Auto Dealerships Sold

The Bayside Automotive Group has shed several franchises that helped make it the region's second-largest dealership and has consolidated its new car inventory at Ninth and Broad streets in downtown Seattle.

Bayside's suppliers confirmed that the dealership's Toyota franchise - one of the 10 largest in the Northwest, with more than 1,000 vehicles sold last year - was sold to Brad Miller. Miller, who also owns Honda Seattle, changed the dealership's name to Toyota Seattle, said Donald Miller, general manager of the Toyota Motor Distributorship in Portland.

In addition, Bayside's Jeep-Eagle dealership was sold to Huling Bros. Buick-Chrysler-Plymouth-Chevrolet-GEO Mazda Inc. That Jeep-Eagle franchise, accounting for sales of 240 cars through November, also made Bayside one of the largest Jeep-Eagle dealerships in the Northwest, a Jeep-Eagle official said.

Bruce Leven, Bayside's principal owner, did not return a reporter's phone calls this week. A person who answered his home telephone said he would be out of the area until January. Numerous telephone calls to Bayside officials also were not returned.

Bayside's remaining franchises are Volvo, Saab, Porsche and Lotus. But a Saab regional official said the company is unhappy that the Saab franchise was moved from East Pike Street to the Ninth and Broad location without their knowledge.

"Mr. Leven relocated Saab without our consent, and we are reviewing our legal options, which we will communicate to them next week," said Steve Martin, Saab's regional parts and service manager in San Francisco.

It's unclear why Bayside sold the franchises, but auto dealers in general are struggling to stay afloat in the poor economy.

Fewer cars are being sold, and dealers' gross profit margins have fallen over the past year as they cut prices to lure buyers.

"A combination of declining volumes and profits creates a stiff situation," said Ted Orme, director of communications for the National Automobile Dealers Association in McLean, Va. "The average car dealer is not making money from new car operations. If they are in the black, it's because they are making money from used cars and parts and service."

In this environment, the big dealers, such as Bayside, are being hit the hardest, Orme said. Many have found themselves slipping deeper into debt as their sales volumes fall.

In a recent ranking of local car dealerships, Bayside ranked as the region's second-largest auto dealership, selling 3,260 cars in 1989, the last date for which figures were available. The largest was Sound Car & Truck Stores.