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Charlotte Auto Dealerships


DigitalSky

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Yes, a new Mercedes Benz dealership is going up near 485 & Hwy 521 in Pineville next to the Bradford Downs Shopping Center/Office Park.

http://virtualearth.msn.com/default.aspx?c...le=h&lvl=17&v=1

in the center, where all the trees are in that picture, is where the new Mercedes dealership is going, not too far from Arnold Palmer Cadillac

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That is not because of the Charlotte's size. It is because the Hendrick and Beck family hold exclusive franchises to BMW and Mercedes for the Charlotte area. Both need to move their operation off Independence as I find it extremely inconvenient to go to Beck for service. (though I only go there for warranty work now) I have hear rumors that Beck has wanted something near the Lake and/or Pineville.

Hendrick has a lock on some of the other highend cars.

There is another dealership for both in Hickory (which Hendrick owns) which is only 45 miles away as the crow flies, so while not in the metro, is very close. The closest non-Hendrick/Beck Mercedes dealer is in Winston-Salem, about 60 miles from Huntersville. While there isn't a Bentley, Rolls or Maybach dealer in Charlotte (have to go to ATL for that) I believe you can arrange to buy one through Bech & Hendrick.

I don't consider Lexus, Acura, and Infinity true luxury cars as these are just re-badged Toyotas, Hondas, and Nissans but those are much more common in Charlotte.

Yeah I figured as much. I agree - I also find the dealers on Independence/South Blvd. to be a hassle as well. It has to be incovenient for people with luxury cars in the north part of the county to get their cars to the dealership (Even if you live on the southside it's still a pain) They should have 2 of each in the county - one in the south and the north (I think thats the idea with the auto malls/parks - one on the southside and one up by the lake). Hopefully they will all move off of South/Independence soon - some of the dealers have hardly any visibility from the road too, such as Land Rover - it's pretty much hidden behind BMW.

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This certainly is a departure from the way dealers operate here now....and I believe it will be a model for what should be done with South Blvd. dealers. I wonder how many people will take LRT to the dealers and drive home in a new car?

Of sloppy reporting notes, I think they were off by about 3 zero's, when the reported that it would positively impact the town by $350M a year.

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Hmm. If the SE commuter rail line actually makes it out to CPCC, and if there were a used car place place like CarMax at this auto mall, I'd rather see people selling their cars to the dealer and then riding the LRT back home because they don't need or want a car anymore :)

Not likely - not in my lifetime, at least. I think I read somewhere that the average number of cars per family is growing at a fairly astonishing rate. But it's a nice thought.

By the way, auto malls are very sprawling (there's one in Cary) and the distances are long enough to where few people would consider walking from one dealer to another. But this is a step in the right direction from how typical auto dealers each taking up their own, huge chunk of frontage on a major highway.

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bt the time they finish it, we'll all be on the beach in boca... with oversized sunglasses and orthopedic sandals.

Haha, I had a place on the beach in Boca when I was 25. Lots of fun then, but I don't think I would want to retire to the place. S. Fla is not my cup of tea. Most of the old folks go to Broward and Dade anyway.

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I do think that many of the car dealers will end up moving to automalls and what will happen to Independence is that you will see those lots turn into used car lots, like what is happening now. Town & Country Fd, Volkswagen, Chevy, etc all had closer in dealerships on Ind. that are now used car places.

Some of the more exclusive brands such as Lexus, Infinity and Mercedes will not allow their dealers to locate in an automall. They have to be stand alone places. But I see them moving too as Infinity just opened a new dealership at The Lake.

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Maybe I don't really want this in reality, but I have often wondered whether it could work out to have an in-town automall using a large parking deck.

It seems to me that there is value to having the cars garaged, as well as improved access to customers.

Has anyone seen anything like this in the US?

I think Automalls are much better than all the dealers on a commercial arterial, like South Blvd or Independence Blvd. At the very least, it cuts down on the tacky "look at me" marketing tools, such as blinding lights, etc.

