Darling’s buys franchises from Town Auto

ELLSWORTH – Make that three of the city’s four major new car businesses that have plans to relocate.

Darling’s Auto Mall is buying the local Chrysler and Dodge franchises from Town Auto, officials with each dealership have confirmed.

In November, Darling’s announced that it planned to move all of its operations from High Street to a larger parcel on Beckwith Hill next to Ellsworth Giant Sub, at the intersection of Route 3 and Myrick Street.

The deal was closed Monday, according to officials involved in the franchise sale.

John Partridge, owner and president of Town Auto, said Monday that Town Auto will remain in business at its current High Street location as a used-vehicle dealer. Although the business will no longer sell new Chrysler and Dodge vehicles, the name and staff of the business are not expected to change, he said.

“This was an opportunity whose time had come,” Partridge said.

He declined to reveal the purchase price of the franchises.

Town Auto also will continue to rent cars and service vehicles. Partridge said the new-vehicle market had become competitive and costly enough that it made sense for Town Auto to focus on selling used vehicles.

“Most car buyers buy used cars in this area,” he said. “It seemed like a good time to do it.”

Darling’s, which also has dealerships in Bangor and Waterville, already is the exclusive Ellsworth franchisee for Buick, GMC Truck, Jeep and Pontiac vehicles.

With the purchase, Town Auto’s new Chrysler and Dodge vehicles will be moved down the street temporarily to Darling’s existing site, Darling’s General Manager Kevin Tesseo said last week. To make room at the High Street location, which has a 15,000-square-foot building, Darling’s will temporarily move its Jeep franchise to the former Volkswagen AutoHaus facility on Route 1, he said.

All of Darling’s vehicles will be moved to Beckwith Hill when the new 25,000-square-foot facility is finished. Tesseo said the company hopes to start construction of the new building this spring.

Morrison Chevrolet also is moving across town. The Chevrolet dealer announced in March 2004 that it plans to relocate from its lot on Water Street next to the Union River to a larger lot on Route 1 near The Home Depot.

Officials at Morrison Chevrolet and Darling’s each have said their needs for more space are among the primary reasons the dealerships are moving.

Ellsworth’s other new-vehicle dealership, Dave Gould Ford, is located at the triangle at the intersection of Routes 1 and 3.