A proposal for a new used car dealership was likened to a pu-pu platter, called a “mish mash” and unanimously rejected by Selectmen on Tuesday.

Ryan Correia of Route 6 Fuel at the corner of Route 6 and Swifts Beach Road, appeared before the board to request a Class II license to allow the sale of used cars on the property.

The 18,000 square foot lot, less than half an acre, currently contains gas pumps, a small convenience store and some unused automotive service space. Correia said the plan was to see if the used car business could be profitable at that site and, if it was, to remove the gas pumps and convenience store.

Selectmen Alan Slavin responded that adding a third business to an already crowded lot and then seeing what proved profitable sounded “like going to a Chinese restaurant, ordering a pu-pu platter and eating the most of what you like best.”

Judith Whiteside noted that the intersection of Route 6 and Swifts Beach Road was already dangerous for both cars and pedestrians.

Steve Holmes called the presented business plan “a mish mash.”

Chair Patrick Tropeano was even more critical. Displaying photos of the site he had taken with his cell phone earlier in the day, he told Correia, “This has got to be the worst place ever for a used car lot. Too small. Too tight. And it’s cornered. If you had come looking for a service license now, I wouldn’t give you that either.”

Apparently persuaded by Correia’s argument that a used car lot by itself would generate less auto traffic on the busy corner than does the current gas station, Tropeano said he would support the Class II license with the condition that the gas station and convenience store be removed before the used car business opens.

Peter Teitelbaum suggested that he would be open to reducing the number of used cars allowed on the lot from a total of nine to five so long as the gas station is operating. But he ultimately sided with the other board members in rejecting the application.

All agreed that they would be open to a revised proposal from Correia – one that did not include the simultaneous operation of a gas station, convenience store and used car dealership on the same small lot.