A Burr Ridge car dealership is being allowed to lower its minimum price threshold by two-thirds for a portion of its inventory.
Global Luxury Imports, which had a stipulation attached to village approval for its 101 Tower Drive location that it not sell any of its used vehicles for a price below $30,000, will now be allowed to have as much as 15 percent of its inventory between $10,000 and $30,000
Mutie Sughayar, president of Global Luxury Imports, said the lower threshold is needed to allow him to accept trade-in vehicles.
“To sell the cars we do have, cars for $100,000 to $200,000, there is a concern that we take trade-ins,” Sughayar said. “We need to be able to take trade-ins.”
Sughayar said without the ability to take and resell cars below $30,000 as trade-ins, potential customers will walk away and go to a different dealership.
Burr Ridge trustees Monday approved the $10,000 threshold after more than 90 minutes of discussion, with some trustees and residents fearing the move will turn the business into more of a typical used car dealership. The change, allowed for a two-year probationary period, was approved by a 4-2 vote.
Voting against the change were trustees Diane Bolos and Guy Franzese.
Casting votes in favor of the change were trustees Paula Murphy, Al Paveza, Janet Ryan Grasso and Tony Schiappa.
Global Luxury also has a village stipulation that 75 percent of its inventory must sell for at least $75,000. Trustees supporting the change and Sughayar, who is a Burr Ridge resident himself, said that requirement, which will remain in place, will ensure that the business does not become more of what is typically perceived of with a used car lot.
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Mayor Mickey Straub, who supports the change, said he knows of no other dealership in the state that has its municipality set a price threshold for it.
Franzese said he could not support the change because residents of the nearby Carriageway subdivision were against the move.
“When 100 percent of the Carriageway residents I spoke with are against it and the Plan Commission was unanimously against it, I have concerns,” Franzese said. “In those situations, I am going to support the residents.”
At the Aug. 10 Village Board meeting, Plan Commission Chairman Greg Trzupek explained that the commission was reluctant to eliminate the $30,000 limit since the condition was coupled with the requirement that all vehicles have an average sale price of $75,000 or more. He added that a lower minimum sale price was discussed but no motion was ever made. Trzupek explained that it was difficult to quantify a luxury automobile with a dollar amount.
Sughayar had initially sought from the Village Board for as much as 30 percent of his 150-car inventory to be at the $10,000 threshold, but board members balked at that suggestion.
“I think we are all uncomfortable with that number,” Straub said.
At one point during deliberations, Murphy made a motion that Global Luxury be limited to just 10 percent of its cars being between the $10,000 and $30,000 thresholds. However, her motion failed due to the lack of a second.
“We need to tread carefully with this,” Murphy said before making the motion.. “I would like to see it only at 10 percent of inventory to start with.”
Sughayar felt the 10 percent option would restrict his operations. He said if was granted only a 10 percent exemption on his inventory, he would likely be back before the board seeking an additional change before the two-year probationary period was up.
He said the dealership has averaged sales of $400,000 per month.
Village Administrator Steve Stricker said that Global Luxury is one of the village’s top 10 sales tax producers.
Resident Tia Ballarini said the move would take away from the quality of the dealership and lessen the Burr Ridge name.
“We fought to hold onto something special,” Ballarini said of the dealership’s $30,000 stipulation. “Burr Ridge is worthy of special.”
Trustee Al Paveza said the dealership, which has all its vehicles indoors, will not be converted to a used car lot, with streams of people flocking to the location, because of lowering the price threshold
“I’ve been in the service center and I’ve been in the showroom,” Paveza said of Global Luxury. “You will find hospitals with floors not as clean as the service center and showroom there. Just the $75,000 sales price for 75 percent of the vehicles is enough. There is nothing more we need to do. They know they have to keep to that. If there is a problem or an issue, we can go and change it back to how it was.”
Global Luxury, under the new agreement, is required to provide quarterly reports on its inventory to the village.
Kevin Beese is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press