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Car dealer hopes to become local favorite
by Dan Bialek
Leo Boese will soon be Manhattan Beach’s last independent car dealer.
Boese purchased Manhattan Beach Toyota from the giant Auto Nation when they left town in July, and has spent more than $500,000 refurbishing the ailing lot to compete in the 21st century car market.
"We’re trying to build the business back up. This store came with a lot of baggage and we're trying to put that behind us," Boese said.
Boese was born and attended college in Pennsylvania. He worked in American Motors factories in Philadelphia and Chicago from 1979 to 1983. In 1983, he went to work for Lou Webb, a prominent car dealer in Orange County. By 1998, Boese and Webb had built one dealership into eight. In June 1998, Auto Nation bought Webb’s dealerships from him, and Boese decided it was time for him to move on.
It took him two years to gather enough resources and to find a location to open a car dealership of his own, and when he did he decided to settle in Manhattan Beach.
Boese said car dealers usually flock to locations close to major freeways and other dealerships. However, he said that he looked forward to the challenge and to serving his new community.
City officials expect Champion Chevrolet to leave the city as soon as April for a new location closer to the 405 Freeway. This will leave Manhattan Beach Toyota as the city’s last independent car lot.
"It's the biggest challenge, but it can also be the biggest advantage. I've waited 20 years to have my own dealership. I've got too much invested in this for it not to work," Boese said.
Manhattan Toyota was one of the 10 companies given an award last month for being one of the top 10 sales tax-generating businesses in the city. Boese said that it felt good to give back to the community that he now served.
"It's a local community business. Eighty percent of our business comes from a five-mile radius. That's a lot different from a freeway store where it can be as low as 20 percent," he said. ER