Melloy bets on Los Lunas auto trifecta
LOS LUNAS – The Melloy Auto Group based in Albuquerque recently bought the tri-dealership complex here that used to house the Brad Francis Automotive Group.
Negotiations began in February and the deal closed in August, said Pat Melloy, who is running the Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge dealerships.
Francis owned and operated the dealerships for 18 years.
“Putting this together, it’s a big deal,” Melloy said of Francis’ operation. “And he did a good job putting it together. It was a very friendly transaction. We disagreed on a few things but for the most part, it went really smooth.”
The chance to expand into Valencia County — where Melloy’s father and uncle first started with a Studebaker dealership in Belen in the 1950s – was too irresistible, he said.
“The biggest opportunity that we saw, there’s all three American brands on the same campus and there is nowhere in New Mexico that you can show all three brands in one spot,” Melloy said. “Even though this isn’t the Albuquerque market, it’s so close, we think we can compete and pull Albuquerque buyers.”
After getting settled in, however, the game plan has shifted some.
“Our plans have changed,” he said. “I didn’t realize how big Los Lunas is. We’re not even looking at pulling in the Albuquerque customer today. We just want to take care of the Los Lunas and Valencia County community.”
The Melloy family also owns Advantage Dodge, Ram, Chrysler, Jeep, Fiat in Farmington; and in Albuquerque, Fiat of Albuquerque, Alfa Romeo of Albuquerque, Melloy Dodge, Melloy Nissan, Melloy Honda; as well as two Auto Max Truck and Car centers, one in Albuquerque and a second in Farmington, which specializes in used Dodge, Toyota, Chevrolet, Jeep and Ford vehicles.
But this was a major acquisition for the group.
“It’s the biggest one we’ve taken on, but it’s just an incredible opportunity,” Melloy said. “There’s definitely risk to it but we’re absolutely willing to take that risk because we think we can sell a lot of cars.”
Sales were about as expected in August and on target to rise about 10 to 15 percent this month, he said.
“So it’s growing at the pace we anticipated,” Melloy said. “We think it’s going to be spring of next year before it’s where we think it’s going to be where we can take it.”