Williamsburg auto dealership closes after 30 years in business

Paul Steely, owner of Paul Steely Ford, purchased the first ever Ford Explorer sold on his lot. On Sept. 11, he bought the last Ford Explorer and last vehicle that was sold by the dealership.

About 3:30 p.m. on 9-11, Paul Steely and his son, Paul David Steely, called Ford to inform the company that they were closing the dealership, which they had owned and operated for nearly 30 years.

They kept the service department open for another week or so to finish work that they had promised people, but otherwise the dealership is no more.

"If we felt like that next week or next month the economy would change for the better and there is plenty of room for it to change for the better, then we would probably be staying on," Paul Steely said.

"We have been studying this situation for several weeks, and the economy is difficult. Financial institutions have tightened up a lot and we feel like the time has come."

Had the dealership been selling a different brand of vehicle, Paul David said it would probably still be closing.

"My personal thought is the economy is just the economy," he said. "Every single car maker that I am familiar with is struggling mightily. Toyota is struggling. They have a whole set of problems they have never had before.

"Obviously, General Motors and Chrysler are struggling. I don’t know a brand out there right now that is bulletproof. Every single one has issues."

Paul Steely noted that he thinks there will be more dealerships closing down than there will be opening up in the foreseeable future.

"In a way, I am proud that we ended up being the last new car dealership in the county," Paul David said. "It took a lot persistence and tenacity on our part to end up being the last one here."

Paul Steely said he could recall the days when downtown Williamsburg had Ford, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, and Chrysler dealerships all within about two blocks of each other.

"It is a different world today," he added.

He said people tend to be loyal to a particular brand and that having all the other competition didn’t really affect business too much.

"I don’t think we ever suffered because of our competitors or gained from their departure," Paul David said. "I think it was almost a mute point. We couldn’t tell any difference from when they were here until when they left."

Paul Steely, who is 79, said that he and his wife, Stella, plan to take a trip to the lake, but other than that have no definite plans.

Paul David Steely, 55, who is a former Kentucky Aviation Commissioner, said he plans to continue doing some consulting work related to aviation.

"We are trying to keep our eyes on the future, but we are trying to approach it one day at a time. We don’t know what tomorrow or the next day will be like until we get there," Paul Steely said.

Starting business

"We started off running a service station here in Williamsburg on Jan. 15, 1979. We have been in business in Williamsburg for 30 years in eight months," Paul David Steely said.

"We never missed a payroll," added Paul Steely.

The family got into the business of selling Ford automobiles 28 years and two months ago.

"It was Paul David’s idea," recalled the elder Steely.

"Sorry about that," his son said laughing while sitting at the nearly empty dealership a week after the decision was made to close.

Paul David Steely said that he had lived in Williamsburg his whole life and wanted to stay here, which is one of the things that prompted him to suggest that they open an automobile dealership.

"I felt like the Ford business would be a good business that I could get into and raise a family and provide a service to the community," he said.

At the time, both drove Ford trucks and used Ford trucks at their service station in Williamsburg and their body shop off Cumberlands Falls Highway.

Secret to success

Paul Steely said that the secret for maintaining a business 30 years is hard work and desire.

"I think living here in the community and being available 24 hours a day helped," he said. "A lot of times we would get calls after closing time."

The owners often opened up shop after hours to accommodate people that worked during the day and couldn’t make it to look at vehicles until after hours.

Paul Steely added that he always tried to make car deals so that he could go to church on Sunday and sit side by side with someone he sold a vehicle to without having a guilty feeling.

"Our names were in the phone book and we never had unlisted numbers. People knew right where they could find us," Paul David Steely noted.

"We always tried our very best to treat customers good because we live here and live with our customers. We were unique in that nature. We just had the persistence to keep on trucking."

Dual-edged sword

Technology and economics are two big changes that the dealership has seen over the last 30 years.

Paul David Steely said computers have played a big role whether it be instantly calculating a customer’s monthly payments or building cars better than ever.

Technology has been a dual-edged sword for the industry though.

Paul David Steely said that dealership had to sell more vehicles per month now to break even than it did when they started and one big reason is technology.

"25 years ago, you didn’t have all these certification processes. Vehicles weren’t as complicated and you didn’t have to have as much training or certification. It wasn’t as complicated to do the bookkeeping," he said.

"Now, you probably do have to sell more cars. There are more requirements on you today than there were several years ago."
Another reason dealers have to sell more cars is that some of the costs have been transferred to individual dealers.

For instance, years ago, Ford provided signs for its dealers. Paul David Steely estimated that dealership probably has $40,000 tied up in its signs today.

Economy still struggling

Paul Steely said he doesn’t know whether the recession is over, but that there is still a period of economic hard times.
For his money, the younger Steely doesn’t think the recession is over, but he hopes that we are trending out of it at least.

"We’re not out of the recession. We can’t be. There’s no way," Paul David Steely said. "2008 was just a brutal year in the car industry.

"The economy is still pretty much in the dumps right now. Right now, I wouldn’t have any idea whether there is light at the end of the tunnel or not. I hope there is. I’d like to see the economy pick up."

Cash for Clunkers

Paul David Steely said that Cash for Clunkers didn’t impact the business much.

"As a whole, Cash for Clunkers is not a program that the government really should have been involved in," he said. "Any time the government gets involved with business, it is not a good thing.

"I think the federal government needs to remove itself from any kind of business. Having the government involved in business is not good for taxpayers."

Paul Steely said a lot of dealerships are still waiting for their money to come from the government, which has put some in a bind.

He said the government also seemed to have missed its target with the program especially because many of the vehicles sold were foreign made.

Over 7,000 vehicles sold

While they haven’t kept track of the total vehicles sold in nearly 30 years of business, Paul David Steely estimates that the dealership has sold over 7,000.

At one time, the family employed about 20 people between the service station and the dealership.

The numbers have declined some.

Over the past year, the company worked to downsize trying to stay afloat, but without success.

So what was their favorite vehicle that they ever sold?

For Paul Steely it is the Ford Explorer, while Paul David is partial to the F series trucks. Paul David’s wife, Brenda, was partial to the two-seat Thunderbirds.

Paul David Steely said he and his family tried to play as positive a role in the community as they could.

"I hope that the community is better off because we were here and had our interest here rather than us living in Louisville or Lexington or something like that," he said. "I hope we are leaving the county in better shape than it would have been if we hadn’t been here. We are leaving this business, but we still want this community and region to prosper and do well."

Good memories

Brenda Steely said the family is leaving the business with a lot of good memories of customers and employees.
While many customers lived in Williamsburg, several also lived out of town and came to the dealership when they wanted to trade for a new car. There was a lot of repeat business.

"We’ve had some very fine, valued customers and relationships over the years and we appreciate every one of them," Paul Steely said.

They say signs located outside the dealership sum up their feelings the best. "Closed, but thanks to the best customers in the world."