Read original story

A financially stressed Grass Valley auto dealership selling five General Motors brands has ceased operations, and the ownership reportedly is trying negotiate a refinancing deal to stay in business.

Weaver Auto and Truck Center - selling Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC and Pontiac vehicles - has been fighting to stay alive since Oct. 31, when GMAC removed more than 100 vehicles from the lot at 400 Idaho Maryland Road.

GMAC, seeking payment for the vehicles, was granted permission to remove the vehicles by a Nevada County Superior Court judge.

The Weaver lot was subsequently closed, with about 40 workers laid off.

Dealership owner Tom Weaver could not be reached today, but he was quoted in The Union, a Grass Valley newspaper, as saying he was negotiating a refinancing deal with KeyBank in Sacramento in hopes of reopening next year.

The Union reported that a legal notice planned for publication Saturday said the dealership would be auctioned off on Dec. 15. The notice listed debt of $8 million.

More than a dozen Sacramento-area auto dealerships have closed this year, victims of the economic downturn and tight credit.