Quirk buys Bangor Chrysler Dodge

BANGOR – Quirk Auto Group announced Wednesday that it has completed the purchase of the Bangor Chrysler Dodge car dealership, which will open for business immediately as Quirk Chrysler Dodge.

Quirk made the purchase Tuesday from Phillip McFarland Jr. as part of Chrysler’s consolidation plan.

“Chrysler has a countrywide strategy of putting all three franchises [Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep] together,” said Jack Quirk, president and co-owner of Quirk Auto Group. “It’s a channeling process of realigning their franchises called Project Genesis.”

In Bangor, Quirk owned a Jeep dealership, while McFarland owned the Chrysler Dodge dealership.

“Chrysler contacted us, letting us know Phillip McFarland was ready to sell the business,” Quirk said.

The move ensures the same ownership for all three dealerships.

“Now we’re whole,” Quirk said. “Combining Chrysler and Dodge [with Jeep] completes the whole franchise and will help us sell more products. It’s a puzzle that’s been put together.”

Quirk declined to disclose the purchase price of the Chrysler Dodge dealership, referring such inquiries to McFarland.

“We’re doing exactly what Chrysler wants us to do. We got all three franchises and can now represent Chrysler 100 percent. The next step is to combine Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep into one store,” he said.

Quirk expects the move to improve business.

“They [Chrysler representatives] believe by having all brands together, it’ll be able to be marketed and represented better and we’ll sell more,” he said. “By consolidating, it will lower costs.

“We’ll obviously be able to offer customers the best prices out there.”

Quirk now owns 20 car dealerships and franchises in Maine. Bangor is its largest base with 11 outlets. It also has three outlets apiece in Augusta, Belfast and Portland.

As part of the sale, McFarland released 22 employees, according to Quirk.

“When McFarland sold [the dealership to us] he terminated all his employees,” Quirk said. “It was very traumatic for the employees involved.

“We are in the process of interviewing everybody [who was terminated]. We’re going to do the best we can [for them].”

Quirk would not comment on the number of Bangor Chrysler Dodge employees who would be rehired.

McFarland did not return messages regarding the sale or lost jobs.

Quirk is a family-owned business led by Jack Quirk Jr., the president and co-owner. Other co-owners include Robert Quirk, James Quirk, Thomas Quirk and David Quirk. The company has been in business for 35 years and employs approximately 400 people statewide.

“All of the brothers are actively involved,” Quirk said. “A lot of people appreciate family-owned businesses. We’re right on the front line. We interact with customers every day and are very active in the community. We understand it’s service that makes people come back to buy another vehicle from us and taking care of the customer is important.”