Fuccillo Automotive sells Chevy, Toyota and Hyundai dealerships

The Maguire Family of Dealerships of Ithaca, N.Y., expanded into the greater Buffalo, N.Y., market with its Oct. 26 purchase of three dealerships in Grand Island, N.Y., from Billy Fuccillo Jr. of Fuccillo Automotive Group, McGuire President Phil Maguire confirmed to Automotive News.

Formerly known as Fuccillo Chevrolet of Grand Island, Fuccillo Toyota of Grand Island and Fuccillo Hyundai of Grand Island, the stores all sit within 100 acres of each other off a highway, Maguire said.

"It's a great opportunity and the scenery is very beautiful on Grand Island," Maguire said.

Grand Island, surrounded by the Niagara River that flows between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, is north of Buffalo and south of Niagara Falls.

The stores were renamed Maguire Chevrolet of Grand Island, Maguire Toyota of Grand Island and Maguire Hyundai of Grand Island.

These are the latest store sales for Fuccillo Automotive, which at one time had more than 20 dealerships. Longtime dealer and former CEO of Fuccillo Automotive Billy Fuccillo Sr. died in June 2021 at 65.

Most Fuccillo dealerships have been sold over the past two years. Maguire said he thinks Billy Fuccillo Jr. is retaining one dealership. Fuccillo Jr. did not return messages requesting comment, but the Fuccillo name remains on a Subaru-Hyundai dealership in Watertown, N.Y.

In May, Wally Darwish bought 10 franchised dealerships in New York from Fuccillo Jr. and the Fuccillo group on May 27 sold a Kia dealership and a Hyundai dealership, both in Schenectady, N.Y., to Matthews Auto Group. In January 2021, Fuccillo sold five dealerships to Matthews Auto.

The Fuccillo group also sold at least four other stores in 2021 and 2022, to LMP Automotive Holdings Inc. and Morgan Automotive Group.

Maguire, whose group has dealerships across upstate New York, said when he first got started in the business he worked near Grand Island in Lockport, N.Y., and always admired the area.

"When the stores became available, I was already familiar with them," Maguire said. "They just represent a great opportunity in the marketplace. It's a very large market and the island has very close proximity to the major metro of downtown Buffalo and Niagara Falls."

Bob Morris, director of the Southeast region for buy-sell firm Tim Lamb Group of Columbus, Ohio, represented the seller in the Maguire-Fuccillo transaction.