Established in 1987 by Martha’s Vineyard native David Pothier and his wife, Terry, Cars Unlimited, Inc. is a state-of- the-art automobile repair shop in Edgartown, Massachusetts. With an eye to the increasingly burgeoning summer population—21,000 year-round residents swells to 200,000 in the summer—the Pothiers have adeptly positioned their business in the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Industrial Park, an ideal location for customer convenience to the airport as well as to the Vineyard Haven Ferry Depot. With over 25,000 registered vehicles on Martha’s Vineyard and an additional 10,000 vehicles during the summer months, demand for reliable automobile diagnostics, service, and storage is high, particularly during peak periods.
The business is housed in a meticulously maintained +/- 3,600 Sq. Ft. steel framed warehouse with three service bays and a Massachusetts State Inspection station across +/- 2,800 Sq. Ft. of shop space. +/- 800 Sq. Ft. is dedicated to a comfortable customer reception area with a front desk, a bathroom, and a second-floor office. The grounds of the building provide extensive outdoor space for customer automobile storage as well as used car inventory. The +/-1.19 acre parcel has a ground lease in place for $66,000/year (2021). The lease was signed in 2017 and has fifteen years remaining. It is adjusted annually by C.P.I.
With the help of three full-time employees and one part-time employee, the Pothiers share the responsibilities of owning and operating the business. David oversees the general maintenance of the shop; having obtained years of hands-on industry experience, he performs diagnostics and repairs on every automobile make and model and is a licensed MSI and commercial vehicle inspector. Terry is the office manager, ensuring smooth daily operations and customer satisfaction; she also assists a full-time, customer-facing, service writer in the management of the front desk and sourcing parts and supplies. The service writer is an MSI inspector and is licensed to perform motorcycle and vehicle inspections. Two full-time technicians are available for diagnostics and repairs and one part-time licensed MSI inspector. In addition to cultivating a knowledgeable, long-standing team of employees, the Pothiers have also developed a pipeline of new talent through a training partnership with local island schools.