Northwest valley welcomes updates to dealership

Major renovations are under way at Ed Bozarth Chevrolet, and it's not just the obvious brick and mortar changes that are visible from U.S. Highway 95 in northwest Las Vegas.

"We're spending five times what Chevrolet requires just on the customer lounge," said owner Ed Bozarth, who along with his wife, Paula; son, Kent; and partner, Mark Miller, bought the former Vista Chevrolet in a November 2008 bankruptcy auction. "This will be a wonderful place to do business and it's going to be great for our customers."

For starters, the roof over the main showroom has already been raised 3 feet to add volume and bigger impact to the space, Bozarth said. Besides going vertical, plans also call for increasing the area that will bring the total available showroom floor space to more than 15,000 square feet. That modification, as well as several "green" initiatives, like LED lighting and skylights, positions the showroom at Ed Bozarth Chevrolet among the largest and most progressive in the country, according to Bozarth.

"We're expecting huge growth," said Bozarth, who noted vehicle sales at Ed Bozarth Chevrolet are up 70 percent from this time last year.

Acknowledging his positive outlook, even in trying times, has served him well since he bought into his first dealership in the early '70s. That was in Topeka, Kan., where, over a five-year period, Bozarth eventually acquired AMC, Dodge, Datsun (now Nissan), Mazda, Jeep, Volkswagen and Porsche-Audi franchises. In 1984, he purchased his first Chevrolet dealership, also in Topeka. Today, the Ed Bozarth company of dealerships includes Chevrolet franchises in Aurora, Park Meadow and Grand Junction, Colo., Topeka, and, of course, Las Vegas.

Buying during economic downturns wasn't always the plan, Bozarth said, but he admits he has purchased nearly every dealership when things were perceived to be in decline. "I like to say we've been able to buy premium businesses that we wouldn't have been able to acquire otherwise."

What led Bozarth to consider entering the Las Vegas automotive market, however, wasn't the prediction of the town's impending gloom and doom. It was a cab ride he took with his son and partner in October 2008.

With a few hours to kill before a business meeting, Bozarth had a suggestion.

"I asked them if they wanted to see what a bankrupt dealership looked like, so off we went."

As luck would have it, the cab they signaled was driven by a retired Air Force pilot who just happened to live in the northwest valley and drove by a shuddered Chevrolet dealership every day on his way to work. And, that's the one he took his passengers to see.

When they arrived at the 9.3-acre site, security guards kindly allowed the three to enter the property, where they ran into a representative from General Motors that Bozarth knew from previous business transactions.

"It looked just like our other dealerships," Bozarth said. "It was clean, nice and had an awesome service department."

The three returned home to Colorado, only to head back to Las Vegas a few days later. With their own rental car this time, Bozarth, who quickly credits a favorite professor of the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard Business School with this marketing technique, suggested they conduct a self-guided tour of the neighborhood to better acquaint themselves with the area surrounding the dealership.

"We drove all over the northwest valley and talked with people every time we went out to lunch," said Bozarth, who dabbled in politics as a Topeka city councilman in the late '80s. "Everyone and everything was so nice."

So, the decision was made to enter the bankruptcy auction for the property. And, according to Kent Bozarth, the sale was destined to be completed. After all, it was his father's birthday on the day they offered the winning bid.

Today, Ed Bozarth oversees the new dealership, confers with contractors, greets customers in the service area and lives in Las Vegas with his wife of 35 years, Paula. His son and partner manage the Colorado and Kansas businesses.

Currently, a little more than 100 employees work at Ed Bozarth Chevrolet, but that number is expected to rise when they add more sales and service technician positions before the completion of construction later this year.

Bozarth hopes to be planning a spring 2012 grand opening. In the meantime, nearly 500 vehicles comprise the inventory at the 5501 Drexel Road (east on Ann Road off U.S. Highway 95) dealership with even more choices readily available from their other out-of-state dealerships.

"This was already a good dealership with a great service department," Bozarth said, referring to the franchise's previous owner. "The key to our continued success is honesty and getting our name and reputation out in front of people in Las Vegas. It's going to be great for consumers."

For more information, contact Ed Bozarth Chevrolet at 967-5555 or visit www.edbozarthlasvegas.com.