Illinois dealerships sold; Heritage Auto Group enters Wyoming

Two Illinois dealerships changed hands last month, while a Wyoming Chevrolet dealership was sold this month to a regional dealership group.

Here's a look at the deals involving domestic and import brands.

New franchised dealership owners have purchased a Ford dealership in Galesburg, Ill., northwest of Peoria.

Dan Kuna and Tony Lozich on Oct. 29 bought Yemm Ford from owners Rick Yemm and Mark Kleine, said Hal Feder of Murphy Business and Financial Corp. in Williamsburg, Va. Feder represented the buyers in the transaction, while Don Brown of Midwest Brokerage in St. Louis was broker for the seller.

The dealership was renamed Ford of Galesburg.

Yemm told The Register-Mail newspaper that his partner was "moving toward retirement" and he wanted to sell the dealership to focus on his Chevrolet-Buick-GMC and Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram stores in Galesburg.

Feder said Kuna has 20 years of experience in the automotive industry while Lozich owns a masonry business.

Kuna, Ford of Galesburg's dealer principal, said he has held auto retail management positions the last nearly 15 years and partnered with his longtime friend, Lozich, to buy this dealership. He said the duo was partial to Ford.

"It's something we've been talking about for years," Kuna told Automotive News. "COVID kind of put things in perspective."

Illinois dealer Lee Schreiber last month acquired his second dealership with the purchase of Dixon Ford-Volkswagen in Illinois.

Schreiber bought the store on Oct. 1 from Home Run Auto Group of Janesville, Wis.

Schreiber, president of Schreiber Automotive, said he has owned Sterling Chevrolet in Sterling, Ill., for six years. The Ford-Volkswagen rooftop is about nine miles from his Chevrolet dealership.

"It was in close proximity to my existing Chevrolet store and the opportunity to diversify with the Ford and Volkswagen brands away from Chevrolet, I just felt like it was a good opportunity," he told Automotive News. "It's like a good financial portfolio. You want to diversify to make sure you've got all your bases covered."

The dealership's name will remain, and Schreiber said he plans to build a Volkswagen-exclusive showroom.

The Home Run group is owned by Jim Bozich and Mark Geiger. In July, Home Run Auto also sold four dealerships to Zeigler Auto Group.

Jon Weese and Heritage Auto Group have expanded into Wyoming with the Nov. 9 purchase of a Chevrolet dealership.

Weese, CEO of the Heritage group, bought AutoFarm Castle Rock Chevrolet in Evanston, Wyo., from Gust Kalatzes. Kalatzes bought the dealership in 2016.

The store was renamed Heritage Chevrolet of Evanston. The city is in southwest Wyoming, near the Utah border.

The Heritage group also has Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealerships in Brigham City and North Logan, Utah; a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram-Ford dealership in Tremonton, Utah; and a Ford dealership in Vernal, Utah, according to its website.

Performance Brokerage Services, a buy-sell firm in Irvine, Calif., handled the transaction.