Champion Auto Group Goes Down

okcarl · 07-18-2009, 10:55 AM

To a few on this forum this is no surprise. Champion has been on the edge for almost as long as we can remember.

http://www.greeleytribune.com/articl...leytribune.com

http://www.9news.com/news/article.as...9685&catid=188

XDCX · 07-18-2009, 04:46 PM

Thanks for the post - I read both articles.

I'm going to move this thread to the Regional Section so it will be easier to find in the future.

Concerning Champion, it will be interesting to see if they can recover from the state-mandated closing or not. The Dealer Principal sounds optimistic, but when you have $600K+ in missed lien payoffs and Chrysler Financial has a "keeper" in your store, the situation has to be pretty dire.

Concerning the store's General Manager, I think I know him. There was a Chrysler employee who worked out of the Denver Business Center with the same name - I had often wondered where he went when he left Chrysler.

Concerning a $20 Million Automall with mostly weak franchises - I bet the bank that holds that mortgage is nervous.

okcarl · 07-18-2009, 04:58 PM

Chrysler holds the mortgages. reportedly Chrysler was there today picking up the cars. The story has a lot more twists if you read the blogs, He was tied in with the Bank in the area that was just siezed by the feds. The owner of that bank is one of his partners. This is going to be one big mess.
Even if he can reopen the image in our community has been tarnished I believe beyond repair.

XDCX · 07-18-2009, 05:54 PM

Wow, it looks like Chrysler Financial could be on the hook for some big losses.

I read that the Dealer is hopeful that he'll be able to find another investor and use those proceeds to make the lien payoffs - that seems unlikely.

I'd think anyone who wanted to invest would be better off letting the current dealership go bankrupt and then buy the assets through the bankruptcy court. While I'm not an expert, I wouldn't be surprised if the $20 Million Automall sold for less than $10 Million through liquidation.

Finally, there's part of me that thinks it's ironic that this dealer made the transition to Chrysler's NEWCO list while he probably had a CF "keeper" in his dealership.

XDCX · 07-20-2009, 08:23 AM

I went back the other night and read about the closing of Ferrero CJD and didn't realize it was so close to Champion.

It's amazing that not only would Chrysler sign-off on two mega-stores that were so close together, CF would hold the mortgage on each facility.

Now they're stuck with two high-dollar facilities and they're both empty.

I wonder which of the two empty stores is most likely to re-open?

Finally, I thought it was interesting that the Dealer Principal who owned the Champion stores was the same dealer who closed down Boulder Ford - that was one of the first threads on this forum.

okcarl · 08-04-2009, 05:43 AM

Here is an update to the news I posted earlier. John Chamberlain who owned Champion surrendered the whole autoplex to Chrysler on Friday evening. Now alll that remains to see is how long it is going to take to clean up the mess.

http://www.greeleytribune.com/articl...ntProfile=1001

http://www.greeleytribune.com/articl...908039973/1001

http://www.greeleytribune.com/articl...908039972/1001

XDCX · 08-04-2009, 10:53 AM

Thanks for the update - that was very interesting.

As before, I'm not surprised that his investor backed out at the last minute. Anyone with that kind of money would know they are better off purchasing assets out of bankruptcy.

It sounds like Chrysler Financial is left holding the bag on a $30 Million mortgage plus the floorplan loans - what a mess. I bet the people at Cerberus wished they had never even heard of Chrysler - their deal just keeps getting worse and worse.

Concerning the customers and employees, they're the ones I feel sorry for.

XDCX · 08-05-2009, 10:29 AM

In the continuing saga of Champion Auto Group, the latest newspaper report indicates that they owe $400K in unpaid property taxes.

Based on the amount of money owed to the lien-holders, employees, flooring sources, etc. it appears that Champion should have been closed down a long time ago.

Here's a link to the newspaper report - click here

XDCX · 11-06-2009, 05:03 PM

News reports indicate that Chrysler Financial is beginning the foreclosure process on the facilities at Champion Auto Group in an effort to recover a portion of their $20 Million loan.

Here's a link to the news report - click here

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I think CF will have a difficult time recovering $20 Million on an empty Chrysler store. If all the property sells for $10 Million, I'd be surprised.

