For the first time in 45 years there won't be a car dealership in Waco with the Nay family name on it. Greg May bought the Nay's Waco Hyundai dealership Monday, adding a third store to his group.
May already owns the Honda dealership next door to the Hyundai dealership on Loop 340, and also has a Chevrolet store in West.
"We like to keep it homegrown, we like putting people to work, giving people opportunity, keeping all the business here locally," May said just before signing the final paperwork. He negotiated for two months to buy his newest dealership.
In a city where family dealerships are common, May says it's an advantage dealing with customers you already know. "They say they like the same faces that they see. That's what's fun [about] being local, not being a conglomeration, being a face everybody recognizes everyday," he explained.
Nay's father, Sam Nay, Jr., opened a Dodge dealership in Waco in 1970, and his son joined him the next year. 20 years later, he added the Hyundai line and then moved to the Loop 340 location eight years ago.
"Americans still have a love affair with their cars, in Texas especially because there's no mass transportation," Nay said. "People go to the Internet for information, but they still want to kick the tires, they still want to talk to someone they feel like they can trust," he added.
His daughter and the former general manager at the Hyundai store, Holly Dunham, agrees. "Waco is a really unique market, you don't find many markets that have family owned dealerships like Waco does," she added, saying the community knows and appreciates that.
May said his dealerships typically promote from within, and he loves giving employees the opportunity to move up the ladder. "We want to buy local, we want to sell local, it's great for the community when we keep things local," he said.
He also admitted he may not stop at three dealerships. May opened his Honda dealership in November of 1995, and he bought the Chevrolet store in February of 2008. Now, if an opportunity presents itself to continue growing, he said he could add more.
For now, he's excited about having two successful dealerships side by side.
