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ATTLEBORO - Anderson Chrysler Jeep on Pleasant Street will soon have a new name and owner.

After 38 years of being locally owned, the dealership is being sold to Tarbox Motors based in North Kingstown, R.I.

Tarbox will take over the business Wednesday, and will retain the 30 employees who work there.

The reason for the sale, General Manager Gerry Farinelli said, is that "some of us are getting old."

"We want to enjoy other pleasures in life," said Farinelli, 66. He plans to pursue other options, such as teaching, while owner Leo Giannino, 81, a longtime resident of Plainville, plans to split his year between Florida and Newport, R.I., where he now has a home.

What tipped the scales for the sale, they said, was an offer from an excellent organization, a five-star dealership considered by Chrysler to be one of the best.

They were also pleased that Tarbox wanted to keep the entire workforce.

"We built a huge customer base over the years," Farinelli said. "It's nice to know that our employees will be here."

Jim Tarbox of Tarbox Motors could not be reached for comment.

Giannino bought the dealership in 1969 from Bob Anderson, and retained the Anderson name. At the time, there were eight dealerships selling various car makes and models along the Route 123 strip between Attleboro and Norton.

Even with all that competition, Farinelli said, there was plenty of business for everyone.

Now, he said, "we are the last dealership in Attleboro proper."

The other locally owned car business is Al Cerrone's on Route 1 in South Attleboro, a stretch of highway that has been drawing even more dealerships since Emerald Square mall opened in North Attleboro in 1989.

But some of the Route 1 dealerships that used to be family owned have since been bought up by larger chains. The turnover includes the former Vachon Mazda now owned by Tasca Ford and relocated to Seekonk, the former Attleboro Toyota owned by Tom Kimbrel that is now Boch Toyota, the former Mandeville Chevrolet now owned by Metro Motor Group and selling Hyundais, and Fireside Nissan now owned by Village Automotive Group after being owned by the Tondreault family for 40 years. In some cases, the sales happened because the right offers came along, and the owners were simply ready to retire or to move on. Sometimes, it was because of the difficulty of small dealerships to survive as the cost of doing business increased.

Giannino said he decided to sell because the timing was right, and not because of any difficulty in keeping the dealership going. Even with the increase in competition from foreign auto makers over the years, they maintained a good customer base and kept the business marketable and profitable without trying to become too large, they said.

"We always used to say in our ads that we did not want to be the biggest. We wanted to be the best, to make a good living, and enjoy life," Farinelli said.

Since the pending sale has become known to their customers, many of them have been stopping by to wish them well, and to them that reflects the support and loyalty they have built up over the years.

"We are very comfortable with the fact that Tarbox will take care of our customers," Farinelli said.

They will both remain at the dealership for a couple of weeks after Tarbox takes over to help with the transition. Once that is over, they both expect to miss coming into the office every day, at least at first.

"It's going to be tough," Giannino said.

But they are also looking forward to it.

"It's a another time in your life," he said.

GLORIA LaBOUNTY can be reached at 508-236-0333 or at glabounty@thesunchronicle.com.