TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Suncoast Pasco News

Castriota Chevrolet Buying Former Gateway Honda Lot

Robert Hibbs/SUNCOAST NEWS

The former home of Gateway Honda, at U.S. 19 and Ridge Road in Port Richey, has been purchased by Castriota Chevrolet and is reopening as a used car lot.

ADVERTISEMENT

By KLINT LOWRY | The Suncoast News

Published: May 30, 2008

PORT RICHEY - As one auto manufacturer liked to say in its sales ads, "There's never been a better time to buy."

Castriota Chevrolet is taking that time-honored sales pitch to heart. While the local economy goes through dark times, the dealership at 12930 U.S. 19, Hudson, is seeing a silver lining and is expanding.

Castriota Chevrolet has purchased an automotive sales lot at 8425 U.S. 19 and plan to have it refurbished and up and running again within the month, selling pre-owned vehicles from that location.

The car lot in the southwestern corner of the U.S. 19-Ridge Road intersection was for decades the home of Gateway Honda. Gateway, however, built a larger sales and service facility on the eastern side of the highway and moved.

The lot and showroom on the west side of the highway has sat empty and ever since Gateway made its move, in 2004.

"It's a very viable location," Tom Castriota, owner of Castriota Chevrolet, said of the site at one of West Pasco's busiest crossroads.

Castriota is breaking in its new facility with a three-day used vehicle sale May 30 and 31 and June 1.

Castriota said the sale will most likely coincide with the hours at Castriota Chevrolet, from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. May 30, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 31 and noon to 5 p.m. June 1.

The same will hold true when the facility is completely up and running, as the idea is for the new location to be the perfect complement to the operation in Hudson, Castriota said.

"That's the whole philosophy for us," he said.

His main dealership in Hudson brings in a lot of trade-ins, Castriota explained. In fact, there are too many to keep on the lot there. In the past, his only option has been to unload the excess vehicles at commercial auto auctions.

But as the budgets of potential new vehicle buyers tighten, locking them into payments on a new Suburban with a price tag between $40,000 and $55,000 is a harder sell when they can get one that's a couple of years old but in good shape for $15,000.

Also, Castriota said, the trade-ins he gets come in all makes and models. When a person visits a dealership to look at new Chevys, they aren't thinking about used Fords or Toyotas. The best option is to have a separate facility.

When the folks at Gateway Honda put the property up for sale, Castriota saw it as the right opportunity at the right time. The location at U.S. 19 and Ridge Road is one of the best spots for a dealership in all of western Pasco County, he said.

It will take a couple of weeks to get the offices back in shape. In a few months, the plan is for the dealership to have its own service department, as well.

Meanwhile, the weekend sale will be a nice way to introduce themselves to the neighborhood.

"We have offsite sales two or three times a year," Castriota said. "The difference this time is we can do it on our own property."

Klint Lowry can be reached at 727-815-1067 or klowry@suncoastnews.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT