Thrifty Car Sales Adds Seven New Dealerships in Six States

By: Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group | 4 Shares 121 Reads

TULSA, Okla., July 22 // PRNewswire-FirstCall // -- Thrifty Car Sales, a subsidiary of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: DTG), is adding seven new locations in six states to its national network of franchised used car dealerships. The new markets include locations in Scottsdale, Ariz.; Santa Clara, Calif.; West Palm Beach, Fl.; Twin Falls, Idaho; Melrose Park and Woodstock, Ill.; and Belgrade, MT.

In Scottsdale, Ariz., Shawn Silver of Scottsdale Motor Company is a third-generation Ford dealer from El Monte Calif. who is opening his first Thrifty Car Sales location at 707 N. Scottsdale Rd. A 2006 graduate of the NADA Dealer Academy, Silver has served as Internet Sales Manager and General Sales Manager of El Monte Ford in California. The Thrifty Car Sales dealership in Scottsdale has the capacity to display approximately 200 vehicles.

In Santa Clara, Calif., Ron Battistella opens a location at 3939 Stevens Creek Blvd. A 30-year automotive veteran in the Silicon Valley area, Battistella has previously owned Auto San Jose, Celebrity Dodge and Las Gatos and Silicon Valley Hummer. He sold the Hummer franchise to General Motors earlier this year and the property has since been converted to Thrifty Car Sales of Santa Clara. The dealership has the ability to display approximately 100 vehicles.

Howard and DoRee Garolsky are opening a Thrifty Car Sales dealership in West Palm Beach, Fl., at 71 South Military Trail, on property located about a mile away from the Palm Beach County Airport. The facility opened in June with a showroom that will accommodate six vehicles. They currently have about 50 vehicles on display and five employees, with plans to relocate to a new four-acre site just two miles away from their current location so they can expand to include a service facility. A second location is planned in the next 18 to 24 months. The Garolskys have been in the boat and auto sales business for the last 22 years.

Franchised dealer Gregg Middlekauff is opening his first Thrifty Car Sales dealership in Twin Falls, Idaho at 802 North Collage Road. He has been in the automotive business in Twin Falls for the last eight years as owner of the Ford, Honda and Mitsubishi franchises. Previously, Gregg owned and operated Middlekauff Lincoln-Mercury in Salt Lake City, Utah, for 18 years. The new Twin Falls dealership opened with a fleet of 60 cars and 5 employees.

Owners Ohanis Malkon and Steven Gjokaj are opening their first Thrifty Car Sales location in Melrose Park, Ill. Malkon got his start in the business of selling cars in 1995, having worked for Olympic Auto Mall and Gateway Chevrolet in Chicago, as well as the General Sales Manager for Rogers Sales Group, also of Chicago. His business partner Steven Gjokaj joined Rogers Auto Group in 2001, serving as Used Car Sales Manager and later as Special Finance Director. The Melrose Park dealership has the capacity to display approximately 200 vehicles and they currently have 15 employees.

In Woodstock, Ill., dealer Jim Potts of the Jim Potts Motor Group, Ltd., has opened a new location at 1033 Wanda Lane. An industry veteran with over 30 years in the automotive business, Potts opens Thrifty Car Sales with an inventory of up to 100 vehicles and 12 employees. The 10,000-square foot facility shares space with PowerSports, another one of Potts' business ventures. Potts spent 20 years with Ditardi Pontiac Buick in Woodstock and owned Mitchell Potts Lincoln Mercury in McHenry, Illinois for 12 years.

Dealer Gary Lewis has opened his second Thrifty Car Sales location in Belgrade, MT, located at 505 E. Main Street. The dealership will open with an inventory of about 50 vehicles and three employees. Lewis has a long history in the automotive and car rental industries, having operated four Thrifty Car Rental locations in Utah, including the Salt Lake City Airport location. He owns nine Thrifty Car Rental locations in Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. He is also a franchisee of Dollar Rent A Car in Billings and Belgrade/Bozeman, Montana.

"We are building a lot of momentum with the addition of new dealers and the expansion of existing Thrifty Car Sales dealers," said Jeff Cerefice, Vice President of Thrifty Car Sales. "They are strong industry players who bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and we look forward to having them on the Thrifty Car Sales team of nationally-franchised dealers."

About Thrifty Car Sales

Thrifty Car Sales is a subsidiary of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: DTG), a Fortune 1000 Company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Thrifty Car Sales, with 46 locations, franchises retail used car sales dealerships throughout the United States. Dealerships offer a wide range of late model, low mileage vehicles. Thrifty Certified(R) vehicles pass extensive inspection and are backed by a limited warranty. Thrifty Car Sales was founded in 1999.

SOURCE: Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc.

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