Buick Blogger

Oldest Buick Dealer to Close

It will be sad to see this place close down. I remember going by there while visiting an aunt years ago.

- Geise Buick Pontiac at 930 Maine, the oldest Buick dealership in the nation, is selling its assets to Poage Auto Plaza and will be closing after a century of service. The dealership has been a downtown Quincy institution since Henry Geise Sr. launched the business in 1906. His sons, Henry Geise Jr. and the late Robert Geise, along with grandson Henry Geise III, continued to keep the Buick dealership going after the elder Geise retired in 1953. But the familys long run ends Friday when the new-car operation and service department close shop. Starting Monday, Buicks and Pontiacs will be sold and serviced at Poage Auto Plaza, 4300 Broadway, which bought both franchises. The Geise family will sell off the rest of its used-car fleet, which will take 30 to 60 days, and then begin liquidating its property on both sides of Maine Street.
"By the end of the year, Geise Buick will be a thing of the past," said Henry Geise Jr. Geise, 83, said the time seemed right to bring an end to the family-owned business where he first started working for his father in 1939. "Its still a profitable business, but its much more competitive than it used to be," he said. "At my age, I just felt I would be better off to try to sit back and relax and take it easy." Geise was a co-owner of the dealership along with his brother, who died in January at age 79, and his son, who has been serving as the dealerships general manager.
Henry Geise III will join the new car department at Poage Auto Plaza, according to Aaron Poage, who co-owns the Quincy dealership that also sells Cadillacs and GMC models along with pre-owned cars. Poage said he plans to hire some of the 20 employees who now work at Geise Buick Pontiac. "We are working to try to accommodate as many people as we can," he said.
The Poage family already has some experience with Buicks and Pontiacs. Those models are featured at the family's Poage Auto Center store in Hannibal, Mo., which is managed by Aarons brother, Jason. Their father, Dean Poage, manages the Poage Auto Mall in Decatur.
Poage commended the Geises for keeping their automotive business going for 100 years in Quincy. "It is a huge accomplishment what they've done," he said. Henry Geise Jr. said he is sorry to see the family business come to an end, but he says change is inevitable in the auto industry. "Theres change in everything," he said. "Years ago they used to call someone a mechanic if they had a screwdriver and a pair of pliers. Today, everything is computerized. You can not work on a modern car without a computer." Geise Buick was launched at a time when automobiles were far simpler and the number of makes and models was a fraction of whats available today.

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posted by Car Boys Media @ 6:48 PM