Belcastro Motors playing the waiting game - The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

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Belcastro Motors has been a fixture on Grand Junction’s First Street for more than 40 years.

Ralph Belcastro started the auto seller, and it’s been a family run business ever since.

Today, there’s more pavement visible than vehicles at Belcastro Motors.

But the longtime auto seller doesn’t plan to go anywhere.

Ralph’s son, Bob Belcastro, said the success of their business has been taking care of their loyal clientele and providing them with good vehicles at fair prices.

“We rely on repeat business, and we appreciate all the repeat and loyal customers that we have had over the years,” he said.

It’s those customers, the loyal customers that head to Belcastro Motors when they want a good used vehicle, that are the reason the chunk of pavement is barren right now.

“We’re not going to overcharge for a vehicle,” Belcastro said bluntly. “Word of mouth is everything to us and our loyal clientele is who we want to keep.”

As motorists drive by Belcastro Motors, it looks like the business may have packed up for good. But a sign on the door lets customers know that is not the case.

“We are NOT going out of business!” The sign reads with an explanation on the next line: “Due to supply-chain problems we are experiencing a severe shortage of inventory.”

The premium is on new car sales, Belcastro explained. And the premium for new cars has driven up the prices of used vehicles.

“The biggest thing right now is supply,” he said.

When the supply for new cars increases, it will drive the prices of used vehicles down, and that’s when Belcastro Motors will be able to increase its inventory.

The business relies heavily on special orders as well as buying cars from local residents looking to upgrade.

The domino effect is simple, Belcastro said. If they have to pay high prices for used vehicles, then they have to slap a high price on the vehicle when they sell it.

“We will not overcharge for vehicles,” Belcastro reiterated. “Our customers are just too important to us. I can’t buy all that product out there and have them realize that I overcharged them.”

Optimism is rising though, and Belcastro said they are taking the tank-is-half-full philosophy.

“Things will change. We’re excited that schools are ready to come back and things will be getting back to the way they were,” he said about the pandemic.

The stretch of First Street from North Avenue to Chipeta Avenue has long been a used car shoppers go-to place with car lot after car lot along that stretch. There are several that remain, but the three chunks of asphalt starting with Belcastro Motors toward North Avenue looks more like a small airport runway instead of used car businesses.

It’s been about six months since Belcastro last had a customer with a special order. With special orders, customers come in and ask for a specific vehicle, and the Belcastro sales staff then searches around the country to try and fill the order. The key is finding a good deal to benefit the customer as well as the business.

“Nobody is discounting cars anywhere,” Belcastro said.

Now 48 years old, Bob Belcastro said he remembers several hard times the business has had to endure like the economic downturn in 2007. He also said this isn’t the worst time they’ve ever had.

“We’ve gone through all the highs and lows of the auto industry and being a small business.

“It’s different, but we will adapt,” he said. “We just have to run smarter and more efficient.”

The biggest thing he’s seen is that buyers are willing to pay high prices for new vehicles.

“It will change, but it’s unbelievable that people are out there spending on these high ticket items,” he said.

But Belcastro Motors is sticking to its tried-and-true business model that’s kept the enterprise going for the past four decades.

The main message Belcastro wants to tell his customer base is stated clearly on the sign on the front door:

“We don’t plan on going anywhere.”

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