Skyline Ford's Commercial Street footprint grows, dealership to expand services

The owners of Skyline Ford on Commercial Street SE have purchased the property next door, enabling them to expand, consolidate operations and better serve customers.

The family-owned dealership, serving Salem for more than 60 years, will relocate its overstock and used cars outlet and separate detail shop to the new property at 2650 Commercial, the former Withnell Dodge location.

"Most car dealers have outgrown their facilities," said Jim Donofrio, president of Donofrio LLC, which also owns the Mercedes-Benz and Acura dealerships across the street and Skyline Ford in Keizer. "Our service capacity is just maxed."

One of the main motivations behind the deal was to expand its Mercedes Sprinter van service. The purchase more than doubles Skyline Ford's overall service capacity in South Salem. The dealership also plans to open a fleet service center at the new location.

The sale was finalized on Friday. Financial details were not disclosed, although everyone involved agreed it could not have happened without the friendship and history between the Donofrio and Withnell families.

"We did it the old-fashioned way, kind of on a handshake," Donofrio said. "Deals don't happen that way anymore. If anything, we kind of had to talk our attorneys down."

Property deal 'just made sense'

The Donofrios are third-generation owners of Skyline Ford. Jim's father, Don, bought the dealership in 1962. His son B.J. and daughter Ali now have ownership stakes. B.J. is the vice president, and Ali manages the business operations.

"I always tell everybody B.J. makes the money, Ali counts it," Jim said.

The Withnells are second-generation car dealers in Salem. Dick Withnell bought Teague Dodge in 1980, put the family name on it in the mid-1990s, then sold the business to son David in 2002.

David Withnell, as Withnell Motor Company, continues to operate Withnell Hyundai on Mission Street. As part of the deal, he acquired the property next door at 1940 Mission St. SE, where Skyline has kept its overstock and sold used cars.

The deal was nearly a year in the making — before David Withnell decided to sell the Dodge/Ram franchise in March. His parents still owned the property, and he wanted to protect their interests, so he discussed a business opportunity with B.J. Donofrio.

"We talked several times throughout the year to put the deal together," David Withnell said. "It came to fruition pretty much from what we originally discussed. We both bettered our operations, having the properties next door to what we already had. It just made sense."

Longevity and success among local families

Both fathers and sons recently sat around a conference table and spoke to the Statesman Journal about the deal and how the business has changed.

The sons took different routes, following in the footsteps of their fathers.

B.J. Donofrio seemed destined at a young age, able to best his dad at a game of "What kind of car is that?" on the freeway. David Withnell didn't get the bug until after college but was just as much a natural in the business.

"I think we were both blessed that our kids happened to be really good at what we were pretty good at," Jim Donofrio said. "It's really unusual in the car business to have a second generation actually survive in this business because it is not easy. You have a lot of sleepless nights."

Two other families have also enjoyed similar longevity and success — the Casebeers and the Robersons. The Casebeers' Capitol Auto Group includes Subaru, Chevrolet, Toyota and Cadillac dealerships. Roberson Motors' dealerships include Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram.

"There's four of us, which is unbelievable, who have survived in the car business in this town, going generation to generation," Jim Donofrio said.

Friendly competition spurs business for all

The Donofrios and Withnells have been vying for the attention of car buyers on Commercial Street for more than four decades.

"There was a ton of competition," Jim Donofrio said. "But there's always been a ton of respect. We’ve all remained friends in a very, very competitive business, which is kind of cool."

The fathers come from a generation when all 13 or so dealers in Salem met regularly. They would talk business, socialize and team up for philanthropic causes.

Dick Withnell said they believed if the community was viable and other dealers were successful, they all would be successful. They even marketed events together.

"We had truck wars in the 80s," he said. "We were shirttail, hanging behind the Fords, but it really drove traffic."

B.J. Donofrio said he never looked at it as competition between local dealers.

"I always felt like Salem competed against everybody else," he said, recalling when out-of-town dealers beefed up advertising in the area.

Local dealers countered with a "Buy Salem," campaign, using the same license plate inserts on their cars.

The regular meetings among owners faded in the early 2000s to once every couple of months. Attendance dropped as out-of-towners and public-owned corporations scooped up some of the local dealerships.

B.J. Donofrio noted how family-owned locations across the country are dwindling, a fact shared when he attended a recent Ford meeting, and how being family-owned creates a different atmosphere.

"The employees are treated differently," his dad said, "if the owner is still going to the store and giving everybody a hug."

Skyline Ford invests in the future

The new property will allow Skyline Ford to centralize operations, making it more convenient for employees, not just customers.

The dealership has about 160 employees at the Commercial Street location.

Added space will allow Skyline to better serve more customers, especially in the service department. The current layout is cramped, with limited parking.

The Donofrios also hope to fill a need in Salem, offering a fleet service center that can handle volume and quick turnaround for businesses with multiple vehicles for delivery services or employee sales and travel.

"We have the market and the customers to do it," Jim Donofrio said. "We want to offer to customers in town who have fleets a place where they can drop off their cars on Friday and pick them up on Monday when they're all done. This gives us room to be able to do that."

Some work and retrofitting will be done to the former Dodge site before Skyline Ford fully moves in and installs signage. But this weekend, the plan is to move cars from Mission Street to the new property.

Capi Lynn is a 34-year veteran reporter and columnist at the Statesman Journal. She can be reached at 503-399-6710 or clynn@StatesmanJournal.com,

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Skyline Ford's Commercial Street footprint grows, dealership to expand