BMW dealer buying 2 local Bentley franchises

By Todd J. Behme, Oct. 28, 2009

(Crain’s) — Local luxury car dealer Joe Perillo Sr. says he is buying Bentley franchises on the Gold Coast and in Downers Grove from Joe Abbas.

Mr. Perillo, who already owns a BMW dealership in the Gold Coast and a Lincoln-Mercury-Saab dealership in Lincoln Park, says he is slated to close around the end of this month on Bentley Gold Coast, 834 N. Rush St., which also sells Lamborghinis and Bugattis, and a Bentley dealership in west suburban Downers Grove from Mr. Abbas, president of Luxury Motors Inc.

The deal is coming together despite a downturn in the sales of high-price cars and an allegedly defamatory statement about Mr. Abbas e-mailed by a lawyer for Charter One Bank. The message from the lawyer to Mr. Perillo’s lawyer and others said Mr. Abbas had been arrested by the Illinois Secretary of State and had been released on bond, according to a complaint filed Oct. 19 in Cook County Circuit Court.

Mr. Abbas says in his suit that he has never been arrested or convicted of criminal activity, while Mr. Perillo says the incident gave him second thoughts about the deal.

Charter One provided credit to Mr. Abbas, who became “squeezed” because of the economy and the downturn in luxury car buying, says Chicago attorney Kurt Muller, who represents Mr. Abbas.

The lawyer for Charter One, Michael Weininger of Chicago-based law firm Lupel Weininger LLP, later informed recipients that the statement came from a third party and that he had been told it was not true, Mr. Muller says.

But Mr. Muller says he believes the false statement was intended to persuade Mr. Perillo to abandon the deal, so that other parties could buy the dealerships. He declines to identify the third parties.

Mr. Weininger did not return a call. A spokeswoman for Charter One says the bank does not comment on pending litigation.

Separately, another bank has filed a foreclosure case on the Bentley Downers Grove showroom, 330 Ogden Ave. in west suburban Downers Grove, and other parcels, property records show.

Mr. Abbas, 44, says he is not selling because of any financial problems, but merely wants to get out of the car business.

Mr. Perillo says he plans to lease the Downers Grove showroom, but if the bank does not honor that agreement, he will move the dealership to another location.

Mr. Perillo declines to disclose the purchase price of Mr. Abbas’s dealerships, which he says he’s been managing for a couple months.

He already owns the BMW dealership at 1035 N. Clark St. in the Gold Coast and a Lincoln-Mercury-Saab dealership at 1111 W. Diversey Parkway in Lincoln Park. In August, Mr. Perillo paid $4 million for the site of a closed Saturn dealership on the Northwest Side, saying he might sell used BMWs there.

Related story: BMW seller buys closed Saturn dealership

A spokesman for Boston-based Bentley North America Inc. says the Downers Grove and Gold Coast dealerships are in good standing. He declined to disclose specifics about the pending sale.

The other local Bentley dealership, in north suburban Northbrook, is not owned by Mr. Abbas, the spokesman says.