HONESDALE, PA — On October 21, after more than five decades of selling cars in Honesdale, the partners of B&B Dodge sold their Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram franchise to Dunhill Auto Group Ltd., headquartered in New Jersey. 

The new business will be named Honesdale Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and will sell both new and used cars.

The two Carmody brothers, Steve Carmody Sr., the general manager, and John Carmody, the service manager, are retiring. 

Steve Carmody Jr., the third B&B partner, will stay on as general manager, and Steve Bates has stepped up as the new service manager. 

In addition, the new owners indicate they will keep the company’s longtime employees.  

These days, the most important thing on the two brothers’ minds is sending a heartfelt “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” to their many loyal customers and employees.  

How did they come to the decision to sell and retire? As Steve Sr. tells it, “A year ago, around May or June, I’d had a bad day at the office, and I said to John, ‘Do you want to sell?’ and John replied, ‘Yep.’ A few days later it was still ‘yep.’” 

Steve Jr. also agreed to sell. 

Contributing to their decision, Steve Sr. observed, “After 53 years of doing the same thing, it’s time.” He pointed to the “challenges of our changing times and the way the automobile business runs these days.” 

First, there’s the ever-present technology part. “Basically today, you’re driving a computer,” he observed. “Now our mechanics use a laptop to diagnose your vehicle.” 

In addition, sales relationships have changed too, thanks in part to the internet. “The customers are already well informed when they walk in the door. They’ve already seen all the documentation online and mostly know what they want.” 

Then there’s the personal contact within the corporate structure that’s different too, Steve reported, reminiscing about the one-on-one relationship auto industry icon Lee Iacocca—creator of the Dodge minivan—had with his dealership owners from the late 1970s on. 

To sell B&B Dodge, the Carmodys turned to Performance Brokerage Services of New Jersey to help find the right buyer and facilitate the sale. And find them, they did, in “a couple of guys from New Jersey who grew up in the used-car business,” Steve said. 

Their first used-car lot opened 20 years ago in Avenel, NJ. Today Dunhill Auto Group sells Mitsubishis in Quakertown, PA, Chevys in Queens, NY, and has sales lots in South Amboy, New Brunswick, and Linden, NJ. A look online shows an extensive choice of used cars at every price point. 

Jonathan Korkowski, executive manager of Dunhill, who’s in Honesdale working on the business transition, discussed their goal for the parent company’s newest dealership. “We’re looking to offer a stable price point for this community. Whether it’s parents with high school kids or when the kids are gone and they’re looking for a nicer vehicle, we’re going to bring a car that’s available and accessible to everyone. We believe in selling to the mass, not the class. We’re good at finding the price point.” 

What plans do Steve and John have for retirement? Steve is looking forward to visiting family in Utah, enjoying his family’s condo in Myrtle Beach, and playing golf with his wife. John mentioned doing some travel and pursuing his hobby of flying his plane out of Cherry Ridge Airport. 

Steve summed up 50 years on the job at B&B this way: “I always enjoyed coming to work, and so I’m really going to miss our customers and employees. They’re like family. This was always more than just a job.”

Both brothers voiced agreement about their parting message: extending thanks to their many customers, employees and the wider local community for 50-plus years of meeting local car buyers’ needs.