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Weaver Truck and Auto Center fended off an attempt by a lender to seize its vehicles on Idaho-Maryland Road, Grass Valley.
To coin a phrase from Mark Twain, rumors of the demise of Weaver Truck and Auto Center are greatly exaggerated, owner Tom Weaver said.
A court hearing Friday involving Weaver and General Motors Acceptance Corp. resulted in Superior Court Judge Thomas Anderson turning back an attempt by the lending company to seize 125 vehicles it finances on Weaver’s lot.
“I’m here for the long haul,” Weaver said Friday, adding that he remains the No. 5 Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealer, ranked by sales, in a region stretching from Fresno to the Oregon border. “I’m not going anywhere.”
At Friday’s hearing, Anderson also signed a temporary restraining order, which GMAC had requested, “reminding us of the rules of the game,” Weaver said. There will be no change to his financial arrangements with the corporation, he said.
Weaver also is refinancing the loan on his new, $10 million dealership on Idaho-Maryland Road, he said.
The latest developments are good news for the City of Grass Valley, which is facing falling sales tax revenues as a result of the economic downturn and a $640,000 budget shortfall this year.
Weaver contributes between $190,000 and $210,000 yearly in sales taxes to city coffers, City Administrator Dan Holler said. The dealership is one of the largest generators of tax revenue.
“The revenues generated by their operation go toward payment of a number of city services,” city Community Development Director Joe Heckel added.
Weaver also pays hefty monthly interest payments to GMAC in financing to keep his inventory, and he is current in his payments, he said.
“The judge said, ‘Do you owe them money?’ No,” Weaver said. “I said to them (the GMAC representatives at the hearing), I don’t owe you money. I pay every month.
Why are you so afraid?’”
A hearing is set for later this month for what Weaver believes is the motivation for GMAC’s attempt to take the vehicles: He will have to put a substantial sum into the business’ account by the time of the hearing to satisfy jittery officials at the financial corporation. GMAC isn’t singling out Weaver — it is taking this action nationwide because of the credit crisis.
Weaver said he has access to funds but did not want to tap them.
“Everyone in the credit market is scared to death,” Weaver said.
GMAC is the former lending division of General Motors Corp. and finances billions of dollars in car and house loans. GM sold a majority stake in the unit in 2006 to a consortium headed by Cerberus Capital Management and banks. Cerberus also bought Chrysler.
The slowdown in the credit markets has plagued GMAC and Chrysler since late last year. But a Cerberus report in February considered GMAC the more vulnerable of the two.
Even if he ended his relationship with GMAC, he can get credit elsewhere, Weaver said.
Auto sales are down everywhere, but the credit crisis is forcing hundreds of dealerships around the country to the brink: As many as 700 could close by the end of the year, the National Automobile Dealers Association projected.
Six large dealerships have closed in the Bay Area, or dealerships have dropped their GM line; Maita Ford closed recently in Auburn.
To contact City Editor Trina Kleist, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or cal 477-4230.
A court hearing Friday involving Weaver and General Motors Acceptance Corp. resulted in Superior Court Judge Thomas Anderson turning back an attempt by the lending company to seize 125 vehicles it finances on Weaver’s lot.
“I’m here for the long haul,” Weaver said Friday, adding that he remains the No. 5 Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealer, ranked by sales, in a region stretching from Fresno to the Oregon border. “I’m not going anywhere.”
At Friday’s hearing, Anderson also signed a temporary restraining order, which GMAC had requested, “reminding us of the rules of the game,” Weaver said. There will be no change to his financial arrangements with the corporation, he said.
Weaver also is refinancing the loan on his new, $10 million dealership on Idaho-Maryland Road, he said.
The latest developments are good news for the City of Grass Valley, which is facing falling sales tax revenues as a result of the economic downturn and a $640,000 budget shortfall this year.
Weaver contributes between $190,000 and $210,000 yearly in sales taxes to city coffers, City Administrator Dan Holler said. The dealership is one of the largest generators of tax revenue.
“The revenues generated by their operation go toward payment of a number of city services,” city Community Development Director Joe Heckel added.
Weaver also pays hefty monthly interest payments to GMAC in financing to keep his inventory, and he is current in his payments, he said.
“The judge said, ‘Do you owe them money?’ No,” Weaver said. “I said to them (the GMAC representatives at the hearing), I don’t owe you money. I pay every month.
Why are you so afraid?’”
A hearing is set for later this month for what Weaver believes is the motivation for GMAC’s attempt to take the vehicles: He will have to put a substantial sum into the business’ account by the time of the hearing to satisfy jittery officials at the financial corporation. GMAC isn’t singling out Weaver — it is taking this action nationwide because of the credit crisis.
Weaver said he has access to funds but did not want to tap them.
“Everyone in the credit market is scared to death,” Weaver said.
GMAC is the former lending division of General Motors Corp. and finances billions of dollars in car and house loans. GM sold a majority stake in the unit in 2006 to a consortium headed by Cerberus Capital Management and banks. Cerberus also bought Chrysler.
The slowdown in the credit markets has plagued GMAC and Chrysler since late last year. But a Cerberus report in February considered GMAC the more vulnerable of the two.
Even if he ended his relationship with GMAC, he can get credit elsewhere, Weaver said.
Auto sales are down everywhere, but the credit crisis is forcing hundreds of dealerships around the country to the brink: As many as 700 could close by the end of the year, the National Automobile Dealers Association projected.
Six large dealerships have closed in the Bay Area, or dealerships have dropped their GM line; Maita Ford closed recently in Auburn.
To contact City Editor Trina Kleist, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or cal 477-4230.
