Monroeville dealership to change hands
With major car manufacturers apparently urging their dealers to expand or modernize, some local dealers have decided to sell instead.
Edward J. Little took the sale route.
It was the third major sale locally by a regional dealer during the past two weeks.
Little sold his Monroeville Chrysler-Jeep-Ram dealership at 3721 William Penn Highway to Michael Auffenberg and his brothers, who own both the Monroeville Dodge at 3633 William Penn Highway and the Monroeville Kia Mazda dealership at 6531 William Penn Highway, both in Monroeville.
The price for the dealership was not disclosed, but Auffenberg's F&M Real Estate Inc., paid $2.1 million for Little's property, according to a deed filed in Allegheny County.
On Thursday, Kenny Ross Automotive Group said it purchased Hamilton Automotive of North Huntingdon for nearly $10 million. That followed an acquisition last week by #1 Cochran of Charapp Automotive of Natrona Heights.
Little said he was faced with the prospect of either buying another dealership or selling, and he opted to sell.
“Car manufacturers are interested in having their products placed under one roof and that has led to some dealers deciding to sell,” he said.
Little said he still owns a collision center in Murrysville, which he has leased to the new owner.
He expects to remain busy. He is involved with several charitable organizations, such as the Forbes Foundation, and is looking into the possibility of getting into real estate or serving as a consultant.
Auffenberg said there are no plans to relocate the Chrysler-Jeep-Ram operation where about 60 are employed. “We may add a few salesmen if activity there warrants it,” he said.
“We acquired the Dodge dealership out of bankruptcy court in 1993, the Kia dealership from McKean Automotive in 2004 and the Mazda dealership from DA Diversified Inc., owner of Don Allen Auto City (the Voelker family) in 2007,” he said.
He did not reveal any price for any of the acquisitions.
Sam Spatter is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7843 or sspatter@tribweb.com.
