Tampa Bay AutoNetwork is a Family Owned and Operated business built on Honesty and Integrity. Lou and Mike learned the importance behind Honesty and Integrity working side by side for their parents, Vincent and Arlene, who owned and operated their own successful business in the food industry for over 35 years. Shortly after Vincent and Arlene retired, Lou and Mike found a passion for cars. Being used to working side by side, they both decided to pursue their passion by continuing to work with each other for many Franchise car dealers in the Tampa Bay area. It didn't take long for Managers to realize that they would make a great Internet Sales Team. They broke a sales record, for a local Toyota Dealer, their first month as a two man Internet Team. After gaining 5 years of experience, they approached Vincent and Arlene with the idea of opening their own Family Owned and Operated Independent Dealership.
A friend tipped them off to an available location on SR54 in Wesley Chapel, Florida, in December of 2005. With a 10x10 shack as an office, and the capacity of displaying up to 20 cars, the lease was signed by the end of January 2006.
They bought their first car by mid February, a 1994 Geo Metro, and sold it off the Internet in 3 days to a very kind fellow in Georgia. With enough experience, a strong will to succeed, and a foundation of Honesty and Integrity, they were off to a great start selling 17 cars in March 2006.
By the beginning of June, they realized they needed space to display more cars. Before they knew it, the landlords granted their wish, giving them enough room to display up to 30 cars.
In November of 2006 they convinced Jeff, their brother-in-law, to move his family of 3 kids and their sister Tina from Colorado to Florida, to be a part of their team.
With a rapid growing customer base from around the world, they delivered a total of 229 vehicles by the end of the year.
They had another sit down with the landlord, to discuss their plans for 2007. There was a trailer on the property that the landlord ran their construction company out of. They asked for 3/4 of the trailer in return for the 10x10 shack, and more room to display cars. They were maxed out of space, by the end of February 2007, with the capacity to comfortably display as many as 40 cars.
2007 flew by with a total of 377 sales, placing them in the top 10 highest volume Independent Dealers, out of a total of 84, in Pasco County. An achievement they all worked very hard for.
Their continued success brought them into 2008 with plans to take on Robert, a close friend of the family, to help with future plans of growth. By March 2008, they began searching for a place to relocate. One they can continue to grow from, that offered their customers a comfortable waiting area. One conveniently located near the Interstate as well, to accommodate their long distance customers.
Finally, after looking at close to 20 locations, they found the right one 3.2 miles east of exit 257 off of I-75 in Brandon, Florida. With enough room to continue to grow, and plenty of office space, the Tampa Bay AutoNetwork relocated in July 2008.
Today, Tampa Bay AutoNetwork's customer base spreads across 84 Florida City’s, 32 States, and 11 Country’s.
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