November 22, 2009
What's Inside:
Near road's end, GM dealership asks why
Boyles Motors Inc. challenges closing, files appeal letter
Boyles Motors Inc. challenges closing, files appeal letter
Angry over troubled automaker General Motors pulling his franchise, Boyles Motors Inc. owner Bud Boyles, 71, said he feels sold out after a lifetime of selling vehicles.
MARYVILLE, Mo. — Father and son once believed in the General Motors brand. Now their dealership is on its hit list.
The struggling automaker has told Boyles Motors Inc. to sell its last new Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac or GMC vehicle by October 2010. A 37-year bond between the small dealership and GM will officially end.
Boyles Motors is one of about 1,300 so-called “underperforming, low-volume dealerships” in the United States. The bankrupt auto giant has shed those GM dealerships as part of its survival strategy to become more nimble.
The elder Boyles has choice words for GM. He feels sold out.
“When we owe GM zero dollars, how can we cost them anything?” said Bud Boyles.
The younger Boyles imagines a town where GM vehicle owners travel 45 miles in any direction to get service.
“Maybe GM doesn’t want to be in smaller towns,” David Boyles said. “I don’t know.”
The unceremonious closure of the family dealership in Maryville isn’t entirely unexpected.
Last year, revenues were in the red. New cars, used cars, parts, service — nothing much sold. But then things were improving.
In 2009, only January had been in the red. And then it came.
In mid-May, Federal Express delivered an envelope. Inside, a GM form letter: “We have conducted an analysis of your dealership’s operations and market,” the letter read. “... we do not see that GM can have a productive business relationship with Boyles Motors.”
That afternoon, the Boyles huddled the dealership’s 19 employees. There were more questions than answers.
Efforts to clarify or fight the closure have been difficult. An appeal letter to GM has gone unanswered. Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill’s office has opened an inquiry.
According to its letter, GM ranks dealerships by historical performance such as sales, customer satisfaction, facilities and the amount of monies invested in the dealership. David Boyles said the dealership meets or exceeds all benchmarks.
Bud Boyles, 71, says the closure may be part of a long-fractious relationship with GM.
“They want us to stock a lot more cars than feasible. If we did everything they wanted us to do, we’d go broke,” he said.
So far, community support in the college town of just more than 10,000 is high for the Boyles.
“He’s trying to make a business, push a product and support the locals,” said former Maryville Mayor Dale Mathes. “It’s a rotten deal.”
The Boyles now consider the prospect of finding a new brand when their GM franchise ends in 16 months.
“In any small community, when you take part of it away, it hurts,” Bud Boyles said. “GM calls us an under-par dealer. What the hell are they? We didn’t have to file bankruptcy, and they did.”
Ahmad Safi can be reached at ahmadsafi@npgco.com.
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Maybe they were closed down because they don't service customers... sure, if you buy one of the cars on their lot, they bend over backwards but if you didn't purchase your car from them they absolutely refuse to do warranty work on them. The funny thing is most of the time they wouldn't try to find a particular car for someone so they would HAVE to go elsewhere to purchase it.
Why should they bend over backwards to do warranty on a car you bought somewhere else? Think about what you're saying.
"We didn’t have to file bankruptcy, and they did.” That is a great line, Mr. Boyles.
WhoisJohnGalt do you think that maybe Boyles would not sell a vehicle to that person or maybe they didn't have what a person was looking for to buy that is why they didn't buy from Boyles. So being a GM company they are required to do the warranty on any product even though you bought it somewhere else. Should not make a difference because warranty work they are going to get paid no matter what. I know from experience at Boyles they just don't sell cars to anyone. I went looking for a car there and have excellant credit and they wouldn't even offer we a test drive. They let me sit it and turn it on but couldn't leave the lot so I bought a GM product somewhere else. Sorry but not surprised they are closing.
It is tough enough to just stay open for business in a small town. Now, GM puts a good business in serious jeopardy. At 71, working hard all his life, this was Bud's reward for a job well done.
With the billions of dollars that GM has squandered through insane decisions, I think it is beyond comprehension that they would destroy hard working business men, like Bud.
Since our government owns most of GM, why can't they put pressure on them to not terminate secondary market dealers? Can you imagine the outrage if inner-city Chicago dealers were terminated? Our Government would be outraged.
I am sure Bud did hack off some of those 25 year old GM District Managers that would wander in his showroom. I can hear them demanding to him what he needs to buy and how they know more about the market in NW Missouri than he does.
But he certainly knew what he needed to do to keep his dealership afloat. Bud was rewarded for his successful 37 years of loyalty to GM with a termination form letter.
@ ninja_man - a good salesperson will reflect the personality of their customer and you have apparently met some good salespeople who read your personality well.
whoisjohngalt--obviously you read more into my post than I wrote. I didn't say they should bend over backwards for everyone. I said they bend over backwards for those who purchase cars from them. I didn't say a word about them bending over backwards for others. YOU need to think about what you are saying.
Many people in Maryville refuse to do business with them-- for various reasons. Some because it is too damn hard to buy a car from them; others because they are too hard to work with to have something done to your car-- INCLUDING WARRANTY WORK.
This article makes Boyles look like a victim of GM when actually they are a victim of themselves.
I agreee with ninja for the most part...the car dealer industry kind of got what they had coming to them.
I still don't understand shutting down these dealers. Wouldn't you want as many people as possible selling your cars?
A well known Chrysler dealer in the KC area got his letter too. He switched to Nissan. Not good for American car companies. If Mr. Boyles stays in the new car business, he may well drag some of his happy customers over to a competing brand. Not good for GM.
Sure glad I am a Ford man.
Ninja, must be one of those customers who pretends to be smarter than everyone when trying to buy a car. In my 30 years in the auto business all of if in new car dealerships including a few years in St. Joe. they do not try to screw anyone. They try to make an honest living providing service and much more. They also are some of the first places charities and causes go for help with anything. They are American small business defined.
As for Mr. Boyle he should always service a customer even if they did not purchase their car from him so he can gain their trust and confidence and hopefully earn their next purchase.
Let's see. So I spend $20,000, $30,000 or more with Mr. Boyle and he treats me better than someone who did not.
Wow, that takes a rocket scientist to figure out.
I agree with afoster's last comment. Car sales are about relationships, and you can't have a successful dealership without providing great customer service to everyone who walks in your door. This applies whether the customer is car shopping, looking for repairs, body work, parts, etc. Anyone who has attempted to do business with them in recent years knows that unless you were paying cash for a new Buick, Cadillac or a GMC/Chevy truck, you were clearly not worth their time.
I hate to see any business fall victim to the tough economic conditions, but had they provided good customer service in all aspects of their business I think their position would be much stronger. As it is, I think it will be pretty tough to convert to a used car dealership or align with another manufacturer and be a success, unless there is a major change in their business philosophy.
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