Well it is official...

[MAD6Gun]

 The Pontiac GMC dealer I work for has lost its franchise. Talk around the dealer has been going on for months now. We were all hoping that GM would reconsider. The owner was in arbitration with GM to get it back. This week it was announced that the owner on advise from his lawyers and accountants that it would be ill advised to continue to push it. It might take up to another $250,000 dollars to continue and that he would likely loose it anyway due to the fact that we would be a GMC dealer only.

 Fortunately for the owner we are also a Honda dealer. (Separate dealer on the same property). The Honda side is doing well. So after almost 40 years as a GM dealer, Don Ayres Pontiac as of Oct 31 2010 will no longer exist. They have said we will stay open most likely as a big used car dealer but I don't think we will have enough work to keep us all busy. I have been with this dealer for over 20 years. I am not sure what I am going to do at this point. I am stubborn. I don't want to change.  I have been a GM tech for over 25 years. I guess I will have to do what I have to do.

 With the exception of the Chevy dealer in New Haven and another on the west side of town if you want a GM car in Ft Wayne IN you will have to go to one of the dealers run by one family. GM has set up a monopoly in Ft Wayne.

 I personally have bought my LAST new GM vehicle.............



 

[Popeye]

Sorry to hear this Mark.  Hoping you are able to find work elsewhere.

[Tropic traveler]

The Pontiac GMC dealer I work for has lost its franchise. Talk around the dealer has been going on for months now. We were all hoping that GM would reconsider. The owner was in arbitration with GM to get it back. This week it was announced that the owner on advise from his lawyers and accountants that it would be ill advised to continue to push it. It might take up to another $250,000 dollars to continue and that he would likely loose it anyway due to the fact that we would be a GMC dealer only.

 Fortunately for the owner we are also a Honda dealer. (Separate dealer on the same property). The Honda side is doing well. So after almost 40 years as a GM dealer, Don Ayres Pontiac as of Oct 31 2010 will no longer exist. They have said we will stay open most likely as a big used car dealer but I don't think we will have enough work to keep us all busy. I have been with this dealer for over 20 years. I am not sure what I am going to do at this point. I am stubborn. I don't want to change.  I have been a GM tech for over 25 years. I guess I will have to do what I have to do.

 With the exception of the Chevy dealer in New Haven and another on the west side of town if you want a GM car in Ft Wayne IN you will have to go to one of the dealers run by one family. GM has set up a monopoly in Ft Wayne.

 I personally have bought my LAST new GM vehicle.............



 

I hear you on that one.
Officially I will be unemployed as of July 1st as the Lincoln Mercury dealer I have been at for the last 17 years has been sold to the local Ford dealer. I have been the parts manager for the last 11 years. All is not lost however as some of us have been promised jobs at the Ford dealer, myself included but......... you know how those promises are. Might just be a ploy to keep the Indians on the reservation. Anyhow the positive thing is the parts & services depts. there which has been our main competition in this area, has a very poor reputation. We have been kicking their arse for a long time. Another positive is our present general manager has a contract with the new owner & has said he is taking his key people with him. I do doubt they will have room for me at my present position & salary but I'm pretty confident I'll have a decent job there. God knows they need us.
Bottom line for us is there is a lot of uncertainty right now concerning my job. We are in pretty good shape financially {we owe very little} so no matter what we will be OK.
Our dealership was under no financial stress or pressure from Ford to sell out, it was just a decision by our owner to sell now due to his age and health issues. It still is a shame however, our LM dealership was the oldest continuously owned dealership in Florida. Same owner & location since 1968.
Understanding sympathy to you Mad6! 

[CamTom12]

Mad6Gun, I thought Don Ayers sounded familiar... I bought my Trans Am there in 2002! Sad to see them go for sure!

Good luck, brother.

[solo1]

As Mark's Dad I'm not sure if he should look for work elsewhere or hold on until or if the axe would drop.
It's hard to quit a place where you have many years invested.

It might be a sign of the times that the Honda side of Don Ayres is going great guns. Wait a minute.....the Feds don't own Honda.

[MP]

I have bought a lot of GM products over my 55 years.  However, I bought my last one before it became "Government Motors Corp".  No more for me.

MP

[R J]

Be patient Mark before ya make a big move,

The dealership I drove shuttle for got his franchise back.

He originally was a Pontiac ONLY,

Buick dealer next door closed so he got that,
and then they added the GMC portion.

Somehow they used the sales of all 3 brands to determine if he was done or not.

Went through 2 arbitrations and they got the dealership back about a month ago.

They also had Subaru and Mazda in another building.    Actually the old Buick building about 500 feet to the West of the main building.  Used car lot of ours separates them.

[solo1]

RJ, in Ft. Wayne one person now owns ALL of the GM dealerships,  the same person seems to have the inside on selling vehicles to Ft. Wayne, and the same person objected strongely to letting Don Ayres have his dealership back.

Lots of pull going on.

That wouldn't happen in New Haven but Mark works in Ft. Wayne.

