Former MLB players Brian Dorsett and Dorian Boyland buy and sell dealerships in Q1

Two dealerships that traded hands involved former Major League Baseball players, and a group bought its second Long Island store, all in the first quarter, while another dealer added a second store in a fourth-quarter 2022 purchase.

Here's a look at the deals involving import and domestic dealerships in Wisconsin, New York, Indiana and California.

Former MLB player Dorian Boyland sells Honda store to Rosen Automotive in Wisconsin

Jeff Rosen, CEO of Rosen Automotive Group, added a fourth store to his chain of dealerships running along 27th Street through Milwaukee and Greenfield, Wis., with the purchase of All-Star Honda from Dorian Boyland. The transaction closed Jan. 17.

The store, in the Milwaukee suburb of Greenfield, is now named Rosen Honda.

"I've always looked at getting a Honda store and it was right on my block," Rosen told Automotive News. "So I thought it was a great fit … making sure that we keep the customers in the Rosen Automotive family."

Sales and service staff have been retained, but Rosen Automotive brought in its own management team, Rosen said. The store will undergo a Honda facility image upgrade in 2024 or 2025, he added.

Along with its four stores now along 27th Street (Rosen Automotive's Kia and Nissan stores are in Milwaukee and Hyundai is in Greenfield), the group has two dealerships in the Madison, Wis., area.

Rosen said that he does not have any deals pending, but that the group is "looking to grow."

In April 2022, Rosen Automotive bought the former Francois Ford in Belleville, Wis.

Boyland, a former MLB player with the Pittsburgh Pirates, along with Daniel Kaiser, in August sold a Stellantis dealership in Oregon to Time Auto Group.

Scott Mackie, senior vice president of the Midwest region for buy-sell firm National Business Brokers in Irvine, Calif., facilitated the Honda store transaction.

JRP Auto acquires Ramp Ford in New York

JRP Auto Group, owned by John Pickett and Romaine Perkins, expanded in New York to two dealerships with the purchase of Ramp Ford in Port Jefferson Station on Long Island. The duo bought the store on Jan. 18 from Wayne Rampone Sr., Wayne Rampone Jr. and Steven Rampone.

The store was renamed Ford of Port Jeff.

Perkins told Automotive News that the Rampone family had owned the store for 78 years, but that his persistent interest was the final straw that led them to sell.

"I wouldn't stop knocking on their doors," he said. "The store was never for sale."

Leonard Bellavia, a partner in the Bellavia Blatt law firm in Mineola, N.Y., who advised the Rampones in the sale, said their decision was "driven by the blue-sky valuations at the time the deal was made."

Blue-sky value is the intangible value of a dealership, including goodwill.

All former employees were invited to stay through the transition and JRP Auto plans to renovate the store within two years, Perkins said.

JRP Auto, of Centereach, N.Y., does not have any pending transactions but is "actively looking," Perkins said.

The group's Centereach Hyundai dealership was named one of Automotive News' best dealerships to work for in 2022.

Dorsett Automotive acquires Dodge-Ram store in Indiana

Brian Dorsett, a former MLB catcher, added a third franchised store to his Dorsett Automotive Group with the acquisition of Vigo Dodge-Ram in Terre Haute, Ind.

He purchased the Western Indiana store from Michael Tom in a deal that Dorsett said closed on Jan. 23. The store is now named Dorsett Dodge-Ram.

Dorsett first played for the Cleveland Guardians (known then as the Indians) in 1987, and later for the Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs. He retired from baseball in 1997.

The Dorsett family has been in the car business since 1958, at first selling primarily used cars before expanding into franchises, Dorsett told Automotive News. Driven by a "growth mindset," the group has since acquired Nissan and Hyundai-Mitsubishi stores.

Dorsett said the group "felt like it would be good for business to have the Ram truck franchise, as well as Dodge, in the stable."

Most of the staff has been retained, while salespeople and three new managers have been added, he said.

The group does not have any transactions pending, but it is "always open" to acquisition opportunities, Dorsett said.

Wilkins adds second store in California

Jason Wilkins, of Rancho Automotive Group, and a partner, on Nov. 1 purchased Yucca Valley Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in California, from Don McCredie, according to Performance Brokerage Services, an Irvine, Calif., buy-sell firm that represented the seller in the transaction and facilitated the deal.

This is Wilkins' second dealership and first Stellantis store. He also owns Victorville Mitsubishi, which he purchased in 2020.

"The Stellantis product portfolio is a great fit for the California market, from the breadth of the Jeep portfolio to the Ram trucks and upcoming EV and [plug-in hybrid] vehicles," Wilkins, president of the Yucca Valley dealership, told Automotive News in an email. "We really like their plan moving forward and how it fits with consumer demand."

McCredie retired from the car business following the sale, according to Performance Brokerage Services. The firm said McCredie had been semiretired since 2009, but opted to get back into the business in 2020 when he purchased the Yucca Valley dealership.

Live Oak Bank handled the capital for the acquisition, which Wilkins said allowed him to leverage the real estate and dealership purchase into an attractive financing package. He also consulted with Biltmore Automotive Services throughout the transaction.

The dealership's name is now Joshua Tree Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram. The store sells approximately 360 new vehicles and 700 used vehicles annually, Wilkins said. Most of its 30 employees have been retained.

Previously, the Wilkins family owned two other dealerships, Victorville Nissan and Victorville Chevrolet-Cadillac in California, according to Performance Brokerage Services. The Nissan store was sold in 2004 while the Chevrolet-Cadillac store was sold in 2019, Wilkins said.

Wilkins said he is planning on expanding as he finds additional dealerships that align with his business plan.