photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

A new sign publicizing Cable Dahmer's purchase of the Lawrence Kia dealership is shown on Dec. 22, 2025.

One of Kansas City’s largest car dealers has come to Lawrence, and it has taken over one of the city’s busiest and most scrutinized dealerships.

Cable Dahmer — the owner of eight dealerships in the Kansas City and Topeka metros — has completed a purchase of Lawrence Kia.

In recent days, signs on the Kia dealership at 1225 E. 23rd St. were swapped out to include the Cable Dahmer name. Cable Dahmer also recently announced the change in ownership on its website. My attempt to speak with a manager at the Lawrence location, however, wasn’t successful, so I don’t have specific information about what caused the company to come to the Lawrence market and to focus on the Kia dealership.

The Lawrence Kia dealership, however, has been in the news for some legal reasons. As we reported in September, the Kansas Highway Patrol blocked the entrances to the dealership and temporarily closed the business while agents from various entities executed a search warrant on the premises.

Shortly after the Sept. 4 incident, the Kansas Department of Revenue confirmed that it and the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner, Kansas Attorney General’s Office, Kansas Highway Patrol, Internal Revenue Service and United States Secret Service were investigating Lawrence Kia, and sister companies Dream Automotive and Dream Nissan in Lawrence related to allegations of conspiracy, theft and “making false information.”

Whether that investigation impacted the decision to sell the Lawrence Kia dealership is unclear. Attempts to reach Chin Rajapaksha, general manager at Lawrence Kia, on Friday and Monday weren’t successful. A spokesperson with the Kansas Department of Revenue also hasn’t responded to multiple emails seeking an update on the Lawrence Kia investigation.

The investigation comes after the dealership faced past accusations from customers who alleged a loan scheme had taken place at the dealership. Lawrence Kia ultimately ended up reaching a legal settlement with those customers. That settlement came after an arbitrator awarded more than $14 million in damages to a group of 31 customers who had alleged they were the victims of a loan scheme that involved false information being submitted to lenders. A Douglas County District Court judge had already upheld the mediator’s ruling on appeal, but the case still had other appeal options when a settlement in the matter was reached. Terms of the settlement haven’t been made public.

The Journal-World in June 2020 was the first to report on allegations that officials with the Lawrence Kia dealership were altering loan applications of some of their customers. The allegations at the time centered on the idea that local Kia officials were inflating the monthly income totals of customers who were seeking financing to buy a vehicle from the dealership. It is unclear if the current investigation has any connection to those allegations.

Rajapaksha previously told the Journal-World that he didn’t know what sparked the latest investigation.

“I have no idea,” Rajapaksha told the Journal-World in September. “They wouldn’t tell me what it is.”

While it is unclear how the sale of the dealership may impact the status of the investigation, it is clear that the dealership is now being run by new operators. “A New Era for Lawrence, KS” was the title of the announcement by Cable Dahmer that it had taken over ownership of the dealership.

“We are committed to providing an honest, fun and professional experience when you choose to work with us,” the online announcement read.

The company has a more than a 60-year history in the Kansas City auto market. Cable Chevrolet began operating on the “Miracle Mile” corridor of auto dealers in Independence, Mo. in 1957. By 1974, Dahmer Chevrolet began operating in nearby Fairmont. The dealerships merged in 1988, and the combined company for decades has claimed to be the largest dealer in the KC metro in terms of retail sales.

Cable Dahmer has acquired more than a half-dozen other dealerships in the area, and also built and opened a new Kia dealership in Lee’s Summit. Currently the company has 10 locations, including Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Kia dealerships.

The Lawrence Kia dealership will be the company’s second dealership outside of the KC metro area. It purchased the Ed Bozarth dealership in Topeka in 2021.

Its entry into the Lawrence market is confined to the Kia brand. The sale did not include Lawrence Kia’s sister company, Dream Nissan of Lawrence. However the Nissan dealership has moved. As we reported in October, Rajapaksha and his partners purchased the former John Deere dealership property at 1110 E. 23rd St. While renovations on that property don’t yet seem complete, I did confirm that the dealership has opened in the new location. It previously was located on the same site as the Lawrence Kia dealership.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The new Dream Nissan of Lawrence dealership location near 23rd and Haskell is pictured on Dec. 22, 2025.