The owner of Pinehurst Toyota has purchased Toby Wells Pontiac Buick GMC.

Even though it is on U.S. 1 in Southern Pines, the dealership is now called Pinehurst Buick Pontiac GMC.

"We've built up a little equity," said Pinehurst Toyota owner Tom Holderfield. "It (the name) is certainly no slight on Southern Pines."

The deal closed Thursday, he said.

Wells said he looks forward to a new challenge and that his customers should be pleased because the new owner will be able to deliver some services he could not offer before.

"Their size allows them to provide better services to all the customers," Wells said. "It makes a lot of sense."

As the costs of employee insurance go up, dealerships are consolidating because the larger they are, the more leverage they have, Wells said.

"It's what you are seeing across the country," he said.

Holderfield said he contacted Wells about the possible purchase. Wells said that the two of them had been friends.

Holderfield liked what he saw from General Motors and wanted to get into selling its vehicles. Also, Toby Wells has a body shop, something Holderfield's Pinehurst Toyota on U.S. 15-501 lacks.

"We want to provide our customers with every service we could," he said. "We never had a body shop."

Holderfield hopes to be able to expand on what Wells offered.

"We felt like Toby was running a well-rounded business," he said. "We just hope to turn the lights on a little brighter than Toby had them. ... Hopefully we'll improve upon it."

The negotiations were fairly short and uneventful, the two men said. Neither will reveal the purchase price.

"We paid fair market value," Holderfield said. "I don't think either party had to bend too much to make the deal happen."

Holderfield's longtime employee, John Beaver, will be operating partner of Pinehurst Buick Pontiac GMC.

Wells, who just turned 40 in July, said he will continue to work in real estate development with his father and wants to find a new challenge. He and his wife are also expecting a baby soon.

"I have no intention of leaving Moore County," he said. "We love it and intend to stay."

Working with customers is what he likes the most about the business, he said.

"I have a great appreciation for the people of Moore County," Wells said. "That's the thing I'll probably miss the most."

Matthew Moriarty can be reached at 693-2479 or by e-mail at moriarty@thepilot.com.