Bradenton's Nissan dealership has a new name, and a new owner

Garber Automotive Group of Saginaw, Mich., has acquired the Firkins Nissan dealership, 1611 Cortez Road, and renamed it Nissan of Bradenton.

Garber, founded in 1907, has dealerships in Michigan, Illinois, New York, Georgia, and Florida. Garber's Florida dealerships are located in Green Cove Springs, Delray Beach and Fort Pierce.

New general manager Billy Buechel was still settling in Wednesday, while new signage for the dealership was being fabricated.

"We inherited a great staff, and we were able to retain most of them," Buechel said. "The company truly cares about their employees. If we don't have good employees and good customer satisfaction, we don't have a job."

The Bradenton Nissan dealership had been under the Firkins' banner since 1998. Previously, the dealership was called Gettel Nissan.

Buechel said the new ownership is prepared to substantially invest in improvements at Nissan of Bradenton.

"With every acquisition, we know we'll have to invest millions of dollars in the property," Buechel said of planned improvements in Bradenton.

"We want to make it a much better place for our employees and customers to do business," he said.

Buechel moved to the Bradenton area from Rochester, N. Y., where he worked for the Garber Automotive Group. His wife Gina and four young daughters are expected to join him here soon.

Nissan of Bradenton is situated on approximately 12 acres south of Cortez Road, and has about 500 vehicles on site. The company sells new Nissans, certified Nissan resales, fleet sales and used cars of all kinds.

"We want to make buying a car a fun, fair experience. If both parties walk away feeling good about it, that's a success," Buechel said.

As the new ownership of Nissan of Bradenton settles in, the company looks to get involved in community events.

"We believe in giving back," Buechel said.

The Manatee County Clerk of Circuit Court reported this week that Firkins Nissan Inc. had sold the dealership property to Garber Bradenton Inc. for $9,050,000. The prices that Garber paid for the business was not available Wednesday.

For more information about Nissan of Bradenton, visit https://www.nissanofbradenton.com/

For more information about the Garber Automotive Group, visit http://www.garberauto.com/.

This story was originally published May 16, 2018 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Bradenton's Nissan dealership has a new name, and a new owner."