Greenwood remodels, upgrades Austintown dealership

By Kalea Hall

khall@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

Greg Greenwood didn’t just want to keep up with General Motors’ image for his dealership, he wanted to make the dealership better for his customers.

Because, he said, those customers have helped to make the Austintown Greenwood Chevrolet the largest Chevrolet dealer in Ohio.

“This makes a stronger statement that we have plenty of room to grow,” Greenwood said.

In the works at the dealership on Mahoning Avenue is a $2 million to $2.5 million upgrade and “drastic remodel.”

The last time the dealership saw an upgrade was about eight years ago.

The dealership, like every other GM dealership, has to comply with GM standards, but Greenwood decided he wanted to do more.

This remodel is two to 21/2 times more money and square footage than what GM would have required, he said.

“And we are doing that because we have been so successful in this area,” he said. “We want the customer experience to be that much better and that much nicer.”

Greenwood Chevrolet is consistently the local leader in car sales. Numbers from the Automobile Dealers Association of Eastern Ohio show the dealership with the most new and used sales in 2014. The sales numbers are compiled from titles processed at county title departments by the final business day of each month.

Greenwood’s remodel includes the addition of a four-bay quick lube to provide faster service for oil-change customers, and, in turn, faster service for other customers.

The entrance of the dealership will be updated, the showroom will be expanded and more restrooms will be added.

The waiting area for customers is going to be digitally enhanced for customers with Wi-Fi accessibility and charging stations.

Starting in April, the temporary sales home for the Greenwood dealership will be right next door in the old Hummer store. The entirety of the project has an expected completion date of October.

“Right now, we have 160 current full-time employees,” Greenwood said. “[This upgrade] solidifies that and probably will grow that.”