Heidi Pehl, president of five-rooftop I-5 Cars in Chehalis, Wash., said her dealership group has sold a few vehicles under the limited-sales criteria, including a Toyota truck to a firefighter whose vehicle was totaled.
With 40 percent of her staff laid off, Pehl is hopeful the state will allow more auto sales.
“We absolutely would not jeopardize anyone’s health, including myself and my people that work for me,” she said.
“This is a need. And it goes beyond the dealer. It goes to the city and the counties and the state revenues.”
In Pennsylvania, where there has been confusion among the state’s 880 new-vehicle dealers since Wolf on March 19 ordered the closure of non-life-sustaining businesses, including showrooms, dealers have asked for exemptions to sell vehicles.
Rob Cochran, CEO of the #1 Cochran group with about two dozen rooftops in Pennsylvania, applied for one. He said the state indicated that dealerships could sell online, but sales paperwork requirements can’t be completed…
