Ralph’s Auto Center Closes Church Street Lot But the Business Isn’t Done

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — Those who have driven past Ralph’s Auto Center in New Bedford might be wondering where the cars went and if the business has permanently closed.

While owner Ralph Medeiros says the business is still going, it will no longer be at 867 Church Street in New Bedford, where it has stood for decades.

Why Ralph’s Auto Center Left Church Street

“After 38 years, I decided to call it quits there,” Medeiros told WBSM’s Brian Thomas. “It was a convergence of different things. The lease is coming up, and they want to go up substantially, and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

“The lease is going up, taxes are going up,” he said. “It comes to the point where you’re working for everybody else except for yourself.”

Medeiros closed Ralph’s Auto Center on December 18. He said almost all of the staff members have already found new jobs, although a few are still weighing offers.

“Everybody’s accounted for except me. I don’t have a job yet,” he joked.

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What’s Next for Ralph Medeiros and the Business

However, Medeiros said he is still working, and Ralph’s is still in business, although it is now “leaner and meaner and more efficient.”

“I’m still working. I’m still going to be selling cars,” he said. “I’ll be working wholesale and picking up cars for customers who want them. So I’m still in business, we’re just not going to have the footprint we’ve had in the past, because the economics don’t justify going forward.”

Ralph’s has been in business since Medeiros’s father, Ralph Medeiros Sr., started the company in 1959 with a car lot on Allen Street in New Bedford. The younger Medeiros said he hasn’t ruled out starting up another physical location in the future, and keeping it in New Bedford.

Could There Be Another Ralph's Auto Center?

“I do like New Bedford,” he said. “We’ve been around a long time, one of the oldest dealers still in operation, and I would not be averse to having a physical location in New Bedford. Maybe not as large as Church Street, that was a big operation.”

No matter what the future holds, Medeiros wanted to express his appreciation for everyone who put their trust in Ralph’s Auto Center, with people driving from as far away as Pawtucket, Providence or Cotuit for service.

“I thank the customers for their business over the years, for the support we’ve gotten,” he said. “We’ve made a lot of friends.”

Listen to Ralph Medeiros on Brian's Beat