History: Riverhead Motors first opened its Lincoln/Mercury dealership in 1958. In the late 1970s, the family-run business acquired the Ford franchise, followed by the Toyota dealership in 1994 and, most recently, Buick/GMC in 2010.
Partners Leo Sternlicht and Ted Lucki now own all the dealerships, which began with Sternlicht’s father in 1958.
The dealerships are spread across three locations: Riverhead Toyota is located at 1655 Old Country Road, across from Panera Bread; Riverhead Ford/Lincoln is located at 1419 Old Country Road, next to Lowe’s Home Improvement; and Riverhead Buick/GMC is located right next-door to Riverhead Ford/Lincoln at 1423 Old Country Road.
Description: Riverhead Motors is a family-run company, owned by partners Sternlicht and Lucki. Across all of its dealerships, the company employs more than 100 people, including technicians, sales and administrative staff.
“Our customer satisfaction scores are very, very high,” said Tom Williams, general manager of the Ford/Lincoln and Buick/GMC dealerships. “Basically, our customers are very happy. They love our products because the products are great.”
The Buick/GMC dealership, which is the only one of its kind east of Smithtown, recently completed renovations at its building at 1423 Old Country Road. The dealership has been operating out of two trailers on the property for several months, until renovations were completed this month.
“We now have a brand new state-of-the-art facility with the latest and greatest so that we can handle all of our clients and their automotive needs,” Williams said.
The showroom has doubled in size, and the shop is outfitted with completely new technology and equipment.
“We spent $100,000 in equipment just in the shop,” Williams said. “Everything’s new here.”
Every staff member was issued an iPad with a wireless keyboard, Williams said, “so that they can carry it with them, do what they have to do without having to go back to a computer.” Remote printing throughout the building allows sales staff to print to one of several printers. “They can print out quotes whenever, wherever,” he said. “Do whatever they need to make everything quick and easy. We’re trying to get everyone in the 21st century.”
The dealership also now features a new drive-up service center. “They won’t have to go in to a counter anymore,” Williams said. “They can just drive up and get written up by technicians with iPads while they sit in their cars.”
Contact:
Riverhead Ford/Lincoln, 1419 Old Country Road, Riverhead. 631-727-2200
Riverhead Buick/GMC, 1423 Old Country Road, Riverhead. 631-727-2271
Riverhead Toyota, 1655 Old Country Road, Riverhead. 631-727-7722
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