Tarbox bitter, still fighting

Jim Tarbox shook his head in frustration as he scanned the nearly empty lot of his car dealership in North Kingstown.
Where there were hundreds of new Cherokees, Wranglers and other Jeep models just a few months ago, there were only about 50 used cars earlier this month. And they were all parked in a long row along Tower Hill Road to make the lot appear full to passing motorists.
Yet it was impossible to hide the fact that the once-bustling Tarbox Motors Inc. is now a shadow of what it was. One obvious indication: since July, when it lost the right to sell new Jeeps and Chryslers, the auto seller has gone from 65 employees at two locations to 15 at one car lot.
The vast expanse of bare asphalt was another discouraging sign.
“I can’t even fill the parking lot,” Tarbox lamented about his used-car inventory as he led a tour of his dealership. “This is depressing.”
Jim Tarbox has undergone a transformation, too, as the once-well-to-do business owner spends sleepless nights worrying about how he’ll pay back millions in business loans.
Tarbox, a third-generation car dealer with a wife and three young girls, has spent six months fighting bankrupt Chrysler LLC’s decision earlier this year to close his franchises – one in North Kingstown and another in Attleboro – as part of the automaker’s restructuring plan.
Tarbox, 43, has argued that he was wronged, that his dealership in North Kingstown was one of the highest-volume Jeep sellers in the region.
“There is no way this should have been allowed,” Tarbox said. “They took away my rights, my liberty, my freedom.”
The legal bills have piled high, adding to the $2.5 million in debt mostly left from buying the Attleboro dealership in 2007. The used-car lot doesn’t nearly cover the payments.
“I went from a net worth of about $1.8 million to about $32,” he said.
Several months ago, his predicament garnered national attention when he wept on the stand at one of Chrysler’s bankruptcy hearings, but the news media has largely moved on.
Aside from selling used cars, Tarbox recently earned certification from Goodyear Gemini as an approved service center, hoping it would give the business a boost.
“In a sick, little way, it’s been exciting,” Tarbox said of the rebuilding process. “I’m pretty optimistic; that’s just my personality. How can I keep the key people I have if I’m a mess? How can I keep my family together?” That’s why Tarbox has held out hope that the Chrysler decision will be reversed.
Earlier this month, both Chrysler and General Motors said they will agree to an independent review of approximately 2,000 dealerships that either have been shuttered or face closure. A three-person panel will decide on a case-by-case basis whether to overturn the carmakers’ decisions.
The announcement came just days before the U.S. House approved an appropriations bill that would create a third-party arbitration process for those closed franchises. The bill was approved by the Senate last week.
At the same time, Tarbox said, he’s been notified that he might be under consideration for a Chrysler franchise in southeastern Massachusetts, provided he meets the guidelines that include stringent capital requirements.
“I’m attempting to get investors,” he said, acknowledging that his woes have made some leery.
Tarbox grew up working for his father, Nick, at the North Kingstown dealership, washing cars when he was young.
The younger Tarbox – whose brother Ed separately owns Tarbox Toyota, in North Kingstown, and Tarbox Hyundai, in West Warwick, – bought out his father in 2001 and had operated a Jeep dealership that even Chrysler has acknowledged was a strong performer.
In fact, encouraged by Chrysler executives, Tarbox purchased the former Anderson Chrysler Jeep in Attleboro in 2007. The price and renovation costs totaled about $2 million.
“That was right when the world started falling apart,” said Tarbox, referring to the beginnings of the global economic downturn.
Tarbox said his relationship with Chrysler soured somewhat then, too. The automaker wanted to add a Jeep franchise to a nearby Chrysler dealership – a move that Tarbox successfully fended off at the state licensing board. It cost him $85,000 in legal fees.
He believes that dispute led Chrysler executives to target his dealerships when the car company asked a bankruptcy judge to allow it to eliminate 789 of its 3,200 dealers in May.
“I was making money in the worst economic situation there was,” he said. “I never thought I’d be selected [for closure].”
Chrysler spokeswoman Kathy Graham denied that the Tarbox franchise was closed because of the Jeep dispute. While sales volume was part of the criteria in rejecting dealerships, Graham said Chrysler was also interested in keeping dealerships that sold Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep “under one roof.”
“Obviously bankruptcy is unpleasant for everybody,” she said. “We didn’t do this to be jerks. Retirees lost health care coverage; suppliers lost business. Bankruptcy is just not fair.”
Tarbox’s life was thrown into disarray the day last May when Chrysler notified him that his dealerships were on the chopping block. After telling his employees, a shocked Tarbox headed to his father’s house.
“That was an awful time,” he recalled with red-rimmed eyes. “Let’s just say it got emotional. I said I’m going to fight this thing to the end. I’m not going down.”
Tarbox testified in U.S. bankruptcy court in a failed attempt to convince a judge to prohibit Chrysler from closing the franchises. He filed an appeal of the court’s decision but has since dropped it because of a lack of money.
He also joined the Committee to Restore Dealer Rights, which represents closed GM and Chrysler dealerships, and lobbied U.S. Sen. Jack Reed for assistance.
“The majority of dealerships just gave up,” Tarbox said. “If I didn’t have three girls and a family and owed millions, I wouldn’t have fought it, either.”
He kept many of his employees on to the last day of the franchise agreements. “I had people with me for 15, 20 years,” Tarbox said. “It was such an overwhelming experience; so much support. People wanted to work without pay.”
Tarbox had other problems, too. He had about $5 million worth of vehicles that he was unable to sell before the franchise agreement ended. He sold the inventory to other dealerships at a $1,200 loss for each vehicle.
He also had $400,000 worth of specialized tools he could no longer use, and $350,000 worth of parts. He sold it all for 20 cents on the dollar.
He personally guaranteed the $2 million loan to finance the Attleboro dealership, which closed down in July.
When he sought to refinance his mortgage recently to lower his monthly payments and help his family make ends meet, he was denied.
“The pressure is overwhelming,” he said, putting his head on his desk. “You just can’t get a break.” •