Mathews Lincoln Ford sports new look

PERKINS TOWNSHIP – The shiny new Fords in the showroom of Mathews Ford Lincoln are sitting inside a shiny new building these days.The veteran Ford dealership has been on Perkins Avenue for decades, but it's been upgraded and turned into essentially a new building.Dealership owner Bob Mathews said he spent more than $2 million to upgrade and expand the building and to carry out related work, such as putting on new blacktop in the parking lot.Mathews said he'd known for awhile that he needed an upgrade."I decided to jump when I knew they were going to tear the streets out," he said, referring to construction recently carried out on Perkins Avenue and at the Perkins and U.S. 250 intersection.Customers will likely notice the showroom, which has doubled in size, Mathews said.The customer lounge is three times larger, Mathews said. It offers comfortable chairs (one customer wanted to know where to buy herself one), a TV set, a coffee bar, water and a business area for customers who want to work while their car is being serviced. Wi-fi allows customers to stay connected.The service area now has two doors for driving into the building. Customers now can drive in, rather than having to get out of their cars outside the building in bad weather.The dealership's main building was expanded to the west, adding about 4,000 square feet to a building that now has about 22,000 square feet, said Dan Miller of Miller and Sons Construction Inc. of Castalia.Mathews said he used local businesses and materials as much as possible. Miller and Sons was the general contractor, and local architect George Poulos drew up the plans.Ford has specifications for all of its dealerships, including the kind of tile on the showroom floor, the materials used on the outside of the building, a separate lounge for Lincoln customers and basic plans, which Poulos was required to work with, Mathews said.Work began on June 1 last year and has just been completed except for additional work in the service area.The big challenge in the project was getting all of the work done while the dealership stayed open and took care of its customers, Miller said. That meant the work had to be done in phases, with employees temporarily moving around.The street construction was actually a bigger problem than the work at the dealership, Bob Mathews said."They bottled us up," he said.But he said the street work had to be done, and he's pleased with the results.Work at the dealership and the new Kroger grocery store has given that section of town a nice new look, he said.The car business is a family affair at Mathews Ford. Mathews' wife, Beth Mathews, is the office manager. His son Rob is the sales manager. Bob Mathews also has two daughters, who aren't in the car business, and four young grandchildren.Moreover, the Mathews clan owns several dealerships in other Ohio cities. Bob Mathews' father, Thurman Mathews, is 88 but he still comes to work every day, running dealerships in Marion. Other Mathews dealerships are in Toledo, Newark and Bucyrus.Mathews said he sells between 100 to 125 cars a month. At any given time, there are about 200 new vehicles and about 100 used ones on the property. About 65 percent of the new car buyers are repeat customers, and about 75 percent of the trade comes from Erie County.The hottest selling models are the Escape, the F-150 truck and the Fusion."I drive an F-150. I'm an avid bird hunter," said Mathews, who admits he doesn't use all of the fancy electronics that modern vehicles come with. Beth Mathews drives a Lincoln SUV.Rob Mathews' wife drives a Lincoln MKC. Rob Mathews does not drive any particular model but drives various Ford demo vehicles.About 50 people work at the dealership. Mathews hired four new sales people when the expansion was completed, bringing the sales force up to 12 people, and installed a greeter.The first Ford dealership in Sandusky was downtown. The Sandusky Ford dealership moved to its present location on Perkins Avenue in 1956. Bob Mathews bought it in 1956.Located on Perkins Avenue, the Ford sign stands tall outside of the newly renovated Mathews Ford dealership. Around 4,000 square feet were added to the building.Bob, Beth and Rob Mathews pose for a picture outside the front doors of the renovated Mathews Ford dealership located off of Perkins Avenue. Mathews Ford dealership a year ago before renovations. While in the process of expanding and renovating the Mathews Ford dealership, construction crews uncovered an old facade. The expansion of the Mathews Ford dealership features a spacious customer lounge with free water, coffee and Wi-Fi. The renovations at the Mathews Ford dealership feature a large showroom right when customers walk into the building located off of Perkins Avenue. The service department also got a face-lift during the expansion at the Mathews Ford dealership located off of Perkins Avenue.