We love to announce and introduce our new sponsors at CorvetteBlogger and today we are very pleased to welcome Van Bortel Chevrolet and their dedicated Corvette center in Macedon, NY as one of our featured sponsors.
Van Bortel Chevrolet was founded four years ago with the purchase of an existing Chevrolet dealer in Macedon. The dealership is one of three in the area owned by Kitty Van Bortel. The other dealerships include one of the top selling Subaru dealerships in the nation as well as a successful Ford dealership. Kitty Van Bortel was named Time Magazine’s Dealer of the Year in 2016 and she is involved heavily in philanthropy in the community.
Kitty Van Bortel got her start in the car business in the mid-1980s with an investment of $500 by selling used cars parked in front of her house in Victor, NY. With experience and determination, she eventually went on to manage a Mercedes Benz/BMW dealership before becoming a new car dealer with Subaru. Van Bortel Subaru quickly became one of the top performing Subaru dealers in the country and in 2001 she became a Ford dealer as well.
But something was still missing and that was the Chevrolet Corvette.
Kitty is the daughter of Howard Van Bortel who once owned Palmyra Motors in the 1960s and 1970s. At the time, Palmyra was the world’s largest Corvette dealer. Since her father’s retirement, Kitty tried to obtain a Chevrolet dealership franchise and after nearly three decades, she purchased a Chevrolet dealership in Macedon, NY in 2013 and renamed it Van Bortel Chevrolet. (Macedon is considered the same Chevrolet franchise territory as her father’s dealership in Palmyra.)
But the Corvette story doesn’t stop there!
Also serving the Victor/Macedon/Rochester area for Corvette sales and service was Bill Turner. Since 1972, Turner Automotive was the go-to place in upstate New York and the surrounding area for top notch Corvette service as well as having a great selection of pre-owned Corvettes for sale. Bill passed away in 2013 and sensing an opening, Kitty purchased Turner Automotive and combined Turner’s pre-owned Corvette sales and service department with her new Chevrolet dealership to create a Corvette dealership which offers both new and pre-owned Corvettes for sale while maintaining the ability to service all year Corvettes!
Today, Van Bortel Chevrolet has a dedicated Corvette department with 8 full-time employees who only work on Corvettes. The department is headed by Nate Chandler who was Turner Automotive’s former head mechanic for nearly 10 years. From sales, to parts, to service, a Corvette owner at Van Bortel Chevrolet is only dealing with a Corvette professional. Van Bortel Chevrolet has around 100 Corvettes in stock and growing, all housed inside their Corvette Showroom. Future plans include their very own Corvette facility that will house both sales and service under one roof.
Van Bortel is very active in the Corvette community and they hold several Corvette events throughout the year. The Rochester Corvette Club is one of the nation’s oldest and largest Corvette Club and are sponsored by Van Bortel.
We’ve known Nate Chandler for a couple of years now and late last year we even published a story that he provided regarding the purchase of the 2017 Corvette Grand Sport by the brother of Corvette Hall of Famer Dave MacDonald.
One of the surprises for me in getting to know Van Bortel Chevrolet was the large selection of pre-owned Corvettes (we counted just under 50 on their inventory page) that are offered side-by-side online with new Corvettes. Click here to see their current inventory of Corvettes.
You can visit Van Bortel Chevrolet in person at their dealership, located at 1338 Pittsford-Palmyra RD, Macedon, NY or you can visit them online at www.VanBortelCorvettes.net. Call Nate Chandler at 585-222-0141 for any Corvette assistance you may need.
CorvetteBlogger has always prided ourselves on our relationships with some great Chevrolet dealerships over the years. We are very excited to welcome Van Bortel Chevrolet to our fans and readers.
Source:
Van Bortel Chevrolet
Related:
Save up to $8,000 on Corvette Grand Sports and Z06s with New Incentives from Chevrolet
REPORT: Corvette is Fourth On List of Vehicles with Greatest Dealer Stockpiles
The Top 50 Corvette Dealers of 2016
-
