Newark Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram of Delaware was sold by Gary Hendrixson, Sr. and Gary Hendrixson, Jr. to Charles Burton and MJ Lofland of i.g. Burton Auto Group.
Newark Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram had been family-owned and operated for more than 40 years. The dealership was established by Gary Hendrixson, Sr. in 1980, and has been under the leadership of Gary Hendrixson, Jr. since 2000.
Following the sale, the elder Hendrixson said, “After 42 years in the automotive business, I was ready to move to the next phase of my life.” He went on to praise Performance Brokerage Services for their work in putting the deal together.
Over the last five years, Performance Brokerage Services has advised on the sale of over 300 dealerships.
i.g. Burton is one of the oldest automotive dealers in the United States. Fred Burton and his father, Captain Theodore Burton, began selling automobiles in 1908 out of their family’s general store in Millsboro. The Burton family has been adding dealerships and has now made its first purchase north of the C&D Canal.
Today, the company operates under the leadership of Charles Burton, president and fifth-generation owner, and has expanded to include 10 brands with other locations in Smyrna, Milford, Seaford and Berlin, MD.
The recently purchased dealership will remain at its current location at 244 East Cleveland Avenue in Newark.
The auto dealership business in Delaware is seeing one-owner stores disappear. Multi-unit dealerships are able to offer larger inventories that provide an advantage as a shortage of new vehicles remains an issue.
Buyers have been Delmarva-based dealership groups than include the Hertrich family, which has built one of the region’s largest dealership groups.
Northern Delaware’s other Jeep, Ram dealer Brandywine was earlier sold to the Preston Automotive Group based on Delmarva.
