Welcome to Episode #3 of our weekly podcast here at Miracle Ford! In this episode, we talk with Sales and Leasing Consultant, Charlie Piper of Miracle Ford. Charlie is a native of Gallatin and has been with Miracle for close to 6 years. Charlie shares a bit about himself, and he discusses why buying online is most likely not the best option for most customers. Charlie also discusses buying a vehicle with poor credit. This is a great episode, so sit back and enjoy!

Transcript

John Haggard: 00:02 Welcome to the Miracle Ford podcast, where each week you’ll be able to learn the best ways to purchase or lease, maintain, accessorize, and how to sell your vehicle for the highest resale value possible, when you’re ready to do so. I’m your host, John Haggard and throughout each month, right here, different team members join us from Miracle to bring you tips that you can use. And by the way, we will also post a transcript of each podcast. That way you can easily refer to it for information. Maybe something you heard in the podcast, and you wanted to understand it a little bit better. So you’ll have it right there at your fingertips. On this podcast today we’re talking about different ways to own or lease a vehicle, what’s new about the process these days compared to the past, and really what separates Miracle Ford from the others. And we’re proud to have on the podcast, Charlie Piper. He’s the Sales and Leasing consultant at Miracle Ford. Hey Charlie, welcome to the podcast.

Charlie Piper: 00:57 Hey John.

John Haggard: 00:58 What have you been up to this past week?

Charlie Piper: 01:00 Well, we’ve been selling cars and keeping busy. That’s what we like to do here at Miracle Ford. Ha.

John Haggard: 01:07 Well that sounds like a good plan to me. And you know, before we actually get into what you can teach us today, a lot of people always want to know, “well, I’m listening to this person”, who are they? Where did they grow up and how did they wind up in the car business? Tell us a little bit about yourself Charlie.

Charlie Piper: 01:24 Well, John, I was born and raised right here in Gallatin, graduated from Gallatin High School in 2005. I love a lot of outdoor activities and relaxing and binge watching TV shows. But you know, I really love selling cars.

John Haggard: 01:40 Well, and when you’re outside, you said, you mentioned that as well. Besides binge TV viewing, which a lot of people do these days, what do you like to do outside?

Charlie Piper: 01:47 Fishing, hiking, going to see the sights, you know, just really being outside and enjoying the outdoors.

John Haggard: 01:54 And so you said Binge TV watching people always like to know, well, what are you watching?

Charlie Piper: 02:01 I have been watching Texas Flip and Move, like it’s no other, I’ve been watching that constantly and it gives me new ideas for home renovations and stuff like that.

John Haggard: 02:13 Well, I do understand Charlie, by your title, that you are a sales and leasing consultant at Miracle Ford. What does that title actually mean other than selling and leasing vehicles?

Charlie Piper: 02:26 Well, this pretty much goes into taking care of the customer and their needs. Listening to who, where the customer wants to be at and where their goals are and where they’re trying to do into getting them into their next investment, their next vehicle. It’s a detailed process that we like to go through with our customers to make sure they are going to be taken care of now, but also in the future as well.

John Haggard: 02:50 Well, have you seen, you said you’ve been in the car business since, what was that year, 2005?

Charlie Piper: 02:55 I’ve, no, I’ve actually been in it since 2014. I’ve been with Miracle Ford for five years, going on six years now.

John Haggard: 03:03 Gotcha. All right. So what have you seen over the last five or six years? If you look at the shopper’s market place today for buyers? You know, they’re thinking about, “well, you know, there are many more ways to buy or lease today compared to a few years ago”. What are you seeing out there? What’s the difference? What should people know about?

Charlie Piper: 03:20 Well, the biggest thing is I’ve seen a lot of changes, and the biggest thing is internet. There’s so much information on the Internet now and it’s right at the tip of everybody’s fingers. You can go online, search what you want, find what you need and go pick it out. Nine Times out of 10, the customers that are coming into the dealership know what they want to buy when they get here.

John Haggard: 03:43 So they pretty much have it laid out for you. Absolutely. Nine out of 10. Yeah, that’s, that is a high number. That is the internet and boy, I won’t tell you lots of information. One of the things that a lot of dealers experience is high turnover of personnel. Do you think today taking into account the Internet and other ways, buying and leasing, does it really make any real difference today? How long someone actually works at a dealership? What’s the benefit of longevity or is there any,

Charlie Piper: 04:15 Well, it absolutely does matter how long sales associates stay with Miracle Ford or with any dealership for that matter. Because when you have repeat referral business that want to come back and see you, they know they’re going to get treated the same no matter what. They’re going to get that same level of respect that they got in the past. I mean, it also gives the customer a good feeling about the dealership obviously showing that it’s a quality place to work at too.

John Haggard: 04:42 That makes sense. And if someone said, “you know what, I’m going to tell you about this Charlie Piper guy and my, my experience in buying or leasing a vehicle from him”, what would you say sets you apart? And maybe what sets Miracle Ford apart from all of the other sales and leasing consultants out there at other dealerships who say, “come see me, I’m the best”.

Charlie Piper: 05:05 Well, I will say that we’re going to give you the experience that you’re wanting to get at a dealership. We’re going to handle your purchase and experience from beginning to end. We’re gonna make sure we’re going to go over the vehicle with you in full detail, make sure you understand our product completely. And the biggest thing is following up after the sale to make sure that everything is still going well with the vehicle purchase that you made with us.

John Haggard: 05:31 And how would you advise someone like this, Charlie? Let’s say they’re looking for a pre-owned vehicle and they say, you know, I just think I will buy a car off the internet and try to get a better deal. I’ve seen these ads from Carvana and Cars Direct and CarGurus and Vroom, you know, all these other people. What would you say to that?

Charlie Piper: 05:49 Well, a lot of people have a lot of reasons for not wanting to deal directly with a dealer. The best deal that anyone can get is actually coming into the store and talking with us. But I always like to tell everybody, be careful what you’re buying online. Our philosophy is come in and drive the vehicle. Sit down with us. Let’s see what’s going to make you happy and let’s see if the vehicle is really going to take care of your needs and your wants. I mean, you can buy anything online, but when you have the touch and the feel driving the car down the road and making sure this is yours, this is a good investment, just not for you, but with your family as well.

John Haggard: 06:27 Have you heard some real horror stories, Charlie, from people buying online?

Charlie Piper: 06:31 You know, I haven’t heard any horror stories. I guess I’m just old school when it comes down to, hey, if I’m making a big ticket purchase, I want to make sure I’m going to put my hands on something before going online and getting it. It’s not like buying clothes or jewelry or some little things online. This is a big ticket purchase and I think you really should take time out to come in and sit down and talk with us and make sure this is going to be the right choice for you, you know?

John Haggard: 07:01 Gotcha. And you know, you hear people say, “we’ll cut out the middleman or cut out the middle woman and save money by buying online”. Is that true? Can you get a better deal buying online versus going to a dealer?

Charlie Piper: 07:12 A lot of people have many reasons for not wanting to deal with a dealer directly. The best deal that you can get is when you come into the store. I mean, I’m sure they’re going to give you great deals online, but there’s just something that’s missing from that. And when you sit here and you’re in here with us, we’re going to make sure that we’re going to take care of you, no matter what, and you know what you’re getting. You’re getting a quality excellent service. You’re getting professionalism and respect when you walk in the door.