Yonkers Honda recently marked the opening of a new dealership at 500 Yonkers Ave. that becomes one of the biggest exclusive service, parts and certified pre-owned Honda facility in the U.S.
At 135,000 square feet, the dealership is the second for Yonkers Honda President Joy Libert-Gelb. The other facility is at 2000 Central Park Ave. in Yonkers.
“My dad started here in 1928 and we”™ve been in business here ever since,” Gelb said, adding she was proud to build on her father”™s legacy. “The goal is to keep getting bigger and expanding. Even though I”™m 80, I”™m still ambitious.”
The building now occupied by Yonkers Honda was built some 15 years ago by Chrysler Group L.L.C. with the intention of it being one of the biggest Chrysler-Dodge dealers in the nation. It can store 280 cars, display 100, and can service another 100 cars, said Bob Feinberg, general manager of Yonkers Honda and son-in-law of Joy Libert-Gelb.
“It seemed like it was a perfect match,” Feinberg said. “We were in a facility that couldn”™t handle all of our service customers. (This has) got the capacity to handle any Honda customer who wants to come here.”
Yonkers Honda bought the facility last summer from the Chrysler Realty Corp. for $2.5 million.
Feinberg said 11 people had already been hired to staff the new dealership and another 10 or 11 would likely need to be added “once we”™re at our capacity.”
Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone was on hand for the June 10 ribbon-cutting ceremony and said the opening of the dealership represented an important occasion, both for the city of Yonkers and for the auto industry.
“That”™s good (they are expanding) because that means they”™re successful and becoming more so,” Amicone said. “It employs more people and provides great service.”
Automobile sales in Westchester County are up significantly from last year, said Chris Sams, spokesman for the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association.
Through April of this year, 17,987 vehicles have been sold in Westchester, compared to just 14,330 that were sold in the first four months of 2010, representing a jump of 25.5 percent.
“Westchester County is up 25.5 percent, which is a huge jump,” Sams said.
Feinberg said that with the new dealership he hopes to target both existing Honda owners and future car buyers.
“What we saw as the big potential here was the number of Hondas already in operation and the ability to serve those,” he said. “There”™s (also) a younger group of people coming up and getting ready to buy cars.”
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