40 Years Reflection: Navarro Believes Opportunities Abound

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – In 1982, Shorty Navarro bought his first car dealership, Lincoln Mercury in Youngstown.

Navarro, who is also a philanthropist, later expanded to 11 franchises. He sold most of them in 2012 but still owns Stadium Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac in Salem.

One difference he’s seen during his time in business is in how vehicles are built.

“Automobiles from General Motors are very nicely put together,” Navarro says. “We don’t have the problems we had in the past. For example, our warranties…are way low compared to what we used to do. We used to do a lot of work and our service department was busy all the time.”

Navarro estimates that about half of his service department business 40 years ago was for issues related to warranties. Today it’s about half that because vehicles are built better. And because of technology, customers are more educated too, he says.

“People come in and are very well educated on what they want. And our salespeople are trained so they understand how to handle [the information]customers come in with. It works very well for us.”

Navarro, whose first name is Flor, came here from Puerto Rico with his family when he was 14 and went to work at a local gas station. At 16, with his father as a co-signer, he bought the gas station.

After attending East High School, he joined the U.S. Marines and served for six years. It’s an experience, he says, that changed his life.

“I believe they changed me completely as a different person, as a different man,” he says.

And he believes other young people would benefit from military service too.

“I think we’ve got a serious problem in this country, especially in this town, Youngstown,” Navarro says. “Because when you come from a poor family, and you don’t have any money to go to college … the best way for young men to grow is to join the service.”

He believes the military can do for other young people what it did for him.

“Because we live in a country where we have so much … opportunities to grow and to be something in life that you want to be,” Navarro says. “There’s so much. There’s so many opportunities out there – way more opportunities than when I was a young man. And they need to take advantage of that.”

Navarro says he and his business are well supported in Salem and he’s optimistic about the future.

“I think this is a [good] place to live, number one, and number two, it’s a growing area…,” he says. “If you live here, you can see the difference.”

Pictured at top: Shorty Navarro came to America when he was 14.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.