After 35 Years in Saline, Bill Crispin Chevrolet Expands

35 years after moving out to Saline, Bill Crispin has opened a second dealership.

Last week, Crispin and his daughter Debbie Crispin, partners in the family business, celebrated the grand opening of the Crispin Chevrolet pre-owned dealership 6947 E. Michigan Ave., just few hundred yards down the road from Crispin's original Saline dealership, at 7112 E. Michigan Ave.

According Debbie Crispin, General Motors wants their dealers to have bigger dealerships. The new vehicles will stay at the original Saline location. The pre-owned vehicles have moved down the road to a five-acre site that also has a building for cleanup and detailing and another facility for fitting police vehicles, fire trucks and ambulances with special equipment.

The Saline Post talked to Bill Crispin about the latest development in an auto sales career that's coming up on 40 years old.

Crispin worked in police before moving to auto sales. He was a cop in the Detroit area. He was also the first ever police chief – part time – for the Village of Clinton. In 1975, he founded Bill Crispin Chevrolet in Detroit at Cadieux and Harper. It was a big city dealership, three blocks long. The owners of the property died and Crispin did not want to buy it at the price set by the probate court. If Crispin was to keep his dealership, he was going to have to move. General Motors called with an idea. They told Crispin to meet him at a restaurant at State and I-94.

“I thought they had something in Ann Arbor,” Crispin said. “Instead, we came out here. There wasn't even a streetlight out here.”

They went to a small, four-employee dealership where Chelsea Lumber is now.

“I said, 'What the hell did I ever do to tick you people off,'” Crispin remembered.

Owner of a the big dealership in Detroit, he wasn't interested in the tiny parcel. He noticed two homes beside the dealership.

“I went and knocked on the door and said, 'I'm Bill Crispin and I own a Chevrolet dealership. I want to buy your home,'” Crispin said. “Wrong! The price went up. That went over like a lead balloon.”

Crispin's hopes for a Saline dealership were fading but one of the General Motors regional managers called him back.

“He said, 'Bill, there's nothing out here. Buy 10 acres. Build your dealership. And in 10 years, you'll love me,'” Crispin said. “I said, 'I want to love you today.'”

In 1978, Crispin built his dealership on Michigan Avenue, west of State Street. All these years later, Crispin is thankful he took the GM people up on their idea.

“They were 150 billion percent right,” Crispin said. “It's a great area. The people are great. It's a growing area that should keep growing. We're close to Ann Arbor,” Crispin said.

Many of Crispin's employees have been with him for a lot of his 35 years in Saline.

“If you pay them well and treat them right, people want to stay. So we're fortunate. I'm blessed,” Crispin said.

One of the reasons why Crispin feels fortunate is because his daughter, Debbie, is his business partner.

“She does one hell of a job. She graduated from Northwood University with a degree in automotive marketing. She went down to Florida and worked for my friend's dealership, working through all the chairs for five and a half years. She came back here and we just got bigger and bigger and bigger,” Crispin said.

Surviving the most recent economic downturn makes Crispin feel even more fortunate.

“The car dealership business was good until the economy went to hell in a handbasket. In our area, we were fortunate. A lot of guys lost. We cut back everything and we just made it,” Crispin said. “We had the Cash for Clunkers program and everything just kind of turned around. We watched our inventory and expenses closely.”

After surviving the downtown, Crispin is optimistic. Crispin owns 10 acres behind its original dealership but opted to purchase the old Saline Tractor site, vacant since 2005. on Michigan Avenue.

“I thought it would be better to have the two addresses on Michigan, with all this traffic, than it would be to build in the back,” he said.

The expansion means more vehicles, more employees, and the move into fitting emergency vehicles. Crispin still has many friends in the law enforcement world. He had 15 police departments calling him up in September, waiting for him to begin.

“There are very few people who offer that service. Most are in Detroit or up north. To get the cars taken care of, departments have to wait,” Crispin said. “Police departments have to wait months to get vehicles fitted with all the new equipment.

With 38 years in the business, Crispin is going strong.

“We're on the right track. I'm certainly proud to be a Chevrolet dealer. I love GM,” Crispin said. “I'm having a lot of fun. As long as I have good health, I have no intention of retiring.”

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