Harkness selling area dealerships

STERLING – The old signs were about to come down, and new ones were ready to go up Wednesday afternoon at Pete Harkness in Sterling.

Leadership from Pete Harkness Auto Group and Kunes Country Auto Group met Wednesday to close a deal on Kunes' acquisition of several area Harkness dealerships.

A spokesman for Kunes said it was hoped the deal would close before the end of the day.

"It's highly probable that everything will be closed today, but there is a lot of paperwork they are going over with attorneys, so I can't say for sure that there even will be a deal," said Bob O'Neill, a Kunes marketing specialist.

According to Kunes, it is acquiring Harkness dealerships in Sterling, Morrison and Oregon.

O'Neill said the new Kunes signage would go up as soon as the deal was finalized.

Kunes, based in Delavan, Wisconsin, owns two dealerships in Delavan, two in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, and three in Illinois: one each in Mount Carroll, Antioch and Macomb. Kunes sells Ford, Lincoln, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram brands.

Harkness finalized a deal in October to buy the Oregon business, which is now Pete Harkness of Oregon, from Brian Bemis Auto Mall.

Harkness also has a dealership in Centerville, Iowa.