Group additionally has Watsonville Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram and Watsonville Ford, which Cooper acquired final yr, and a automobile shopping for middle. The group bought 2,693 new and used autos mixed in 2020 and is monitoring to promote round 2,880 autos this yr, Cooper mentioned.
Every of Cooper’s dealerships has a powerful emphasis on industrial automobile gross sales — a mirrored image of buyer demand in Watsonville, an agricultural group in Northern California that’s dwelling to berry large Driscoll’s.
Cooper mentioned the group sells about 30 new industrial autos per thirty days from its three franchised dealerships, typically work vans and vans for agricultural patrons or plumbers, electricians and contractors.
Cooper estimates solely about 4 amenities much like Nationwide Truck Gross sales & Service function inside 20 miles. And whereas there are different franchised dealerships within the space, Cooper mentioned having a separate facility to service medium- and heavy-duty vans, mixed with light-duty industrial automobile gross sales at his three shops, provides him a bonus over the competitors.
“They do not have the expertise or the experience to deal with [customers’ medium- and heavy-duty truck] wants,” Cooper mentioned.
“If you take a look at somebody like us, now we have a broader breadth within the industrial house.”