A father-and-son duo is ready to expand an established used car business to 7200 Washington Pike.
Andrew and Paul Koontz purchased the Corryton property in July 2025 in hopes of turning the empty lot on the corner of Washington Pike and Ellistown Road into a booming business.
Thanks to a neighbor posting in the Corryton Connection Facebook group, the family was already letting more neighbors know about their incoming business.
Twenty-four-year-old Andrew Koontz already sells used Toyotas in Fountain City, but told Knox News he was "bottlenecked" at his first property, and wanted to expand along a busy corridor.
This property represents more than just an expansion of the younger Koontz's business. Paul Koontz, who owns a fabrication business, is looking
to retire and help his son full-time soon.
"We're going in together for this," Paul told Knox News.
Andrew plans to sell used Hondas, Lexuses and Toyotas for cash starting in January 2027. He said he isn't planning on financing cars at the moment, but that might be an option in the future.
Some have been skeptical of a used car lot on the 2-acre plot, but Andrew said he will only have about 15 to 20 cars at a time, plenty of room for his inventory. The lot won't be used for servicing cars, either.
Although the Corryton space isn't visible from the interstate, Andrew said he doesn't need it to be to sell cars.
"I've only had one walk-in customer ever," he said, because a large majority of his buyers come from social media on Instagram and Facebook around Knoxville and even out-of-state.
"I didn't care where it was, really, as long as it was pretty close to the interstate," Andrew added. "This does have a lot of exposure. Probably 90% of the cars I sell will not be in this community."
Construction is ongoing at 7200 Washington Pike, and Andrew hopes to be selling his first cars in the new year.
Caitlyn Meisner is the K-12 education reporter for Knox News. Email tips and story ideas to caitlyn.meisner@knoxnews.com.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What's that new building on Washington Pike in Corryton?
