The Villages Daily Sun

LEESBURG — Thursday was just like any other day at Plaza Lincoln Mercury on U.S. Highway 441 in Leesburg, except for one glaring difference.

Salesmen waited in rocking chairs, as is their custom, for people interested in a new automobile to roll up and peruse the lot.

It didn’t matter that the building behind them, which housed their offices, records, parts and customer service departments was still closed after a fire Tuesday left the building unsafe and unusable.

“People who can adapt to change can be successful,” said salesman Gary Robinson as he rocked, waiting for customers to pull into the lot and browse. “It’s definitely a challenge, but a doable challenge.”

The dealership’s owners, salespeople and even car washers were out in force Wednesday and Thursday, working to catch up after a tragic fire torched much of their main building Tuesday. Other local dealers, usually competing for business, have offered resources and parts to help out their stricken comrades.

Plaza dealers had sold at least four cars since Tuesday’s fire and hoped to keep selling, said Plaza chief executive officer Louie Nolette. Customers were still trickling in, though not as many as on a normal business day.

It’s doubly important to move cars at this time, said Nolette, son of owner Joe Nolette. Their business is selling cars, and the dealership needs room for modular trailers to act as temporary offices for salespeople and staff.

“It’s our income,” Nolette said. “And income’s important. Nothing’s shut down.

All the cars at the dealership are on discount to help move them, Nolette said.

Fire charred the parts department and damaged the service department of the dealership Tuesday afternoon. No one was injured in the blaze. Firefighters and investigators for the state fire marshal said the accidental fire was most likely started either by a space heater or radio in the dispatch area of the parts department.

Mechanics ordered and shipped parts from a sister dealership in Winter Haven and used service bays at neighboring Plaza Cadillac and Isuzu dealers to do scheduled maintenance, Nolette said.

Car washers were still cleaning blaze residue from cars facing the highway, said Anthony Coldwater, a worker with Car Brite Auto Reconditioning, who cleans cars for Plaza. The washers normally work two days a week at Plaza. They’ve worked every day since the fire, Coldwater said.

But clean cars alone won’t sell the product. Selling cars without an office is almost akin to a tent sale, trying to move vehicles off the lot to get ready for new construction and move on from Tuesday’s calamity, Robinson said.

“Nobody said it’d be easy,” he said.

Benjamin Roode is a writer with the Daily Sun. He can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9224, or benjamin.roode@thevillagesmedia.com.