Three Bristol, Tenn., dealerships owned by longtime dealer Bill Gatton have sold to different buyers.
On Jan. 31, Umansky Automotive Group, of Memphis, Tenn., bought Bill Gatton Honda and renamed it Bristol Honda, said the group’s owner, Dan Umansky. It marks the retailer’s first dealership in the city, he said.
“That’s a Tennessee market we’ve been looking to get into,” Dan Umansky told Automotive News. “This makes our fifth Honda store.”
Umansky said his group has dealerships across California, Wisconsin, Virginia, Mississippi and Tennessee. In June, the group bought five dealerships in California.
Dutch Miller Auto Group, of Huntington, W.Va., on Jan. 31 acquired Bill Gatton Nissan, group CFO Brad Blake confirmed. The dealership is now called Dutch Miller Nissan of Bristol.
It’s also the first store in the area for Dutch Miller, which in addition to dealerships in West Virginia has a presence in Charlotte, N.C., according to its website.
Gatton also sold his Bill Gatton Chevrolet dealership, to dealer Steve Harrell II, said dealership sales manager Tim Cox. The transaction, which closed Feb. 4, didn’t include Gatton’s Cadillac franchise. The dealership was renamed Bristol Chevrolet.
Harrell also owns Johnson City Nissan and Oak Ridge Nissan, both in Tennessee, and Town Center Nissan in Kennesaw, Ga., Cox said.
The Bristol Herald Courier newspaper reported on the dealership sales Feb. 5.