Summit Auto Group plans to close its auto dealership in the village of Elbridge Thursday and relocate it to Stafford Auto Group in Sennett, a business it is purchasing.
Summit Pontiac/Buick/GMC Trucks at 100 W. Main St., Elbridge, will move to 318 Grant Ave. Summit's Ford dealership will remain at 1465 Route 5 in the town of Elbridge.
Owner Tom Kristoff said expansion and consolidation were reasons for the move, which is expected to take place Thursday afternoon after the deal closes in the morning.
“We expanded beyond the building's capabilities,” Kristoff said. “We've also picked up Chevy.” The Summit operation intends to incorporate current Stafford employees, according to Kristoff.
“It's only seven miles west,” Kristoff said. “We'll still be able to service all our customers.”
“Our intention was to build a new store on the Ford property, but then this opportunity to also acquire Chevrolet came up,” he said.
Kristoff said there will be a grand opening once the business is settled at the new
location, possibly in a couple of weeks.
“We're looking to grow more” said Lou Mangovski, a partner and general manager at Summit. “There's a lot of fear out there with rising gas prices, but we're not afraid.”
General Motors approached Summit about purchasing the Stafford location, and Mangovski said he'd been involved in meetings with GM since last year.
Despite the expansion, Mangovski is optimistic about keeping up with the quality of customer service.
“I think it will be even better yet,” he said. “When you have the amount of customers that we have, however, there are negative factors. You need proper parking and space to display. It's hard to display in a straight soldier course.”
Mangovski views the move as a kind of homecoming because he has worked with a number of people at Stafford in other places.
“We all have a commonality,” he said. “We want to be a hometown dealership.”
Tom Kristoff and his sister, Karen Kristoff Chiarizia became first-time owners of a car dealership when they bought Bombard Pontiac/Buick/GMC Trucks in 2005. Kristoff had worked with cars for more than 20 years at his father's Sunoco gas station and repair shop in downtown Syracuse. Buying the Elbridge Bombard dealership fulfilled his life's dream.
But the business now includes Val's Summit Dodge in Lakeland, for new and used cars, and Summit Central, a used car dealership housed in the old Performance Pontiac building on Hiawatha Boulevard.
Owner Tom Kristoff said expansion and consolidation were reasons for the move, which is expected to take place Thursday afternoon after the deal closes in the morning.
“We expanded beyond the building's capabilities,” Kristoff said. “We've also picked up Chevy.” The Summit operation intends to incorporate current Stafford employees, according to Kristoff.
“It's only seven miles west,” Kristoff said. “We'll still be able to service all our customers.”
“Our intention was to build a new store on the Ford property, but then this opportunity to also acquire Chevrolet came up,” he said.
Kristoff said there will be a grand opening once the business is settled at the new
location, possibly in a couple of weeks.
“We're looking to grow more” said Lou Mangovski, a partner and general manager at Summit. “There's a lot of fear out there with rising gas prices, but we're not afraid.”
General Motors approached Summit about purchasing the Stafford location, and Mangovski said he'd been involved in meetings with GM since last year.
Despite the expansion, Mangovski is optimistic about keeping up with the quality of customer service.
“I think it will be even better yet,” he said. “When you have the amount of customers that we have, however, there are negative factors. You need proper parking and space to display. It's hard to display in a straight soldier course.”
Mangovski views the move as a kind of homecoming because he has worked with a number of people at Stafford in other places.
“We all have a commonality,” he said. “We want to be a hometown dealership.”
Tom Kristoff and his sister, Karen Kristoff Chiarizia became first-time owners of a car dealership when they bought Bombard Pontiac/Buick/GMC Trucks in 2005. Kristoff had worked with cars for more than 20 years at his father's Sunoco gas station and repair shop in downtown Syracuse. Buying the Elbridge Bombard dealership fulfilled his life's dream.
But the business now includes Val's Summit Dodge in Lakeland, for new and used cars, and Summit Central, a used car dealership housed in the old Performance Pontiac building on Hiawatha Boulevard.
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