[f6john]

     Consider opening your own shop. I say that not knowing the local economy or your financial situation. I do know most of my friends and family avoid dealership service departments like the plague. It's not due to the quality of the techs, although that varies shop by shop like anything else, but due to outlandish rates and and sometimes less than proficient service writers. I needed a $20.00 oil seal for the rear axle of my Titan pickup but did not have the time to do the job myself so I had to let the dealer do the repair. Two hour job and $450.00 bill just doesn't compute in my world. I know of several dealership techs in my vicinity that have started there own business and are doing a brisk business. People in my neck of the woods appreciate knowledgeable service people and stick with them like glue.
     Anyway, best of luck whatever the future hold for you.

[F6TRVLR]

  MARK, SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT THIS. I HOPE ALL WORKS OUT FOR YOU. I'M A GENERAL CONTRACTOR IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND IT HAS BEEN VERY SLOW HERE FOR ME FOR THE PAST 6 MONTHS. I'VE NEVER BEEN WITHOUT WORK FOR 24+ YEARS IN THIS INDUSTRY. THINGS HAVE PICKED UP BUT, THERE FOR A WHILE I WAS REALLY CONCERNED. MY BEST TO YOU.

  HEY SOLO 1, NICE DRAGON, LOOKS FAMILIAR.

[highcountry]

That's a real bummer. 

I guess that I am too ignorant to understand why closing dealerships would save money.  The dealers buy autos, parts, etc. from the companies and the advertisement budget shouldn't really change with fewer dealers.

Someone help me out here.

[KW]

I'm sorry to hear about that MAD6 . . . . If you’re a certified mechanic, there will always be work for you. Good, honest mechanics are hard to come by – at least in my corner of the woods - that's why we try and fix everything we can ourselves. 

I agree with you 100% about GM products. I also agree with some of the postings about the government hand-out. The trip wire for me, however, was when they ended the Pontiac line. I stopped being a customer when the happened. I’m not sure yet what ‘brand’ our next car will be. I like the Chrysler 300 with the Hemi, but I’ve seen so many Chrysler products rusting at a ‘young age’ they’ve scared me off. It will probally be something made in Germany 

Good luck. 

[Chattanooga Mark]

Sorry to hear about your situation at the Pontiac dealer. I was downsized out just over 2 years ago so I know how it goes. But ever since Obama bankrupted your children and grand children to support the UAW pension fund I swore off on anything from that union (and unions in general) or GM. Never really been a Ford guy until this administration. I see no reason what so ever to support anything GM related.

Thankfully your owners have a Honda side. I'd jump in and stick with that if I were you.

All the best,

Mark

[MAD6Gun]

 Thanks for all the support guys. I was not going to point blame but as I see it. I blame the Greedy Unions and the Obama administration. Obama's people come into GM,fire the CEO and then procede to tell them they have to dump Saab,Hummer Saturn and of course Pontiac. Dumping Pontiac was the worse thing they could have done. I see alot more Pontiac's on the road than Buicks by far. The only other devision I see more of is of course Chevy. Either way it does not matter.

 For now I still have a job for now. Time will tell I guess. But I better not wait to long to jump ship if needed. If I wait to long it might be to late to find another job. I have found myself as of late "burned out" with this job in general. I have got to the point that I don't enjoy working on cars anymore. BUT. I don't have many other skills I car make a living at. My girlfriend Twila told me to go back to school. I am not to sure about that. Oh well...........

[Psychotic Bovine]

As I said before, Pontiac, as a division, didn't fit into "green" car agenda of the powers that be.
This isn't me and my paranoid ramblings saying this, it was the automotive press pointing it out.

[Dougger]

There are probably some retraining programs out there for the unemployed.
That and unemployment benefits could make the time beneficial for you

[KW]

As I understand it - and this comes from hanging/talking with numerous Pontiac folks - the decision to dump the fable ‘Arrow’ brand had more to do with Buick being such a hot item in China than domestic sales (Pontiac was selling alomst twice as many cars than Buick in the USA.)  As far as the rest, I didn’t vote for the Delai-Bama and I’m not a “union guy.” However, I stopped arguing “on-line” about such things a few years ago . . .  I will say that I know & socialize with a number of union liberals. All of them – without exception – regret their vote for Obama and think he’s a socialist, hell-bent on establishing a collective society. . . . .   

[fudgie]

Sorry to hear this Mark.  Have you looked into working at Perferred Auto? They seem to be big in the used dept. Maybe give you a change of scenery as you can work on all sorta vehicles. Sorry we missed you on the Whiskey run, but I understand now. Hopefully we can meet Twila at the ACDC run.

[MAD6Gun]

 Thanks Brian. Our old service manager is the service manager at Perferred auto. He did offer me a job several years ago when I was considering leaving. But like you said "they work on all sorta vehicles". That is the problem. I have been a GM tech all my career. So I really don't want to work on everything. That may change,I don't know. And yes you will meet  Twila at the ACDC ride. 

[Walküre]

 With the exception of the Chevy dealer in New Haven and another on the west side of town if you want a GM car in Ft Wayne IN you will have to go to one of the dealers run by one family. GM has set up a monopoly in Ft Wayne.

 I personally have bought my LAST new GM vehicle.............

 

Mark - I'm new here, from down around Lafayette - sorry to hear about your troubles! Hope it all works out. The family thing sounds about like Bob Rohrman around here - he basically owns ALL the new car dealerships, not just one or two makes. He DID lose one, though, the Jeep dealer.

Maybe we'll run into each other - my daughter is supposed to start college at IPFW this fall...

R