Nov 17, 2002 By James Pletcher Jr. 4 min read

Vince Panucci found himself unemployed and looking for a job to support himself and his pregnant wife. That was 20 years ago.

“I started selling cars. I thought that would do until I could find a real job,’ the former millworker said.

“Little did I know it was a real job,’ Panucci, the new owner of South Pointe Buick Pontiac GMC in Brownsville, added.

South Pointe signs have yet to be installed so the former Matway name still identifies the business.

For the past two decades, Panucci has honed his skills, working for Baierl Auto Group, a major auto and truck dealer in the Pittsburgh region.

“I really enjoy this. I like selling cars. There is a need for them and I like the opportunity to make people happy.’

“You can make a good living doing this and you get to meet lots of people. But in order to do that, you have to gain the respect of the community first. People have to trust you and what you sell.’

Panucci said Matway, which has operated at the intersection of Routes 40 and 166 for 15 years, sold more used than new vehicles, due in part to the quality of vehicles being built today.

“It’s not unusual for people to keep a car for 10 years. A hundred thousand miles is nothing on a car today.’

He hopes the dealership will be the first of other South Pointe agencies in the area.

“We are going to keep the brands we have here. We will just be selling more new and used cars and trucks.

“The Baierls and I have a philosophy about higher volume. It’s the only way to achieve better pricing and giving people more value for their money.

“The Baierls have been in business for 40 years plus. They sell about every brand available. They are also big community people. Bill Baierl donates a lot of money to Pitt (University of Pittsburgh), communities and the hospitals.

“He was looking to come down this way because he feels this area is going to have a growth spurt soon. This site gets a lot of traffic and business from Pittsburgh, Uniontown, Morgantown and Washington.

“We want to expand the service department here using that same philosophy – giving people more with better pricing,’ he said.

The dealership will also offer more auto leasing.

Panucci, from Moon Township, saw an opportunity to move into his own agency, when the former Matway Pontiac Buick Oldsmobile GMC came up for sale.

“It’s the first dealership I have owned,’ he said, adding that his former employer also owns a percentage of the business.

The dealership is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Its telephone number is 724-785-6900.

“I’m excited about getting into business on my own and I think this area is starting to grow. There will be a lot of opportunities here as time goes on and we see the completion of new highways. We have more industry here. We hope to become a part of the community as well as the business community,’ he added.

With 15 employees handling current sales and service, Panucci said he plans to add more workers as needed.

“We hope to sell from 100 to 150 cars and trucks a month. That will increase as our inventory levels go up as well as our advertising. We can put about 200 new and used vehicles on this lot, more than we have now,’ he said.

Eventually he plans to relocate to the area. He and his wife have a son at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh and a daughter at Moon High School.