I don’t know whether I’m like most people or not, but when it comes time to purchase a new car, I find that I become the worst of procrastinators. I hate the process. Sure I enjoy checking out vehicles on line or casually looking at cars on the lot, but I don’t like being rushed through a process, I don’t like collecting and filling out paper work, and while showing off the new ride to family is fun, I quickly tire of the phrase “Look at you! Moving up in the world huh?!”
Honestly, I’m not much of a car guy. I know what I like, but my knowledge is mostly limited to the practical. I also know when it’s past time to let an old admittedly beloved vehicle into the pasture for retirement. Being that I drive an hour to work every day, one of my biggest concerns was gas mileage. Combine that with my safety and reliability concerns, my target market for cars makes for a fairly boring sale. Since the last couple vehicles I’ve owned have been private sales, I approached the dealerships somewhat reluctantly. After shopping around on line, I decided to visit Firestation Auto in Tyler. As the name implies the dealership has been housed in an old fire station for over twenty years. While I have heard their ads on KTBB, and have family members who’ve bought from them in the past, I was still really surprised to find their sales techniques extremely hands off. Owner, operator, salesman, Lance Brown made himself available to answer questions, but otherwise I was free to search the lot looking and sitting in vehicles. After browsing around a little, I asked to test drive a vehicle of interest. The car was a late model, Toyota Corolla. It had low mileage, ran very well, and most importantly, gets about thirty five miles to the gallon. Only when I was ready to buy did Mr. Brown begin the process of checking my credit and putting together a deal.
Lance took all of my financial information into consideration and then worked with the lending institution to hammer out a great payment plan with a really low, fixed interest rate. In the weeks since, I have actually come to enjoy my commute. Looking back at my experience with Firestation , I am still struck by how low pressure, and laid back their sales staff was. Even with my young son exploring their office, the whole attitude, from their side of the deal in particular, was easy, reasonable and relaxed. For those considering a new vehicle, try Firestation Auto first. It’s a different car buying experience. For more info, check them out on line at http://www.firestationauto.com/homepage.html .
I have been taking my Cadillac Escalade to Wagner for several years now and have had great experiences there. I always felt taken care of and never had a question about them not being able to service my vehicle. I have no misconceptions about dealership service centers. You are charged 50% and more over the same service at a regular car shop in town. I have always known this but never bothered to take it somewhere other than Wagner because my car was under warranty and so it wasn’t costing me anything to have them take care of me.