Miranda Pederson/Daily NewsJoe Campbell (left) and son, Troy Campbell, now have an interest in BMW Mercedes-Benz of Bowling Green.

As one of only a handful of combined BMW/Mercedes-Benz stores in the nation, BMW Mercedes-Benz of Bowling Green is something special.

Troy Campbell aims to keep it that way.

Campbell and his father, Campbell Chevrolet owner Joe Campbell, recently bought a percentage of the store from Buchanan Auto Group, the Florida-based company that’s owned the dealership for three years. Simply put, the arrangement means &#8220we’re owners-slash-partners-slash-managers,” Troy Campbell said, &#8220but the main thing is, it’s Campbell and Buchanan coming together.”

Troy Campbell began looking into a partnership with Buchanan Auto Group about six or eight months ago, he said, with the idea that a local owner might be the tonic the dealership, which has seen several operating partners in its few years of existence, needed.

&#8220We’re here to straighten this store out, make it make money and give it back to the community,” he said.

Buchanan Auto Group’s new partnership with the Campbell family has already proven itself successful, said John Tosch, president and CEO of the company. The month of March found the dealership in the black as far as profit, and April is expected to bring &#8220bigger and better things,” he said.

The group owns 18 dealerships in Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida, Tosch said, most of which are owned in varying percentages by company chairman Vern Buchanan. The company was founded in 1992, and now ranks as the 27th-largest auto group in the United States, with $800 million in annual sales.

The struggling Bowling Green dealership was purchased in 2003, he said, and since then a stream of operating partners has come through the store. None lived up to what the Buchanan Auto Group expected, he said.

&#8220We’ve had a few different ones. None of them were from the area, none had community involvement or attachment and none had the experience Joe has and the experience that Troy has,” Tosch said. &#8220We think they’ll be everything we want it to be.”

The Campbell family got started in the car business when Joe Campbell started working for Harry Leachman in the late 1960s.

&#8220I started selling cars and I’ve been in it ever since,” Joe Campbell said. &#8220I brought up my son in it.”

Joe Campbell took over Campbell Chevrolet in May 1981, which gave his son a place to work.

&#8220I started out washing cars, then to service, then to sales and then went to managing the store for eight years,” Troy Campbell said. &#8220Here I am now.”

Next to a home, a car is one of the biggest purchases most people make, Troy Campbell said, and the excitement on their faces when they drive off in a new car he helped them select is immeasurable. He’s hoping the Campbell name – &#8220we’re not saying our name is the best name in town, but we always try to do the right thing,” he said – will bring a sense of reliability back to the dealership.

His goal is &#8220to turn the image around because most of the people in Bowling Green don’t trust the store,” he said, because so many owners have come and gone. Security and constancy are the keys to building lifelong customers, Troy Campbell said, and he and his father plan to build trust back up as if they’re building a house – one brick at a time.

The Buchanan Auto Group prides itself on the ability to turn dealerships around, Tosch said, and looks to purchase unprofitable stores. Until now, they’ve struggled to find the right chemistry for the Bowling Green store, he said, but they found their match in the energy and experience the Campbells brought to the table.

&#8220We believe that (Joe) Campbell and his son will bring the right philosophy and enthusiasm to the store, and should be the last operating partner change that we should bring to that store,” Tosch said. &#8220We are excited about their abilities and their community involvement, and we expect a lot of good things from Joseph and Troy Campbell.”

– For more information, call BMW Mercedes-Benz of Bowling Green at 745-0001.