After spending the past 10 years as a dealership general manager, Vikas Mehandroo has purchased his first dealership: a Ford store in Poway, Calif., north of San Diego.
Mehandroo on Dec. 6 bought Perry Ford of Poway from Perry Automotive Group. The store was renamed Aaron Ford of Poway, after Mehandroo's son.
The Perry Automotive Group had owned the dealership since 1996, according to Performance Brokerage Services, a buy-sell firm in Irvine, Calif., that handled the transaction.
The Perry group, owned by Perry Falk and Deborah Falk, operate several other dealerships in Southern California.
Mehandroo said he came to the U.S. from India in his 20s.
"I've been in the business for 20-plus years and in February of this year, I decided I wanted to be a dealer principal," he told Automotive News, adding that he was looking for a domestic-brand store.
He said the Ford dealership in Poway was attractive because it is a "newer facility" and "in a good community."
Mehandroo already has expansion plans. He said he is slated to buy a Stellantis dealership in January.