Longtime Waynesboro car dealer seeks bankruptcy protection

Berrang Cadillac GMC Inc., a longtime General Motors dealership on Main Street and, more recently, Lew DeWitt Boulevard, has filed a Chapter 7 petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Harrisonburg. The petition, filed on March 1 by dealership president/treasurer Pat Berrang, lists assets of $688,131 and liabilities of $4.8 million. Chapter 7 is a liquidation-type bankruptcy in which assets are sold to meet debts. A personal bankruptcy petition filed by Pat Berrang lists assets of $5.1 million and liabilities of $5.2 million. Berrang's Waynesboro attorney, Jeff Ward, said Wednesday he did not comment on pending cases. Berrang was one of the dealers affected by the GM reorganization, he but regained his affiliation with the company a few years ago to sell Cadillacs and SUVs. His petition says the business opened in 1977. While the dollar volume of car sales in Virginia rebounded during the past fiscal year to more than $18.2 billion, times have become difficult for car dealers in small communities, said Don Hall, president and CEO of the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association. Hall estimates there have been more than 65 dealerships closed in the state in the past five years, the majority of which were in less-populated areas. Read more at http://www.dailyprogress.com/newsvirginian/news/local/article_9b008426-8d16-11e2-929c-001a4bcf6878.html