Bargains abound at Chrysler dealer about to close

The deals are going fast at St. Pete Chrysler Jeep.

Shoppers packed the car dealership at 2500 34th St. N in St. Petersburg this morning hoping to get a good deal.

"We know that with everything going on this is probably the best time to buy something," said Michael Ayala, who came to look at minivans with his wife, Sarah and sons, Chris and Joshua.

St. Pete Chrysler Jeep is one of 789 Chrysler dealerships nationwide set to lose its franchise Tuesday. Six other bay area Chrysler locations will also be closing, including dealerships in Lakeland, Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice and Holiday.

Dealers are offering thousands of dollars off new cars just to get them off the lot before then.

Ayala planned on putting an offer down on a Town N' Country van, "I think about it's about $9,000 off of this, off the sticker price."

The sale has generated a lot of interest. Dick Huffer swore he'd never buy a new car again, but couldn't help taking a look.

"This appears to be a better deal here than what I could get for a used one in Sarasota, just about like that one, a year old," he said.

William Douglas has owned the dealership since 1985. He was disappointed with how Chrysler handled the closings, but said it has been good for business. The dealership sold 69 new cars in May, and sales are up for June, too. He's eager to get as much stock off the lot before Tuesday, because any left over cars will be bought by Dayton Andrews Dodge just across the street.

"Our philosophy is, if we've got to sell these cars to another dealer at net, I may as well go ahead and sell them to the customer at net and hopefully get a nice trade in to push our new business plan forward with," said Douglas.

The new business plan focuses on the company's used car sales and service department. The sign over the door will be different, but Douglas says his business won't be closing.

"We've already established our new name," he said. "It's St. Pete Automall."

Douglas expects loyal customers will be back.

"Some of these people have bought three, four, five, six cars from us and they've been doing business with us for 20-plus years."

Douglas said he's seen ups and downs in the auto industry in the 24 years he's owned the dealership, and he's excited for this new chapter.

"Our whole new business plan, that's what it's all about. Keeping our employees here and keeping them employed during this period. This is a tough window for everybody."

Natalie Shepherd can be reached at nshepherd@wfla.com or at (813) 310-2474.