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I can promise that Lexus and Mercedes will be in the new Matthews Auto Mall, as well as BMW, Mini, Acura, Porsche, and Range Rover. Infiniti is a possibility as they have room for 2 more dealers that have not yet committed.

I might be confused on exactly what an Auto Mall is. I do know for example that Lexus dealers can not combine with a Toyota dealership. (or any other dealership for that matter) A bunch of dealerships located on the same property might be ok.

Maybe I don't really want this in reality, but I have often wondered whether it could work out to have an in-town automall using a large parking deck.

It seems to me that there is value to having the cars garaged, as well as improved access to customers.

Has anyone seen anything like this in the US?

I think Automalls are much better than all the dealers on a commercial arterial, like South Blvd or Independence Blvd. At the very least, it cuts down on the tacky "look at me" marketing tools, such as blinding lights, etc.

I can't say that I have seen this even in NYC. But I have seen in town dealerships in Tokyo and London. However I think it will be a very cold day until someone does this in Charlotte. I can't imagine anyone wanting to hassle with downtown traffic and roads when buying a new car. Plus most buyers like to wander through the car lots.

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The closest I've seen to that is two dealerships sharing one space in a decked building with a large ground floor showrood with offices, a mezzanine of offices, ground floor repair shop in the back of the building and new/pre-owned car storage on the third floor extending over both the office/showroom and shop.

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I can promise that Lexus and Mercedes will be in the new Matthews Auto Mall, as well as BMW, Mini, Acura, Porsche, and Range Rover. Infiniti is a possibility as they have room for 2 more dealers that have not yet committed.

Channel 36 reported on the news tonight this auto mall is a Hendrick project and may not happen for more than 10 years.

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10 years sounds fairly distant. That does make some sense, considering it will rely on CPCC for creating a program to partner with it.

I was thinking that it might be closer to 5 years away.

By the way, there are two automalls being discussed in this area. One is near Matthews. The other is near Northlake Mall. Is it possible that the Northlake one is 10 years away, but the Matthews one is closer?

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You are thinking of the one at the Huntersville border with Charlotte at the intersection of the new I-485 and Highway 115. Huntersville opposed this Mall as being detrimental to the area but Charlotte approved the zonng anyway. (an example of not caring about its neighbors) The Mall is currently underconstruction and Hendrick quickly destroyed a historic stone building on the property and there are leasing signs up for the out parcels. I suspect that this one will be there in a couple of years.

Unfortunately this is also near one of the planned transit stops. Since I presume no one is going to want to live near an automall, the potential for developing the area into something condusive of mass transit is going to be hurt by this development.

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I had no idea that one was underconstruction - it makes sense though, as people on the north side of the county always have to travel south to buy a car (atleast luxury cars - Mercedes, BMW, etc). I admit that it probably isn't the best site for an automall, but as long as there is some type of buffer (trees/brick fence/etc) between the mall and any new development, I think we will still see something go up around there.

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That is not because of the Charlotte's size. It is because the Hendrick and Beck family hold exclusive franchises to BMW and Mercedes for the Charlotte area. Both need to move their operation off Independence as I find it extremely inconvenient to go to Beck for service. (though I only go there for warranty work now) I have hear rumors that Beck has wanted something near the Lake and/or Pineville.

Hendrick has a lock on some of the other highend cars.

There is another dealership for both in Hickory (which Hendrick owns) which is only 45 miles away as the crow flies, so while not in the metro, is very close. The closest non-Hendrick/Beck Mercedes dealer is in Winston-Salem, about 60 miles from Huntersville. While there isn't a Bentley, Rolls or Maybach dealer in Charlotte (have to go to ATL for that) I believe you can arrange to buy one through Bech & Hendrick.

I don't consider Lexus, Acura, and Infinity true luxury cars as these are just re-badged Toyotas, Hondas, and Nissans but those are much more common in Charlotte.

Actually metro, there is a Bentley dealership in High Point of of main St.

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