Norwich
In December, the Co-op, which long operated a repair shop with fuel pumps in Hanover, will begin offering automotive repair and maintenance in December at the former Car Store location on Route 5 just south of Exit 13 on Interstate 91.
“We’ve been looking for a year now at our auto service center and how to expand that business,” said Ed Fox, general manager of the Co-op. “We’ve had physical constraints in Hanover and can’t expand there, and we see a really good opportunity (in Norwich.)”
The dealership property was vacated last month after Prime Subaru relocated to a new facility on Sykes Mountain Avenue in White River Junction.
The decision marks a sharp shift in strategy from only a few years ago, when the Co-op’s board considered closing the auto service center on Park Street in Hanover because in was unprofitable. But the board relented after members objected and decided to keep the auto service center open — provided it could turn a profit.
Fox said the auto service station began making money toward the end of 2017 and so far has been profitable throughout 2018.
“The earliest appointment you can get an inspection is December 12,” said Jimmy Kitter, the Co-op’s service center manager.
Even as the shop has worked to schedule its bays more efficiently, it can service only 10-25 vehicles per day, he said, depending on the work required. The location in Norwich will be able to accommodate 30 to 50 appointments a day, he said.
“There’s a huge market demand for this,” Kitter said.
The auto center accounted for 5 percent of the Co-op’s $72 million in sales last year, according to the nonprofit’s annual report.
Fox said the Hanover auto service center has developed a reputation among members for something customers have wanted since the dawn of the automobile age: an honest auto mechanic.
“We’ve had tremendous feedback from the community on this,” Fox said. “There’s a lot of trust in the work they do.”
Fox said the Route 5 location has most of the necessary equipment — such as hydraulic lifts and diagnostic equipment — in place, which means the Co-op could begin scheduling appointments there as soon as next month.
Kitter said the Norwich location would begin offering Vermont state inspections in January and said the center to be “fully operational and staffed” by spring. The Co-op will need to hire as many as seven employees, including five technicians and two customer service representatives, according to Kitter. The Hanover location employs three technicians and one customer service rep.
The Co-op will need to spend about $100,000 for renovations and new equipment, which will be capitalized over five to seven years and won’t make much of a dent in balance sheet, Fox said.
There is room to park about 100 vehicles on the for dealership’s expansive lot, while there is room for only 20 in Hanover, Fox added. Additionally, the Advance Transit green route has a stop nearby, providing a transportation option for customers who need to drop off a vehicle.
Fox said there is no plan to add a Co-op Food Store in Norwich because it would involve a change-of-use permit, and “the owners of the property are very clear they do not want to change the current use.”
The Co-op signed a four-year lease agreement with Rick MacLeay last week, with an option to renew.
MacLeay sold the Subaru franchise to Massachusetts-based Prime Motor Group, which earlier this fall completed construction of a 25,000-square-foot dealership at the former location of Upper Valley Lanes and Games. MacLeay now operates the Hyundai dealership on Sykes Mountain Avenue.
MacLeay holds a long-term lease on the Norwich property from owner Peggy Southworth, widow of Jim Southworth, a previous owner of the Car Store, which started out in the 1960s as a Chrysler-Plymouth dealership. Over the years, it offered different makes, including Peugeot, Land Rover and Dodge, before finally settling on Subaru in the early 1980s.
“I’d be amazed if it was not really successful,” MacLeay said of the Co-op’s auto shop. “If I had to find somebody to lease it, I couldn’t find anybody better.”
McLeahy said he expects the Co-op “brand” as a locally controlled purveyor of quality products will aid the nonprofit’s reputation as an independent auto service and repair center.
“Most car repairs are not done by new-car dealers like myself,” MacLeay said. “They may do that for a while when the car is still new, but they usually end up going to the independent repair guy they like.”
John Lippman can be reached at jlippman@vnews.com.
Correction
Upper Valley car dealer Rick MacLeay is the former owner of The Car Store in Norwich and holds a long-term lease on the property. An earlier version of this story misspelled his name.
