Longview group buys I-90 auto dealership

MOSES LAKE — The Longview, Wash.,-based Bud Clary Auto Group purchased I-90 Auto Group from owner Heidi Pehl, adding Moses Lake as its newest location for Chevrolets and Toyotas.

Co-owner Jim Clary with his sons and co-owners Bryce Clary and Kelly Clary were working Friday in the new and used vehicle business on North Frontage Road.

Since their recent arrival, Jim said he’s been “flabbergasted” by the Moses Lake store’s floor traffic and the amount of people who drive by to look at cars.

They’re currently training salespeople on how to properly address and speak to customers with a “no smoke and mirrors,” approach, Jim says.

Nearly all of the employees working for I-90 Auto Group were kept to work for Bud Clary Auto Group, except for a few office positions.

A new general manager, Doug Christensen, was hired. He previously worked for a Pasco dealership and was a national sales trainer for the Joe Verde Group, an automotive management and sales training organization.

Steve Wabeke is the store’s parts and service manager. He previously worked for a large Toyota store in Texas.

They plan on offering one sales promotion per month, with specials falling in line with the manufacturer’s.

“We’re thinking the manufacturer is going to be coming up with another rebate for trucks and cars and so forth,” Jim notes.

The business also plans on contacting local owners of GM and Toyota products to introduce themselves and invite them to their new store.

Lately, stabilizing gas prices have helped auto dealers.

“When gas prices jumped to $4 per gallon, it hurt SUV sales immediately,” according to Jim. “Now they’re stabilized, those markets are coming back. People need trucks and Suburbans to tow their boats and haul their families.”

“We’re just excited to be here in this new market,” Bryce commented.

He also pointed out they’re the only business in Washington state to own two Toyota stores and two Chevrolet stores.

They can share inventory between the stores, which allows Grant County residents who want to buy Cadillacs to do so.

In Moses Lake, the business plans to also sell Scions and eliminate Pontiacs and Buicks.

They tried to buy the Moses Lake store two years ago, but the timing wasn’t right, Jim said.

The family was working on another transaction, which came ahead of purchasing a new location.

At the time, the business was already being sold to Pehl.

Before arriving in Moses Lake, they studied the area’s demographics, home starts and population growth. The home starts were one reason the family wanted to come to Moses Lake.

Bryce said they’ve met some really nice people in Moses Lake.

“Everyone’s been great to work with,” he says. “We talk all the time how the opening has gone. We haven’t had any problems.”

The business was originally started 60 years ago by Jim’s father Bud in Moscow, Idaho, whom he eventually bought out.

The business later expanded to include locations in Longview, Yakima and now Moses Lake.

The sales department at the Moses Lake store is open seven days a week.

For more information, call 509-765-4517.