By Aleasha Sandley, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
ANDERSON - Dennis Hoover hasn't had much luck with car dealerships on Anderson's Broadway Street.
The automotive sales consultant has worked at three dealerships there that have closed down: Broadway Sales, which closed in 1988; Payton Wells, which closed last year; and now Anderson Chrysler Jeep Dodge, which closed its doors this week.
The Chrysler dealership, which arrived in Anderson about six months ago, now sits with a nearly empty lot as hired contractors clean and remove items from the building. It was closed Wednesday, but Chrysler LLC representatives would not say whether the closure was dealer- or corporation-initiated.
"We never go into any detail when a dealership closes because of confidential information," Chrysler spokeswoman Curtrise Garner said.
The automotive industry has been in upheaval due to a failing economy, tightening credit and high gas prices.
Dealership owner Garry Robertson and general manager Bill Bowman could not be reached for comment Friday.
Employees at the dealership are not Chrysler employees, Garner said, and many could go on to get jobs at other car dealerships.
That's what Hoover said he planned to do. He was confident another dealership would open in the area and he would get a job there.
Hoover said the dealership's 16 or 17 employees did receive all the money they were owed by the company.
"It was OK," he said. "Everybody got paid. (The owners) are good people, and nobody got messed over."
Hoover said most of the workers were from Kokomo, where the dealership called home for 25 years before its recent move to Anderson.
"When the opportunity came for them to take on Dodge and Jeep, they moved," he said. "When they came here, things went down the tube."
Garner said those who have purchased vehicles or get service from the Chrysler dealership won't be affected except for having to go to a different location for service.
"When a dealership closes, we send something out to the database of people who purchased and received service from there and advise them of the dealership closest to them," Garner said.