Sale of Brainerd Toyota dealership gets the OK

Denny Hecker's automotive presence in the Brainerd area has come to an end.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge on Wednesday approved the sale of the Toyota dealership, formerly owned by Hecker and held in trust during Hecker's bankruptcy proceedings, to Twin Cities-based Walser Automotive Group. Toyota and Walser Automotive worked to close the deal Wednesday afternoon.

When it re-opens under Walser ownership, which is expected Friday, the dealership will be called Lake Country Toyota.

"We're excited about it," said Bob Ebert, Lake Country Toyota partner and general manager who had served as director of fixed operations with Walser Automotive Group. "Actually, at Toyota Financial, they informed us we could be selling cars as soon as (Wednesday) evening but we expect for sure to be open by Friday. We have the staff fully trained and ready to go, new product from Toyota and some product that was here. We've been working all week in anticipation of court approval."

Doug Sprinthall, Walser director of new vehicle operations, said as of 5 p.m. Wednesday the deal between Toyota and Walser had not been finalized but was expected to happen soon.

Curt McAllister, Midwest regional manager of corporate communications at Toyota Motor Sales USA in Detroit, said Toyota was pleased with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Kressel's ruling to allow Walser Automotive Group to purchase the Baxter dealership.

"It is our intention, with the new ownership in place, that this dealership re-open for business this Friday," McAllister said in a news release. "We are confident that Walser Automotive Group will provide excellent service to the many loyal Toyota customers in the Brainerd/Baxter area."

The 23 staff at Lake Country Toyota include all but two who worked at the dealership under Hecker's ownership. Ebert said he wanted to give first shot at the jobs to the former employees.

"We didn't hold anything against them on the profitability of (Hecker's) store because their hands were tied so much when they were here before," Ebert said. "We haven't heard one bad thing from any customers that have stopped by here. Their worry was if (Hecker) be open from one day to the next and that hindered business. All they wanted from us was to make sure the people they had dealt with are here, and they are."

Ebert and his family intend to move to the Brainerd area as soon as they can sell their Maple Grove home.

"We're excited to raise our family up here," Ebert said. "We've often vacationed up here and it's kind of always been our dream to move here. We always talked about it but there was the question of where would we work. Now we know."

Denny Hecker's high-profile bankruptcy proceedings continue. Hecker had 26 dealerships before his automotive empire meltdown. He filed for personal bankruptcy protection in June saying he owed up to $1 billion.

In September, Walser Automotive Group had a purchase plan in place to buy Hecker's last remaining dealership following the auto magnate's meltdown. But U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Kressel rejected the agreement, questioning a $750,000 consulting fee Walser had agreed to pay Hecker and the late involvement of a bankruptcy trustee.

This fall, Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. had planned to sell cars, parts and other non-land assets to Paul Walser for about $3 million, the Associated Press reported. The Toyota/Scion dealership along Highway 371 closed in September, putting its 35 employees out of work, the AP reported.

Sprinthall previously said during a Walser tour of the Baxter Toyota facility this fall they found former dealership employees were stopping by on their own time to pick up around the facility.

Walser Automotive is in the seven-county metro area and this will be their first outstate dealership, Sprinthall said. And he said physically the two-year-old facility in Baxter, with Toyota's most modern design, will be the nicest one Walser's owns.

Dondelinger Chevrolet-Cadillac bought Hecker's Hyundai dealership on Highway 371 north of Baxter in April.

MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.