New dealership opens in ‘great spot’ at Washington Crown Center
Shopping for a car, truck or SUV in Southwestern Pennsylvania? Brad Puckett has a vested interest but also a recommendation: Go to the mall off Interstate 70.
“We have all brands, new and previously used. We have a little of everything,” said Brad Puckett, general manager of Crown Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, an appropriately named auto dealership that opened for business this spring at Washington Crown Center. It is a full-service dealership providing parts and service and features a retail store.
Crown Chrysler, not surprisingly, specializes in Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram models, including heavy-duty pickup trucks, luxury sedans and off-road Jeep SUVs. “We have about 250 vehicles between new and used,” Puckett said during an early June telephone interview from the dealership offices.
The vehicles are highly visible from I-70 and dominate the parking lot in front of a former Sears store, which shut down in December 2019. “It’s pretty massive,” the general manager said of the space where Crown Chrysler displays its vehicular wares. He added that the dealership also uses space behind the building for “wholesale and service vehicles, but not retail stuff.”
Would-be customers can navigate the business’ website – crowncdjrpa.com – where they can view inventory, schedule a service appointment, fill in an online credit application and order a vehicle. Consumers, of course, can stroll through the lot at the North Franklin Township shopping center and check out the multitude of cars, trucks and other sets of wheels.
The Washington County location is owned by an investment group based in Charleston, W.Va., and is the group’s first venture into Pennsylvania. It owns nine other dealerships – seven in West Virginia and two in Ohio. “They are run independently,” Puckett said. “Each store is named and branded individually.”
The one in Crown Center has been expanding its staff, Puckett said in early June. The dealership employed 40 then and was “hiring at several positions.” He anticipated further growth.
The investment group’s plans for Crown Chrysler were announced about a year ago, but the longtime Sears site was not in move-in condition. Ten months of construction were required, leading to an April 1 opening – which, according to Puckett, kick-started a tight bond between the dealership and consumers in the region.
“Business has been very good,” he said. “We’ve received such a warm welcome from the community, which has been touching and inspiring. I’ve been selling cars for 20 years, and you usually need time to gauge the public response. But we couldn’t ask for a better welcome than we’ve gotten in the Washington community.”
That is a two-way street, to be sure. “We plan to be great partners with local places and plan to do events,” Puckett said. The dealership has a partnership with the Washington Wild Things, “and we had a concert recently that was awesome. We have space for it. Follow our social media places and website.”
The dealership, he added, benefits from the location. Crown Center “is a great spot,” Puckett said. “I just love being central to Pittsburgh and Morgantown and Wheeling.
“We are super excited to be here.”