After being a top 10 performer in the country, as well as the No. 1 Kia dealer in Ohio, Bill Doraty Kia is expanding.
“We outgrew the building,” Kia sales manager Nikolaus Nageotte said.
Kia Motors is undergoing a 50 percent expansion to its building at 2925 Medina Road in Medina Township.
“From what I read, every three years, as its products grow, Kia tries to keep it fresh in everyone’s minds,” Nageotte said. “Now, you have a new owner and basically a new face for the dealership. This is going to be one of the most modern dealerships Kia has right now, as far as a new face for our building. The whole lot is getting remodeled.”
The outlet’s new owner is Chris Lucas of Automax Motor Group, which is doing business under the name Bill Doraty Kia.
“Bill Doraty is still in the picture,” Nageotte said. “He’s still in the automotive industry.”
However, he has left the day-to-day operation at the Medina Township location.
Doraty, a 1987 graduate of Medina High School, now owns a Kia dealership in Grand Rapids, Mich., Nageotte said.
“(His name is) well known in Medina,” he said.
The dealership wants to continue to take advantage of Doraty’s name recognition.
“He’s been a big contributor to the Medina community,” Nageotte said.
Nageotte graduated from Medina High in 1988. He’s been an employee at Doraty Kia for nine years.
“I was here when (Doraty) first opened up in 2006,” he said. “Any time you change things, it’s exciting, especially in this business. You don’t want to sit stagnant. You have to have change in order to have success.”
He said successful dealerships have to stay current and fresh and spend a lot of money advertising their products.
“Just up and down this road, you have Medina Auto Mall,” Nageotte said. “You have Nissan across the street. Mitsubishi is going in across the street (state Route 18).”
Doraty Kia hopes to bring potential customers in the door via advertising. It has major ad campaigns on radio and television and uses other means, including the mail.
“The Internet plays a huge part of it,” Nageotte said. “Obviously, everyone is on their phone and on their computer so much these days. They search the Web, find out the vicinity, look at the reputation of the dealership, and make their decision where to go.”
Nageotte said the expansion is scheduled to be done by March.
It’s no coincidence it will be just in time for the Cleveland Auto Show at the I-X Center in Brook Park.
He said costs of the revitalization could run as high as $5 million.
Nageotte said there are about 70 full-time employees at the dealership, including the service department.
He said the outlet sells about 250 new and used cars per month.
“Primarily, we’ve always tried to distinguish ourselves as a new-car dealership,” he said. “We do sell used cars. We’re going in the direction of selling new and used cars right now.
“Now, it’s more used than in the past. Everyone is under the (motto): ‘This is the first place I look at. Hopefully, it will be the last place I look.’ If they can’t go into a new Kia, maybe I have a new Honda or a new Ford they can take a look at.”
The plan is to soon pour asphalt in the parking area in front of the showroom and the construction crew is moving quickly on the new showroom, he said.
“It’s incredible to watch,” Nageotte said. “It’s amazing. Every day we look out front and something new is going on.”
Doraty Kia now will have room to showcase its new models.
“One reason we had to expand was we didn’t have room to put cars in our showroom any more,” he said. “We had to hire the staff to take care of the people. Back in 2006, we had only 10 to 12 salespeople. We became so big, we had to hire more staff. Kia requires that you have cars in your showroom. Thus, we’re building a new showroom.”
He said there are 18 salespeople with the company.
Behind the showroom, they will add 10 more bays to the service department. They also are building a car wash.
Nageotte said Kia will continue its car giveaway for graduating seniors. Doraty Kia gave away cars to students from six Medina County high schools last summer. All but Wadsworth High School participated in the program.
“They all got keys,” he said. “Whichever one opens the door, they get a free car.”
The other five get a three-year lease.
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