The relocation comes amidst a tumultuous time for car dealers and car manufacturers—foreign as well as domestic. At the end of 2008, Toyota reported its first annual operating loss since 1938, the year after the company was founded. Toyota’s sales worldwide dropped 33.9 percent in November and 37 percent in December. On January 7, the New York Times reported that Toyota will idle its plants in Japan for eleven days in February and March to reduce output.  

“It’s the worst I have ever seen it,” Habeck said. “What’s funny is that we were having a record year right up until November. Then it happened. Sales dropped.”

So radical was the impact that sales at Kinderhook Toyota went from a record pace to a decline for the year of between 30 and 35 percent for a dealership that typically averages from 40 to 50 new car sales a month.

The dismal sales, said Habeck, will have no impact on the dealership’s move, which has been underway since early 2008. Construction of the facility started in earnest in the late summer, and contractors are working inside during the winter.

“The blacktop mills are closed for the winter,” said Habeck. “Once, they reopen, we can get a final layer down, and we should be able to open.”   

Buoying the dealership during the tough financial times is increased demand for car repairs.
 
"Our service department has been very busy. People aren’t buying cars now, they are fixing them, which, with a service department, is definitely helping us out,” said Habeck. “When you have other sources [of revenue], it helps you get through the tough times." 

 
The service department is so busy that the dealership is interviewing to fill positions that will be available once Kinderhook Toyota opens in its new location.