A large General Motors dealership in the Greater Toronto Area closed its doors suddenly this week, leaving customers with pre-ordered vehicles confused and frustrated.
According to CTV News, Dean Myers Chevrolet Buick GMC in Toronto’s York region was placed into receivership this week by the Royal Bank of Canada. A recent audit of the dealership conducted by the bank revealed it had been selling vehicles without making necessary payments to RBC as required under its financial agreement. The bank claims the dealer owes it $9.2 million CAD.
Exterior of Dean Myers Chevrolet Buick GMC as seen on Google Maps
A number of customers have been left high-and-dry by RBC’s action against the dealership, however. CTV spoke to one customer who had a pre-order placed for a 2020 Corvette Stingray through the dealership but is now unsure if the order will be fulfilled.
“I had put down $25,000 on my dream car, a new 2020 Corvette,” the customer, Terry Mangal, told CTV. “Now I have no idea what is happening with my money or my car.”
Another Dean Myers customer purchased a $77,000 GMC Yukon outright, only to show up at the dealer the next day to see it had been shut down.
GM Canada says it is working to shift unfulfilled sales from Dean Myers Chevrolet to other dealerships in the area. It is currently working alongside the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC), which is in charge of automotive sales regulations in the province, to resolve the matter.
“GM Canada is working with OMVIC to transition these customers to another dealer, find them another vehicle and provide goodwill reimbursements for their lost deposits,” a GM Canada spokesperson said.
Dean Myers logo
OMVIC deputy registrar Laura Halbert was confident that GM Canada would take care of its customers.
“We had positive discussions with GM Canada who expressed a willingness to evaluate each customer’s case to determine if they can assist,” she said.
OMVIC has also expressed concern over extended warranty and protection plans that may have been purchased through Dean Myers and if they will be fulfilled by GM Canada. According to CTV, OMVIC operates a compensation fund for customers who find themselves in such situations and accept claims of up to $45,000.
Photos of Dean Myers Chevrolet Buick GMC taken this week show the dealership sitting mostly empty, with a few cars inside the storefront itself and a few others parked in one far corner of the lot. A makeshift fence of tires had also been set up to block the perimeter of the lot.
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Source: CTV Toronto
Comments
“GM Canada is working with OMVIC to transition these customers to another dealer”.
So what makes this a “Major General Motors Dealer” SAM, if there are others in the area? Bait?
OMVIC deputy registrar Laura Halbert was confident that GM Canada would take care of its customers.
“We had positive discussions with GM Canada who expressed a willingness to evaluate each customer’s case to determine if they can assist,”.
Doesn’t sound as if GM is leaving anyone out to dry as the title of this article implies, is GM secretly putting outdated electronic parts into their cars (looking at you tesla).
Nice job on misleading title sam.
So the dealership only had a few cars on the lot right before it went belly-up? That right there should have been a red flag to anyone that something was amiss before they handed over any $$$.
And wouldn’t a lack of timely orders for inventory from this dealer alert GM that there was a problem?
Doesn’t add up.
Probably looked and ran like a normal operating dealership one day, the next day everything gone. The bank lawyers probably showed up at closing time and served the bankruptcy papers. It doesn’t take long to load up and go in the middle of the night. The dealers don’t “own” the cars either, it wouldn’t surprise me that the manufacturers have a plan already in place for such circumstances. If an NFL football team can pack up and go in the middle of the night, why can’t a car dealership.
We had a Ford agency in Los Angeles do this in about 1966 or so. Open for business, Film-Ad searchlights sweeping the skies to promote the new model year, big sales, but hulabaloo. Less than a week later, except for a handful of used cars and a Falcon or two, the lots and showroom were empty. No one there. It was like the Mary Celeste of car dealers.
I thought mostly charities embezzled large amounts of money.
Probably not embezzlement, but if you aren’t making enough sales and bringing enough money in, you have to decide which bills get paid, and which don’t. I’d pay my suppliers and employees before the bank as well if I had to.
Worked there for many years, the dealer owner wasn’t paying out his cars he sold to customers to RBC. RBC is owed $9.2 million because the inventory is floor planned (financed) by RBC, GM Canada will find other dealers to take the dealers new car inventory. The amount owed by Dean Myer’s owner Richard Chamberlin is closer to $1-2 million once the assets are sold. He used money to finance other ventures. OMVIC and GM will take care of customers that lost deposits etc.
Is this Chad the owner’s son…lol..the only Chad I know that worked their for many years
I worked there for two years. I think this is Chad Chamberlin, the owners son. That’s the only Chad I ever heard of. He came into Downsview Chrysler, one week after the closing. He used his name; Chad, but refused to show his license for a test drive. Chad Chamberlin is a major scammer