Toyota dealership under new ownership

The Glacier Toyota name still rides high over the showroom and car lot along U.S. 93 at the south end of Kalispell.

But the business is three months into its new identity as Kalispell Toyota.

Gerrid Gandrud bought the Toyota dealership from DePratu Ford Volkswagen in October in a move that accommodated Bob DePratu's retirement and Gandrud's move from Rhinelander, Wis.

"The opportunity to come to an area like Kalispell is pretty desirable," Gandrud said. He and his wife moved to the Flathead in September.

He's been in car dealerships for 15 years, ever since he started washing cars as a 16-year-old in Wisconsin. He spent 3 1/2 years at a Bozeman dealership just before heading back to Wisconsin.

As general manager of a dealership in Rhinelander for the past four years, he managed five lines of GM products as well as Toyota vehicles.

"Toyota's got a reputation in the industry as being a very, very high-quality product and people are pleased with the product," he said. "And besides, look at this facility."

Gandrud said a new sign is on order from corporate headquarters, but Kalispell Toyota will have to wait until a new sign is ready for a Billings dealership so they both can be installed in one trip.

Sales at Kalispell Toyota are up about 15 percent over the same time last year, Gandrud said, following a national trend with the auto maker.

"And we're positioned well. Anytime you take over a new store, Toyota gives you an additional allocation of vehicles," he said. "They're typically hard to come by."

That helped bring his new inventory to about 115 vehicles on the lot, he said, along with about 120 used vehicles.

"We're definitely going to see growth in 2008," Gandrud said.

He's a member of the Rydell Group, which has 45 dealerships in the Midwest and on the West Coast. The members deal in all makes, not just Toyota, and support each other in building their businesses. Gandrud, as the new owner, comes in as a partial owner but, within three or four years will become the full owner.

Gandrud kept the existing staff of about 40 people when he took over the local Toyota operation, and now employs 47 people.

He said Kalispell Toyota will follow the Rydell Group philosophy.

"There's two things we base our business on - high volume and customer satisfaction," he said. The bottom line is to "just sell a whole bunch and be fair to people on a consistent basis."

The system of paying sales people on a per-car ratio, he said, encourages that fairness instead of trying to make a high-dollar commission off just a few vehicles.