NOVEMBER 14 • 2024 | 25
J
N

RIDING THE WAVES
Established as Tamaroff Buick in 1969 
on what was then a quiet stretch of 
farmland along Telegraph, Tamaroff 
Auto Group has taken many shapes 
and forms over its five-plus decades.
“My grandfather represented many 
car brands over the years, but as brands 
came and went, we’ve maintained our 
same address,
” Jason Tamaroff says. 
“He was always out there trying to find 
the next great brand.
”
Tamaroff sold motorhomes in the 
1980s (one he famously donated to 
a Chabad organization for a mobile 
“Chabad on wheels” that made its way 
across the country), as well as Rolls-
Royce, DeLorean, Isuzu, Daewoo and 
other leading auto brands. 
Still, challenging times threatened to 
up-end the growing business.
“We had two Buick franchises and 
one Dodge franchise that were taken 
back during the Great Recession,
” 
Frehsee says. “We had a decision to 
make at that moment: Pack it up and 
exit the dealership business or stick 
around. We chose the latter.
”
Then came the COVID-19 pandem-
ic, which required an immediate pivot.
“The dealership model continues 
to change as our customers’ buying 
habits and communication preferences 

change,
” Frehsee explains. “If they want 
to buy a car online, we need to have 
that ability. If they want to buy a car in 
person, we need to accommodate that 
preference. If they want to buy a car via 
text and ship it to a different state, we 
need to make it happen.
“In late 2019 and early 2020, we 
launched new tools to allow us to dig-
itally sign customer lease and finance 
documents,
” Frehsee continues, “so 

when COVID-19 hit, we were able 
to seamlessly offer contactless vehicle 
deliveries to customers.
”
The same hands-off approach 
applied to service with the ability to do 
pickup and dropoff, texting between 
service advisers and customers, and 
contactless payments. It’s a necessity 
Tamaroff says helped the group survive 
today’s climate and forever-altered 
world due to COVID-19.

Tamaroff Auto Group may have 
looked to the future, but it continues to 
be driven by its past.
“
At our core, we’re a family-owned 
business,
” Frehsee says. “We don’t have 
an independant board of directors. We 
make decisions based on what’s best 
for our family and what’s best for our 
employees’ families, our customers’ 
families. That’s always been ingrained 
in our DNA.
” 

LEFT: Here’s company founder 
Marv Tamaroff by Tammy. 
RIGHT: Eric Frehsee stands by 
the company’s mascot Tammy the 
Elephant. 
BELOW: Ryan Tamaroff, Jeffrey 
Tamaroff, Jason Tamaroff, Elan 
Tamaroff, Marvin Tamaroff and Eric 
 
Frehsee.

