McGovern Automotive's deal to buy Mercedes store isn't just business — it's personal

LITTLE SILVER, N.J. — In this town not far from the beaches of the Jersey Shore, Contemporary Motor Cars Mercedes-Benz has new owners for the first time in nearly 50 years.

The renamed Mercedes-Benz of Little Silver has new leaders, mostly, after its business entered a partnership in which the former owners retain an undisclosed minority financial stake in addition to receiving undisclosed stakes in two luxury stores owned by buyer McGovern Automotive Group.

Growing McGovern Automotive, of Newton, Mass., purchased the Mercedes-Benz store from co-owners Allan Sockol, 95, and his nephew Scott Coleman, 72, on Aug. 15. They bought it together 46 years ago, realizing a dream they had of owning an automotive dealership. Sockol and Coleman will continue to handle the dealership's VIP clients, while McGovern Automotive has assumed control of day-to-day operations.

McGovern Automotive CEO Matt McGovern said the approval process took a little longer than others because it was his first Mercedes store, but he said Sockol and Coleman were supportive during the process.

"I met them and fell in love with them the first day," McGovern told Automotive News before the closing. "They're great people, and they're very excited about joining our group."
The partnership, the men say, works because both family-owned businesses believe in putting employees first and in maintaining relationships. Coleman said the Mercedes-Benz store has many longtime employees.

On that hot summer day, the parties allowed Automotive News to witness some dealership closing happenings.

Sockol, in his last hours as majority owner, said he felt good about the decision and process. "We're in the final moments with the last few documents," Sockol said. "It's been a great, great experience, and we look forward to doing a lot of things with the group."

Sockol and Coleman received ownership in McGovern Automotive's Long Island stores: Porsche South Shore in Freeport, N.Y., and Ferrari of Long Island in Plainview, N.Y.

Coleman recalled one of the discussions that led to the decision to partner.

He said it started with his old friend Todd Grieco. Grieco retired from Mercedes-Benz USA after nearly 30 years, most recently as regional executive, and now is a regional vice president for McGovern Automotive.

"So we're at the Americana Diner, a nice diner, and he goes, 'You haven't met Matt, but he's the loveliest person,' " Coleman said.

Grieco suggested that McGovern, Sockol and Coleman would make a good mix, if the two ever decided to sell. While Sockol and Coleman had entertained offers, they hadn't really considered selling until the past few years, though nobody felt like a fit until McGovern.

"We weren't thinking of selling, but we are getting older," said Sockol, who, like Coleman, was working six days a week. He said McGovern's offer was hard to refuse.
They first met the day after Christmas and again in January. Coleman said the chemistry was instant. He said it took about two seconds to answer each other's question, "What do you think the dealership is worth?" Meaning, they didn't have to haggle over blue-sky value, which includes intangibles such as goodwill.

Coleman said the cultures also were a fit.

"His people, every one of his people, are unbelievable," Coleman said. "It's the largest family-owned group you ever would meet. Everybody is just like Matt. They're kind, they're sincere, they're easy to get along with.

"They want to see people successful, right? It's identical to our mode of operation."

Grieco said McGovern's group is like a small family organization but with "a lot of muscle and resources behind it." Grieco said McGovern, Sockol and Coleman all worked hard to build a community within their workplaces and that good relationships highlight the common DNA among them.

"Unfortunately, I think the day and age we all live in now, authentic relationships are not just hard to form, they're hard to maintain," Grieco said, adding that the parties' genuine dedication will make the partnership a success.

Willie Beck of Bel Air Partners, an automotive advisory firm in Tampa, Fla., that represented the sellers, said McGovern made a great buyer for his firm's longtime clients. Beck said Sockol and Coleman had engaged Bel Air Partners to do valuation work before the McGovern deal materialized.

The acquisition not only marks McGovern's first in New Jersey, but his first Mercedes dealership, which he thinks fits nicely with his existing luxury stores.

"We're extremely happy to be able to access the customer base here with our other exotic brands and luxury brands," McGovern said. "You look at a given household with someone with some affluence, they generally have a Porsche or Ferrari, as well as a Mercedes-Benz SUV or a large sedan and whatnot, so it's a very great, dynamic place that we can cross-pollinate and sell a lot more vehicles of all three brands."

McGovern Automotive Group ranks No. 57 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 17,675 new vehicles in 2023. The group, which also has dealerships in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, debuted on the list in 2023 at No. 65, with sales of 13,074 new vehicles in 2022.

McGovern Automotive, which celebrates eight years in business in September, purchased four franchised dealerships last year and nine in 2022. In April, McGovern added a Toyota dealership in Portsmouth, N.H.

Mercedes fit perfectly into the group's growth plan, which, McGovern said in a July interview, will require patience as the automotive retail market returns to its post-COVID-19 normal.

"I'm gonna be a lot more diligent and selective on the deals we buy," McGovern said, adding that he feels profit margins will come down for all dealerships eventually. "So I'm not going to pay on those high numbers of the past four years."

McGovern in July said the group was close to having all the brands it wanted, at about 25. He said the group will stay extremely selective on brand and location for future deals — factors the Little Silver deal matched perfectly.

Sockol, who was called "uncle" by many people in the meeting room at Contemporary's Sprinter van service building, where the closing took place, is the brother of Coleman's mother.

"I've been close to him since I'm 4 or 5 years old because we have similar hobbies and fascination for cars," Coleman said. "And before Uncle was in the automobile business, he was in the trucking industry."

Sockol sold the trucking business when Coleman was 15, but Sockol's love of race cars paired with industry friendships kept him, and by default, Coleman, firmly planted in automotive.

Sockol had roots in the racing world, having worked with a racing team and Ferrari in the 1960s and '70s.

Eventually the two wanted their own dealership — and they found it in Little Silver, in 1978, when the store was just a five-car showroom. It grew into six buildings. One houses a collection of about 30 cars belonging to Sockol and Coleman not part of the sale that hold special meaning, including restored trucks from Sockol's first business and luxury cars.

Coleman and Sockol said they each learned to care for others by watching their families do the same for employees and friends over the years, especially Sockol's mother, Coleman's grandmother.

"She gave us our values," Coleman said, remembering when his grandmother gave money to drivers of the family's trucking business if she thought they needed help.

Sockol recalled that when he was a child, their mailman's car engine blew, and his father gave the man a car as a gift.
McGovern remembered similar inspiration. He said he started out working on his father's dairy farm in Dunstable, Mass., driving trucks and tractors.
"That's where I learned the value of a dollar and learned how to work hard and how to treat people," McGovern said.

He said that whenever he's asked how he succeeds, the answer is easy.

"Just be a reasonable person," McGovern said.