Manahawkin Auto Sales owner launched into the family business from the ground up

Susan Bloom

December 14, 2022 at 5:04 AM·6 min read

STAFFORD - Growing up in Brick, TJ Schultz always knew that he’d take over the family business, Manahawkin Auto Sales in the Manahawkin section of Stafford, which his father founded in the early 1960s. And since becoming owner in 1990, he’s been proud to continue his father’s legacy.

“My father Ted started Manahawkin Auto Sales in 1962,” said Schultz, 61, a lifelong Brick resident, of the former Chevrolet dealership that his dad purchased. “After he bought it, he ran it as a used car dealership until 1966, then as a Dodge car and truck dealership from 1966 until 1984, and then reverted back to a used car business, which it’s been ever since.”

As a teen, Schultz attended college prep boarding school Fork Union Military Academy in Fork Union, Virginia, on an athletic scholarship, but re-evaluated his future after a sports injury derailed his plans for college.

“I came right into the family business after graduation and began working,” said Schultz, who joined Manahawkin Auto Sales in 1984 and started from the ground up. “I learned how to detail cars, be a mechanic, and sell vehicles and ultimately became the owner in 1990.”

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Owner TJ Schultz (right) and his brother (and manager) James Schultz of Manahawkin Auto Sales, a family-owned used car dealership in the Manahawkin section of Stafford that's celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

Growing lot, growing population

In the six decades since the business was first launched, Schultz said that a number of things have changed.

For instance, “though we’re still in the same 5,000-square-foot building that we started in — the original part of which dates back to the 1940s — we ended up purchasing a lot next door, so we’re now on two acres of property,” he said.

“The area was also much quieter then; at night or in the wintertime, you could practically roll the sidewalks in,” Schultz joked. “But over time it’s become much more populated.”

That population boom ultimately led the business to scale up over the years. “When my father started out, we had about 25 to 30 cars,” Schultz said. “Today, we have more than triple that number, with anywhere from 75 to 100 vehicles in our inventory between the used cars we have for sale and others that are in the process of being reconditioned.”

Among their selection of pre-owned brands, “we carry everything from Hyundais, Kias and Mini Coopers to Mercedes, BMWs, Audis, Porsches and more,” Schultz said of vehicles that start at $10,000 and go up to about $50,000 (the price at which the dealership recently sold both a 2020 Ford passenger van and a Porsche 911).

“Our inventory also includes pickup trucks, which are currently difficult to come by, and 8 to 10 cargo vans, which are very desirable,” he said.

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Manahawkin Auto Sales, a family-owned used car dealership in the Manahawkin section of Stafford that's celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

Sourcing their vehicles largely from new car dealers that get trade-ins as well as from consumers looking to sell their cars directly, “most of our customers are from Manahawkin, Long Beach Island, Toms River, Forked River or other local towns — either in the form of repeat business, drive-bys or internet leads,” Schultz said.

“As part of our commitment to outstanding customer service, we undertake a thorough pre-delivery inspection and service process and do our absolute best to satisfy our customers," said. "For instance, while some other dealers may surprise customers with a $2,000 fee on a used car when they arrive, we don’t charge any fees except for a $299 document fee,” he said. “We have no secrets, are very transparent, and disclose everything as it relates to costs, images and Carfax specs.”

Among trends, “people still always want the vehicle they want; even trucks with big motors that use a lot of fuel are pretty hot, as are small, four-cylinder vehicles for people that need to commute and muscle cars for that slice of the market,” Schultz said. “People also want a low payment, so we offer a lot of financing options through 10 different banks, which is an important service because a car is a big-ticket purchase.”

In today’s highly connected world, “we’re on all of the internet sites and routinely ship cars to customers all over the country,” Shultz said of vehicles that they’ve sold and shipped to California, North Carolina, Florida and everywhere in between.

And while pandemic-era supply chain issues created a vehicle shortage that led used vehicle prices to rise by 30% since 2019, “used car prices have gone down nearly 15% in the last two months and that will trickle down to the retail level, so there’s hope on the horizon for the industry to return to normalcy soon,” he said. “We’re seeing inventory start to increase again.”

As for industry challenges, “getting the right merchandise — e.g., quality vehicles at decent prices so that everyone wins — takes time and is a process,” Schultz said. "And local new car dealerships were selling more used cars when they couldn’t get new cars over the last couple of years, which added additional competitive pressure.”

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Selling to generations of families

Manahawkin Auto Sales’ team of 11 to 15 employees includes Schultz’s younger brother James, a manager who joined the business in 1987 and currently oversees everything from following up on internet leads to interfacing with customers and more. As for his own typical day, which starts at 7:30 every morning six days a week, “I purchase all cars, handle the banking, oversee service and work with customers,” Schultz said.

While the hours can be long, “I don’t think I could do anything else,” Schultz said of a job he continues to love more than 30 years later. “We have a lot of repeat customers and I get a big kick out of seeing a young couple come in with their teenage child to buy them their first car and reminding the parent that we sold them their first car,” he said. “This happens at our dealership several times a month and it’s so nice and something you can’t put a price on.”

Buoyed by great reviews online, “I hope to continue this business as long as I can,” Schultz said. “We’ve been approached about selling our business many times over the years, but I’m not interested. We stand by our vehicles and love satisfying our customers and seeing them genuinely happy.”

Schultz also takes pride in following in his beloved father’s footsteps. “I have pictures of my dad all over the showroom and I quote him every day,” he said. “My dad and I were extremely close — I even lived next door to my parents for years — and my brother and I work very well together too.”

While Schultz hopes that economic conditions improve and activity returns to its pre-pandemic level, his wish for the business remains simple. “I just want Manahawkin Auto Sales to be the area’s go-to place for pre-owned cars,” he said.