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Karl Malone franchise buying up car dealerships in Basin

Rick Brough

          David Hicks, operations manager for the Malone group, said they’re excited to acquire the two dealerships, located along the Rasmussen frontage road near Kimball Junction. Locals who love their Fords and Chevys don’t need to worry – the cars and trucks for sale at those locations won’t change.

He said they entered into what’s called a “buy/sell contract” for Mike Hale in the summer and closed on the site in September. Hicks explained what happens at the buy/sell stage.

          “The seller agrees to sell, and the buyer agrees to buy, but it takes a little bit of time to get approved by the manufacturers, because it’s all based on that.   You can’t just buy a dealership and open up shop.   You have to go through the manufacturer’s approval process, which usually takes a few months.    Once they approve you as an authorized dealer, then you can change the name on the building.  So the Crandall one we haven’t changed the name to Karl Malone yet.  But the Chevy one we have, because we’ve been approved by Chevy and we’ve closed that transaction.”

          He said they entered the buy/sell contract for Crandall Ford around October 1st. They expect to close by the second or third week of December.

          In Heber, Karl Malone Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram has been in operation for about seven years.

          “The Park City market’s always had some interest to us.  We, at one point, looked at opening up a Jeep store in the Park City market.   But we decided we would try our hand at the Ford dealership and the Chevy dealership before we just opened up something new.”

          Hicks said the Malone group began in 2010 when it broke away from the Larry Miller chain and opened a Toyota dealership in Draper.

He said the Crandall site will be their 15th dealership. The auto locations include Ruston, Louisiana—Malone’s home town—El Dorado, Arkansas and a location just acquired in Hailey, Idaho.

Malone Powersports, which deals in recreational vehicles, has sites in Heber, Salt Lake, Provo and Glenwood Springs Colorado.

Hicks said they are planning a grand opening in the spring, and Malone himself will likely be on hand.

          “Karl usually does attend our grand openings.  He’s very involved in the business.  So I would assume that he will be here, and so we’re excited for that.”

          David Hicks from the Karl Malone group.

Known for getting all the facts right, as well as his distinctive sign-off, Rick covered Summit County meetings and issues for 35 years on KPCW. He now heads the Friday Film Review team.