07-18-2009, 10:55 AM	#1
okcarl Lotus Factory Guy Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 182	Champion Auto Group Goes Down To a few on this forum this is no surprise. Champion has been on the edge for almost as long as we can remember. http://www.greeleytribune.com/articl...leytribune.com http://www.9news.com/news/article.as...9685&catid=188

07-20-2009, 08:23 AM	#5
XDCX Administrator Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 14,869	I didn't realize that Champion was so close to Ferrero's CJD store I went back the other night and read about the closing of Ferrero CJD and didn't realize it was so close to Champion. It's amazing that not only would Chrysler sign-off on two mega-stores that were so close together, CF would hold the mortgage on each facility. Now they're stuck with two high-dollar facilities and they're both empty. I wonder which of the two empty stores is most likely to re-open? Finally, I thought it was interesting that the Dealer Principal who owned the Champion stores was the same dealer who closed down Boulder Ford - that was one of the first threads on this forum.

08-05-2009, 10:29 AM	#8
XDCX Administrator Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 14,869	Newspaper reports Champion owes $400K in Property Tax In the continuing saga of Champion Auto Group, the latest newspaper report indicates that they owe $400K in unpaid property taxes. Based on the amount of money owed to the lien-holders, employees, flooring sources, etc. it appears that Champion should have been closed down a long time ago. Here's a link to the newspaper report - click here

11-06-2009, 05:03 PM	#9
XDCX Administrator Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 14,869	Chrysler Financial starts the Foreclosure Process on Champion News reports indicate that Chrysler Financial is beginning the foreclosure process on the facilities at Champion Auto Group in an effort to recover a portion of their $20 Million loan. Here's a link to the news report - click here As I mentioned in an earlier post, I think CF will have a difficult time recovering $20 Million on an empty Chrysler store. If all the property sells for $10 Million, I'd be surprised.

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07-18-2009, 04:46 PM	#2
XDCX Administrator Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 14,869	Thanks for the post - I read both articles. I'm going to move this thread to the Regional Section so it will be easier to find in the future. Concerning Champion, it will be interesting to see if they can recover from the state-mandated closing or not. The Dealer Principal sounds optimistic, but when you have $600K+ in missed lien payoffs and Chrysler Financial has a "keeper" in your store, the situation has to be pretty dire. Concerning the store's General Manager, I think I know him. There was a Chrysler employee who worked out of the Denver Business Center with the same name - I had often wondered where he went when he left Chrysler. Concerning a $20 Million Automall with mostly weak franchises - I bet the bank that holds that mortgage is nervous.

07-18-2009, 04:58 PM	#3
okcarl Lotus Factory Guy Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 182	Chrysler holds the mortgages. reportedly Chrysler was there today picking up the cars. The story has a lot more twists if you read the blogs, He was tied in with the Bank in the area that was just siezed by the feds. The owner of that bank is one of his partners. This is going to be one big mess. Even if he can reopen the image in our community has been tarnished I believe beyond repair.

07-18-2009, 05:54 PM	#4
XDCX Administrator Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 14,869	Wow, it looks like Chrysler Financial could be on the hook for some big losses. I read that the Dealer is hopeful that he'll be able to find another investor and use those proceeds to make the lien payoffs - that seems unlikely. I'd think anyone who wanted to invest would be better off letting the current dealership go bankrupt and then buy the assets through the bankruptcy court. While I'm not an expert, I wouldn't be surprised if the $20 Million Automall sold for less than $10 Million through liquidation. Finally, there's part of me that thinks it's ironic that this dealer made the transition to Chrysler's NEWCO list while he probably had a CF "keeper" in his dealership.

08-04-2009, 05:43 AM	#6
okcarl Lotus Factory Guy Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 182	Here is an update to the news I posted earlier. John Chamberlain who owned Champion surrendered the whole autoplex to Chrysler on Friday evening. Now alll that remains to see is how long it is going to take to clean up the mess. http://www.greeleytribune.com/articl...ntProfile=1001 http://www.greeleytribune.com/articl...908039973/1001 http://www.greeleytribune.com/articl...908039972/1001

08-04-2009, 10:53 AM	#7
XDCX Administrator Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 14,869	Thanks for the update - that was very interesting. As before, I'm not surprised that his investor backed out at the last minute. Anyone with that kind of money would know they are better off purchasing assets out of bankruptcy. It sounds like Chrysler Financial is left holding the bag on a $30 Million mortgage plus the floorplan loans - what a mess. I bet the people at Cerberus wished they had never even heard of Chrysler - their deal just keeps getting worse and worse. Concerning the customers and employees, they're the ones I feel sorry for.