http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/Lockport_Ford_dealership_to_close_20081231
Can’t even lowball them on a used SUV because there’s nothing on their lot I want.
They’ve actually been closed since the 29th.
Being next door to them, we’ve known about this for over a month.
Poor Gambino’s… this is what happens when you squeeze the goose for too many golden eggs.
Ognibene’s slogan is “We’ll see you right here”
or is it sarcasm? lol
Damn it, you’re right. There goes my slightly witty title.
EDIT: Fixed, mocking proper annoying ad slogan.
I wonder if he’ll be able to feed his $8,000 hunting dogs?
It sucks though, because between the Gambino’s there’s one that stashed cash away, played it smart and will be okay. The others will have to find jobs.
was Gambino Ford’s slogan
I havnt seen a comercial for them in a looooong time, I thought they were long gone
So thats another s.transit car lot gone. There has to be at least a half mile now of open lots in lockport.
that sucks to see them close.
I worked there from 2001 to 2004 as a tech. Pat and John Gambino were some of the nicest people to work for. When i started in mid 2001, there was about 20 techs working there, then it slowed a bit, when i left in December 2004, there was about 12 techs and 3 techs in the Quick Lane. I worked in both the Service dept and Quick Lane there.
That’s a shame.
It sucks, but in the end it makes Ford stronger. Think about how many Ford dealers WNY had compared to Toyota or Honda.
I thought they closed back when the other for dealers were closed? I was surprised when I drove by last month and they still were open.
I was gonna say, I hadn’t seen a commercial for them in forever.
I feel as if location may have something to do with all those closings too.
There was a guy on the news the other day that said at least 6 dealers would close by the end of the year. I am not sure if he meant 2008 or 2009. Some say as many as a dozen may have to close in WNY.
I wonder what they are offering the dealers for buy out, because most of them are on their last legs anyways.
Negative. West Herr Honda does well, Basil Toyota does well. It has to do with ownership and what the owners do with the money they make.
In the 80’s and 90’s the Gambino family made a fucking killing. Millions of dollars. 300 cars a month. Granted they did a lot of shady business with the whole “push, pull or drag it in…you’ll get $3000 no matter what”, and they paid for it dearly. (fine’s, court, lawsuits)
When you make profits, you don’t buy huge houses, lots of cars, hunting dogs, take vacations, and generally live like a fucking baller. You need to reinvest some of that money back into the dealership. Primarily for working capitol. That way, when you have a recession and business drops you can afford to make payroll. You can afford to stay afloat for a while. However, when you don’t reintertwine profits and capital back into the bloodsteam of a dealership…you’re going to get sucked dry.
It comes down to bad business ethics, planning and being financially irresponsible. It’s okay to squeeze your “Golden Goose” once in a while to get an egg. If you do it too many times, “the Goose” is going to pass out.
The best dealerships are run by people who return profits back into the dealership and not live like a fucking king while trying to stay afloat.
PS - Let’s talk about how West Herr Toyota has $10 million, tied up into the Main and Transit location and won’t ever see a return on it.
+++++ i worked there for almost three years ,quit in july because they were laying people off up front that have been there for 13 years,and we all knew they were closing including the gambino family, meanwhile while we are all hearing that stuff is bad,half the lifts didnt work and we always heard there is no money to fix them but then a week later the gambinos are on vacation in florida…They never spent the money they made from the dealer on fixing the place up the showroom looked horrible …the only positive thing i can say about the actual place is that all the guys that worked there were great people and it sucks that they are out of a job…
didn’t they primarily buy that store just to take it away from northtown?