Benoy Motor Sales in Woodstock under new management

A family-owned car dealership in Woodstock is under new management after 70 years in business.

Kunes Country Auto Group has taken over Benoy Motor Sales – and the new ownership has some changes in mind.

Tim Benoy, co-owner of Benoy Auto Group, said it was the “right time” to transition to Kunes Country Auto Group, as he and his brother don’t have any successors to carry on the family business.

“The opportunity came along to transition into this other crew,” said Dan Kunes, general manager of Kunes Country Auto Group. “It seemed like the right time and the right thing to do for the longevity of the business, customers, the employees – and it just seemed like the right opportunity at the right time.”

Benoy Motor Sales started in 1948, and brothers Tim and Dale Benoy joined the auto group after they graduated college. Dale has been at the business since 1974 and Tim since 1983.

Dale will be retiring when the transition completes, and Tim will stay on another year as the adviser to the business organization, as part of the agreement.

Tim said the new owners will be a good fit for the community.

“We’ve always been very community oriented here in Woodstock,” Tim Benoy said. “They’re very community oriented in all their other stores. The ‘giving back’ is a big thing for them. That’s part of their logo. That’s why I think it’s going to be a good fit. They have good family values and are a very close-knit family.”

Tim said that the new auto group has transitioned some employees from its other stores to the Woodstock location.

The management shift happened May 1.

As far as new plans for the dealership, Kunes plans to implement a car wash, have free loaner vehicles for service, have a building upgrade, more inventory and implementing more of the little things to make it “more convenient” for clients.

Kunes said giving back to the community is important.

“Our quote is, ‘Faith, family, giving back.’ Taking care of our employees, taking care of our community. If we treat them right, they’re going to treat us right,” Kunes said. “We want to see people succeed, we want to bring jobs to the community, we want to hire more people, we want to give back.”