Opening a Lexus dealership

[poet_x]

Any idea what this might cost, aside from property and showroom? I know car companies often charge to be a dealer, but I have no idea what it would take to become a certified Lexus dealer. It's an idea I have batted around for a little while.

I live in Traverse City, MI which has a population of 50,000 or so. There are Lincoln, Audi, BMW, & Mercedes Benz dealers here, but no Lexus. Despite this, I see many new (or newer) Lexus's (Lexi?) on the road here. The nearest dealerships are Lansing or Grand Rapids, both of which are at least 3 hours from here.

I believe that a Lexus dealership would flourish here, and in time I would also like to see Infiniti, Acura, and Porsche all come to the area. God willing, I want to be the one who brings them all here. But one step at a time. I believe that Lexus would be the most successful of the mentioned brands, and would make a great starting point. I just have no idea what-so-ever what it might cost to make this happen. I expect to put up a million dollar facility, and have to pay to bring in trained Lexus mechanics, but I wonder what kind of costs I would be facing from Lexus themselves. Anyone have any idea?

 

[sabashioyaki]

Good luck, expect a small dealership to cost at least 10M to build, not including the land.

 

[ANYTIME]

Nah, more in the 4-6 million range(I've seen a few go in locally-Know the builder). Not including the land.

 

[KGP]

Good luck, expect a small dealership to cost at least 10M to build, not including the land.

Buy a bank instead.

 

[Nimbus]

Contact Lexus directly, they will give you the guidelines and figures.

 

[poet_x]

This is just an idea at this point. Maybe it's a pipe dream, maybe not. This isn't something I plan to seriously pursue for about a year. I am just trying to get an idea of what this might cost. I'm not sure I'm ready to contact Lexus directly (though that may grind this idea to a halt right then & there), since I am not at all ready to go forward with this right now.

 

[sabashioyaki]

The Lexus dealer here cost ~10M to build, it looks kind of small. There are very few independant dealerships anymore, most are part of a large family of dealerships.

 

[WeakestLink]

If you're not in the business already, it is highly unlikely you will be able to get a Lexus dealership, or any new car dealership for that matter. To get new car dealership franchise, you usually have to own an existing dealership and have a very large bank account.

The only case where I've heard someone was able to get a dealership without being in the business already was a Ferrari dealership. But even then, you still have to have a very large bank account.

On the other hand, Carmax pulled it off but they at least Circuit City had the bank account. Wal-Mart is still sniffing out the business.

 

[Da Hapa]

If you're not in the business already, it is highly unlikely you will be able to get a Lexus dealership, or any new car dealership for that matter. To get new car dealership franchise, you usually have to own an existing dealership and have a very large bank account.

It also helps to be a minority. Now before anyone gets their panties in a twist, I am a minority and I'm not making a beef. I'm only stating that many business (car companies and banks specifically) have programs that benefit the minority community directly. A car company, for example, would love the PR and intangibles of increased minority ownership. Banks, by law, have to reinvest money in their own communities and benefit in many ways when they bank minorities.

 

[1SICKLEX]

Dude, sorry but you won't get a Lexus dealership. Lexus is very, very, very, very picky on who gets a Lexus dealership. Remember, they are #1 in customer service and satisfaction and will do everything to keep that title. The first Lexus dealers (which were offered to Toyota dealers) went through the most stringent qualifications of ANY dealer ever. To this day, they follow these guidelines. A pre-requsite is previous ownership of a dealership with OUTSTANDING service and customer sat.

Sorry, great idea though. Maybe you could become someones partner?

 

[4AU4LIFE]

Danny Sullivan used to own a Lexus dealership here in tow. For some strange reason his name is no longer on the building??

 

[Osiris_x11]

dealers of note, in Penn...

the posh' dealerships in WesternPennsylvania have names of BobbyRahal and Ganassi. . . recall- major players in the IRL n' CART circuits.

 

[poet_x]

Dude, sorry but you won't get a Lexus dealership. Lexus is very, very, very, very picky on who gets a Lexus dealership. Remember, they are #1 in customer service and satisfaction and will do everything to keep that title. The first Lexus dealers (which were offered to Toyota dealers) went through the most stringent qualifications of ANY dealer ever. To this day, they follow these guidelines. A pre-requsite is previous ownership of a dealership with OUTSTANDING service and customer sat.

Sorry, great idea though. Maybe you could become someones partner?

a partnership would be an option, but there is only one dealership in the area I would be comfortable putting my reputation (as well as Lexus's) in the hands of. I have never heard anything but VERY positive comments from both clients and employees of the dealership. I just don't know that they would be open to partnering with me. The owner has more than enough $$$ to do a Lexus dealership on his own. He wouldn't need my help, and from a business standpoint, whay bring someone on if you don't need them?

In any case, it's an idea. This area would also benefit from Infiniti, Acura, or Porsche as well.

I'm thinking that if i want to run a dealership here, I'd be better off working with a large premium dealership (New Toy Store Group, Platinum Motors, Newport Motorsports, etc) and establishing a small "midwestern division" and could market some of the cars that have been sitting in their inventories for awhile. Vipers, Vettes, and anything luxury (SUV's in particular) would all do well here. This way i can avoid having to pay the fees to be a licensed dealer of any specific brand, but I can still offer high quality used (and maybe new) luxury and sporting automobiles and trucks (and everything in between).

It's all pie-in-the-sky stuff right now anyway. Chances are good I'm letting my dreams run wild again...