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Roberti Saab Dealership In New York Closes Their Doors
November 18th, 2008, 9:25pm by Ryan - 0 Comments
Photo Credits: Roberti Saab
As another “sign of the times”, longtime exclusive Saab dealership, Roberti Saab of Kingston, New York have closes their doors for good today.
Below is the official press release from the owner, Lou Roberti.
Roberti SAAB closing
Only recently “the world’s largest used SAAB dealer,†Roberti SAAB of Kingston, caught in the national credit crunch, will close its doors within a month.
Owner Lou Roberti said the inability to finance his inventory and generally tighter credit restrictions on his customers forced the move.
“You’re going to see a lot of wreckage in the auto industry before this is done,†Roberti said from his Foxhall Avenue dealership. “Auto sales are down (by about 40 percent across the board) and people are having more difficulty getting credit.â€
He said negotiations are underway for GM and GMAC to buy his franchise and the 70-odd vehicles on his lot.
Roberti said his business, established in 1995 at its present site, “had a good year last year,†because he reduced his overhead by 40% as the economic downturn accelerated.
It became untenable, he said, when General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC),
his main credit source, suspended financing of leases on SAABs in September of this year. “That cut my sales by 75 percent,†he said.
Roberti’s business model was to purchase used SAABs – in most cases 2 or 3 years old, low mileage vehicles – that were coming off lease. The dealership also did a brisk business in older SAABs as people traded up. Some used SAABs were purchased at auction and refurbished at Roberti’s shop.
Roberti’s business increased several-fold, he said, when he began marketing on the web in the late 90’s. “We were one of the first dealers to do so and it changed things overnight,†he said. While the core of Roberti’s business remained regional, he also drew heavily from the New York Metropolitan area to become what he advertised as the nation’s premier used SAAB dealer. At its height, Roberti SAAB was selling between 600 and 700 used SAABs a year, he said.
As sales and service go together at car dealerships, central to Roberti’s business plan featured a certified repair operation that Roberti said serviced more than 6,000 cars last year. Repair revenue topped $1.8 million in 2007, he said.
Roberti’s numerous repair bays also did warranty work on new SAABs. Roberti sold about 100 new models last year. SAAB owners with cars under warranty will be formally advised by letter from SAAB of alternative certified repair shops within a month, Roberti said. Owners of the hundreds of (Roberti) SAABs under warranty could be traveling to either Albany or Poughkeepsie for warranty work.
As for routine repair on the thousands of SAABs in the region, Roberti said there a number of experienced shops with trained mechanics locally. Most of his certified mechanics have accepted jobs on the area, he said.
For Roberti, 49, business life may come “full circle.â€
Roberti, who some 20 years ago started buying and selling used SAABs a few at a time from his home on Abeel Street near the town of Ulster line, says he just might go back “full circle.â€
“It’s in my blood, you know. I like dealing with people,†he said.
Roberti said he expected another car dealer to set up shop at the busy intersection of Foxhall and Flatbush business where “the largest used SAAB dealer in the world†once flourished.November 18th, 2008
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