Audia Motors gets a sleek new look after 57 years in the community

MILLBROOK — Audia Motor Sales, a Chevrolet dealership in Mabbettsville, has deep roots in the Millbrook community.The founder, Sam Audia, was the son of an Italian immigrant who came to the states to give his family a better life. After working for several years in the coal mines in West Virginia, his father was able to bring his family to America, moving around before settling in the Hudson Valley. While Audia’s father worked as a gardener on estates and on the Poughkeepsie railroad bridge, Audia got a job at a local garage as a mechanic when he was a teenager. When he began to get recognized for his work, he got a job at a multi-car dealership in his family’s adopted hometown of Millbrook. Audia had a passion for mechanics and worked to take over a local garage in Mabbettsville, where the owner was getting ready to retire. He took over the business and ran the repair shop day in and day out. What started as a small repair shop in 1947 turned into a Chevrolet franchise in 1955, one that still stands today and is now run by his two sons, Peter and Robert Audia.“My dad started the business across the street in 1947; he bought the business when it was a just a repair shop,” said Robert. “Then we got the Chevrolet franchise in 1955 so we have been a Chevrolet dealer since then. To get the franchise he had to promise to build a bigger facility so he bought this property in 1955. He told them in two years I will build the facility and he did, with some help from some local financing and some local banks that helped him out.”Today Audia Motors is about to finish its first major renovation since 1957. Audia Motors has had about five minor renovations and additions to the building over the years, however this new renovation to their space goes along with General Motors’ (GM) new business compliance. When GM reorganized its company it got all their dealers together and told them they would be reorganizing the whole company. That included releasing a new line of vehicles from cars to trucks. “So far we have about nine new models,” said Robert, “Every one of them is a hit; every one is great, we just need a better economy to go along with it. So they asked us to maybe look at their new image program and most of the dealers have embraced the image program. For me it was time to redo my place anyway, so it was good timing for us.”The renovation, although not entirely complete, will include a new showroom, service reception area, waiting room, parts department and main offices, along with a little office connected to the new delivery building. The new renovation cost Audia Motors more than $1 million. Robert said they feel good about it.“It’s really been a boost for our employees,” he said. “We have 27 employees and they are all very excited to have a lot of new stuff. We have more to come; we are going to be redoing things in the shop for the guys there. We always invested in equipment for our service department since service has always been a big backbone.” Audia Motors held off on doing past image programs with GM but has always been facility compliant, meaning it has always been equipped to handle their size business. Robert said the image is clean, neat, fresh and follows the Chevrolet franchise. When Audia Motors finishes renovations GM has a program that will reimburse them a small percentage of the cost of the renovation during the next four years.When the renovation is complete Audia Motors plans to have an opening for the public to see the new look, probably sometime after the New Year.“My father was very strict about giving back to your community, and customer service was always his highest priority,” said Robert. “My brother and I are here every day; we are not absentee owners. Customers can walk in; they don’t have to yell at any of my employees they can yell right at the boss,” he said. “We are very up front people.”Robert said that his father demanded that they be involved in the community in some respect. Both brothers have served on zoning boards for the town and Robert is currently a councilmen on the Washington Town Board. Supervisor for the town of Washington Gary Ciferri has been working at Audia Motors for 20 years. “Those are the types of people I look for,” said Robert. “We have a lot of people who work here that are in fire departments and that is kind of a big thing for me.”Sam Audia’s legacy lives on through his sons, proven by the fact that Audia Motors has had some customers for 40 to 50 years. Robert said he hopes to continue that trend with the new vehicle models, new building and the same good people, though Audia Motors does plan to hire more employees in the near future. The dealership is looking to hire three to five people in the next six to nine months to help with the Internet, service, reception, parts and sales. Robert said they plan to wait until the renovation has finished before hiring anyone new. “My dad was always very proud to be an immigrant,” said Robert. “He worked hard and got a good break, so was able to succeed. He always instilled in us that same thing. We do that with our kids, too. We are trying to pass that on to them.”