Mercedes-Benz of Rockville Centre has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 1932.
That was the year that Fred Meyer opened Ideal Auto Repair in Rockville Centre, a small gas station and mechanic shop. Soon, he expanded and began to sell Studebakers and Packards.
When Studebaker was going out of business in the 1950s, they sold the dealers to Mercedes-Benz. Meyer became the one of the first Mercedes dealers in the country and the first on Long Island, and the business has been in his family ever since.
Last month, his grandson, David Meyer, held the grand opening for the dealership’s new 35,000-square-foot Sunrise Avenue showroom.
“My main goal was to create an open look and feel throughout the dealership,” said Meyer, who also designed the building.
The new showroom has two floors of automobiles for potential customers to look at. A split-level basement adds three more floors to the building. A car elevator brings cars from the bottom level of the basement up to the first and second floors.
The new building is much more expansive than the former brick building. The $10 million renovation allows the dealership to hold 90 cars at any given time.
In addition to completely remodeling the building, Mercedes-Benz of Rockville Centre will also be redoing the median on Sunrise Highway that runs in front of the building, from Oceanside Road to Yorktown Street. The redesign of the median will include plantings and a new sign welcoming people to the village.
“I think we set a pretty good standard for everyone to strive for,” Meyer said.
Mercedes-Benz of Rockville Centre also completely rebuilt its service center, moving from its facility in Rockville Centre to a converted warehouse in Hempstead. The new facility is 104,000 square feet (a regulation football field is 57,600 square feet) and services 80 cars a day.
Everything is done indoors so customers don’t have to wait outside while their cars are inspected. And though it’s been open for a year, the service facility still looks brand new.
