Ford offers dealers remodeling incentives

By Dan Gearino

The Columbus Dispatch Tuesday February 19, 2013 3:51 AM

Ford is running a special on face-lifts.

The automakers customers in this case are Ford dealers, including several in central Ohio, which plan to take advantage of the offer to cover half of the cost of remodeling, up to $1.5 million.

Bob-Boyd Ford in Lancaster and Ricart Ford in Groveport are among the franchises that have signed up for the deal, which the automaker announced last week. Dealers need to commit to the work by the end of the year to be eligible.

The opportunity is so good that You cant say no to it, said Rhett Ricart, co-owner of Ricart Ford. He will meet with architects in the next few weeks and plans to begin construction as soon as the fall.

This is a step in a larger strategy by each of the Big Three Ford, Chrysler and General Motors to modernize dealer networks that lack the uniform appearance of brands such as Honda and Toyota.

Even though Ford has improved quite a bit in the last few years, theyre not necessarily on top, said Jesse Toprak, an analyst for Truecar.com. Their products have improved, but the customer experience has a ways to go.

Ford said it will spend up to $750,000 per store, which would be matched by an equal amount from the dealer. That could lead to a substantial cost in the aggregate, considering that Ford has more than 3,000 dealerships nationwide; the company has not said how much it expects to spend.

Several central Ohio dealers recently finished big projects or are in the middle of remodeling, including Germain Ford on the Northwest Side and Krieger Ford on the North Side. They might not benefit from this new deal, but they probably received other incentives, such as interest-free loans, Ford has said.

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Ford offers dealers remodeling incentives