Nelms Considers Selling Dealership

Don Nelms is considering selling his Lincoln Mercury dealership to Superior Automotive Group.

“We have made an agreement with them to start the process to do so,” Nelms said. “This thing could never happen.”

We hear Lincoln Mercury didn’t like the idea of Nelms’ moving the dealership from College Avenue in Fayetteville to the 34-acre Nelms Auto Store he opened this past summer on the edge of town.

If the sale does take place, Superior Automotive will buy the old Nelms Lincoln Mercury car lot and building at the corner of College Avenue and Township Road and the dealership will be moved back to its previous location. Superior will also buy 2.4 acres behind the Walgreens store that is under construction across the street. Superior will use that property for used-car sales, just as Nelms had done.

Nelms currently stocks about 100 Lincoln and Mercury vehicles at Nelms Auto Store.

Superior Automotive, which recently sold its Subaru line to Nelms, has eight dealerships carrying 12 lines of vehicles in Northwest Arkansas. Superior also has Nissan dealerships in Conway and Tupelo, Miss.

In addition to Subaru, Nelms currently carries Honda, Acura, Chevrolet and Lincoln Mercury lines.

David Slone and Avis Bailey, the owners of Superior, couldn’t be reached for comment.