Sheehy Nissan will become Nissan of Richmond on Jan. 13. (Photo by Brandy Brubaker)
A prominent Short Pump car dealership has a new owner.
Sheehy Nissan at 11401 W. Broad St. will become Nissan of Richmond on Jan. 13, following a sale by Sheehy Auto Stores to two out-of-town dealers.
The new owners are Dan Banister and Patrick Dibre, who also own Nissan of Chesapeake. Dibre has three other Nissan dealerships in New Jersey and New York, Banister said.
Dan Banister
Banister, who lives in Chesapeake, said he and Dibre approached Sheehy about buying the dealership because they wanted to expand into Richmond.
“It’s a good market,” Banister said. “It’s not too close that you compete with yourself, but it’s close enough you can visit every day.”
He would not say how much they paid but said the deal includes the 35,810-square-foot building, its five acres and some of the vehicle inventory.
A Sheehy representative could not be reached for comment on the sale. Company president Vince Sheehy was unavailable for comment.
Banister said that no employees have been let go as a result of the acquisition and that he hopes to add employees within a month.
Banister will act as general manager for the first six to 12 months to get everything up to speed and then train someone to take over. He said the only difference customers might notice come Monday is a banner they will hang over the Sheehy sign to let people know about the change in ownership.
The dealership’s official name is Nissan of Richmond, but the name in their ads and signage will be the New Nissan of Richmond to stress the ownership change. Banister does the marketing himself.
“I just love coming into a new market and really turning things on its head,” he said.
The dealership’s new logo.
Sheehy announced the sale in an email to customers this week but did not include details about the new owners.
The new owners will continue to honor Sheehy’s VIP customer program, which provides oil changes, state inspections and other services. Customers who buy a new car from Nissan of Richmond will receive free oil changes, state inspections and car washes for as long as they own the vehicle, Banister said. They plan to add an express oil change service.
The Short Pump dealership was built in 2005. According to Henrico County records, Sheehy bought the property from Cappo Properties in July 2011 for $9 million. Cappo Properties operated the dealership as Victory Nissan. The property was most recently assessed at $7.18 million.
The Sheehy group still owns 18 dealerships in Virginia and Maryland. Its Richmond area locations include Sheehy Ford in Ashland, Sheehy Ford Lincoln in Richmond and Sheehy Nissan in Mechanicsville.
Another local dealership recently changed names: The Mercedes-Benz dealership at 8225 W. Broad St. – which operated for almost 60 years under the David R. McGeorge Car Co. name – became “Mercedes-Benz of Richmond” on Nov. 15.
Sheehy Nissan will become Nissan of Richmond on Jan. 13. (Photo by Brandy Brubaker)
A prominent Short Pump car dealership has a new owner.
Sheehy Nissan at 11401 W. Broad St. will become Nissan of Richmond on Jan. 13, following a sale by Sheehy Auto Stores to two out-of-town dealers.
The new owners are Dan Banister and Patrick Dibre, who also own Nissan of Chesapeake. Dibre has three other Nissan dealerships in New Jersey and New York, Banister said.
Dan Banister
Banister, who lives in Chesapeake, said he and Dibre approached Sheehy about buying the dealership because they wanted to expand into Richmond.
“It’s a good market,” Banister said. “It’s not too close that you compete with yourself, but it’s close enough you can visit every day.”
He would not say how much they paid but said the deal includes the 35,810-square-foot building, its five acres and some of the vehicle inventory.
A Sheehy representative could not be reached for comment on the sale. Company president Vince Sheehy was unavailable for comment.
Banister said that no employees have been let go as a result of the acquisition and that he hopes to add employees within a month.
Banister will act as general manager for the first six to 12 months to get everything up to speed and then train someone to take over. He said the only difference customers might notice come Monday is a banner they will hang over the Sheehy sign to let people know about the change in ownership.
The dealership’s official name is Nissan of Richmond, but the name in their ads and signage will be the New Nissan of Richmond to stress the ownership change. Banister does the marketing himself.
“I just love coming into a new market and really turning things on its head,” he said.
The dealership’s new logo.
Sheehy announced the sale in an email to customers this week but did not include details about the new owners.
The new owners will continue to honor Sheehy’s VIP customer program, which provides oil changes, state inspections and other services. Customers who buy a new car from Nissan of Richmond will receive free oil changes, state inspections and car washes for as long as they own the vehicle, Banister said. They plan to add an express oil change service.
The Short Pump dealership was built in 2005. According to Henrico County records, Sheehy bought the property from Cappo Properties in July 2011 for $9 million. Cappo Properties operated the dealership as Victory Nissan. The property was most recently assessed at $7.18 million.
The Sheehy group still owns 18 dealerships in Virginia and Maryland. Its Richmond area locations include Sheehy Ford in Ashland, Sheehy Ford Lincoln in Richmond and Sheehy Nissan in Mechanicsville.
Another local dealership recently changed names: The Mercedes-Benz dealership at 8225 W. Broad St. – which operated for almost 60 years under the David R. McGeorge Car Co. name – became “Mercedes-Benz of Richmond” on Nov. 15.