Not many can say they can take a teenage hobby or interest and carve it into a career, but for Travis Wright of Wright's Auto Sales, 922 Broad St. in Montoursville, that's exactly what he did.
The establishment was started in 1978 by Wright's father Stephen Wright in Williamsport on West Fourth Street, just a little less than a mile west of the entrance to the Williamsport Area High School.
Wright worked for his father beginning in 1992 after developing an interest in cars, he said, and later bought it from his father in 1998.
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Wright's Auto Sales, 922 Broad Street, Montoursville, owned by Travis Wright, offers a full-service station as well as a wide selection of vehicles for buyers.
Before opening up his own car dealership, Wright's father worked for his father in law at a used car lot off of Green Avenue in Old Lycoming Township called Ward's Auto Sales.
For 30 years, Wright's dealership held ground at its original West Fourth Street location until last year, he said, when he migrated his lot to Montoursville.
"It's great," Wright said of his move. "We had a great response. People are really nice down here, and welcomed us to the area. Previous customers stopped in, and it's really good down here, and there's lots of traffic."
Since its move, the dealership now offers a full service station, an idea that was kicked around for the last several years, Wright said, and when the new location had an already established service area, it made it that much easier.
The new location also has a familiar face as well, as Jason Staver of Ken Kibbes Auto Mart - the previous occupants of Wright's new lot - stayed to work as Wright's mechanic.
"It was nice knowing that I had somebody honest," he said of Staver, "and all the customers love him."
The full service station handles work involving things such as state emissions inspections, he said.
According to the dealerships Web site, Wright also personally inspects each vehicle before selling.
His lot is just a little bit smaller than his previous location, he said, but the added service station has acted as a bonus.
Wright said he sells all makes and models out of his location on Broad Street, such as select imports like Nissan, a few Mitsubishis and Chevrolet vehicles.
Subarus are one of the major models typically sold there, he said.
"This summer we've sold more Subarus than anything else combined," he added.
One of the reasons why that model is sold more frequently, he reasoned, is because of the all-wheel drive and the better gas mileage a driver can get compared to an SUV, along with its reputation for its durability.
Wright said he's beginning to see a turnaround from last year's economic downturn, which left him in a bit of a slump, but now things are on the upswing.
"Just a lot of people didn't want to spend money on a brand new vehicle," he said of the drop in sales last year, "(and) gas mileage is always an issue."
As summer came around this year, however, he said sales and service has been great.
"It can be a lot of fun, but it can be pretty trying at times," Wright said of owning a car dealership. "It seems these days we're working harder than we did in the past, with the way things are with the economy and the used-car market."
For more information and a complete inventory listing, visit Wright's Auto Sales' Web site at www.wrightsautosales.com.
