All Roads Lead to Home?

When purchasing a vehicle, don’t forget to consider the benefits of buying local 

Buying a new (or new to you) car can be exhilarating, but data shows it’s more expensive than ever before and it can be exhausting to separate fact from fiction in a timely enough fashion to get the vehicle you want at an affordable price.

It’s OK to be anxious, and even skeptical, as you embark on spending thousands of dollars on a modern-day necessity (for most people, especially in Lakeland) that can break down, has features and specs that most of us don’t really know if we need and are promoted through slick marketing that puts dealerships in the driver’s seat.

But in a consumer landscape where dealers understand the weary buyer mentality, many car selling entities have stepped up their customer service and are working harder than ever to earn a person’s trust — and business.

That’s the case with many local car dealerships, including a trio who recently took time to share their wisdom on the car buying process and the benefits of buying from the place you drive your current vehicle past on a regular basis. 

“... in a consumer landscape where dealers understand the weary buyer mentality, many car selling entities have stepped up their customer service and are working harder than ever to earn a person’s trust — and business.”

You may not be familiar with the SBC Lakeland name, but the Subaru, Buick and Cadillac dealership off South Florida Ave. that was sold by the Cannon family last year, is still the same family-focused, community-involved dealer the Cannon’s started in 1964.

SBC Lakeland operations director Dan Cannon is passionate about treating customers fairly and with integrity, and he’s excited about the trajectory of a company he’s been a part of for decades.

Bartow Ford is just down the road from Lakeland, but you can’t turn on local radio without hearing owner Benny Robles Jr. trying to pump you up about your next vehicle purchase.

He’s just as excited though about the fact that every purchase helps support one of the nearly 300 local employees at his dealership who call Polk County home.

And, in the world of local luxury car dealers, Gary Gordon, general manager of Fields BMW, loves seeing people have their dreams come true, and he believes that nothing compares to a good test drive “come and see” approach to car buying.

Where

 to Begin Your Hunt

Where should someone start their car buying process?

Bartow Ford - Benny Robles Jr.

“To start the process, find out what size and type of vehicle you and your family need,” says Robles Jr. “Sit down with one of our sales people and together we can figure out if you really need 4-wheel drive or certain features, and what makes sense for your budget.”

He explained that people need to find a dealership built on a foundation of people they can trust because “vehicles are more complex than ever…they are like a walking computer.”

“Who is going to be there for you if there’s an issue?” he asks. “You can inspect a used car as much as you want, but if you buy it from Joe Blow, they aren’t invested in what happens after you buy it.”

He acknowledges the prices of vehicles have skyrocketed, and he wants consumers to know that his dealership has a vested interest in people being able to afford the vehicles they purchase.

“If I sell you a car you can’t afford I could really destroy your life,” he says, mentioning how someone could lose their job and not be able to afford high payments, ultimately leaving them without the transportation necessary to find and take on a new job.

Fields BMW - Gary Gordon

Gordon says he recommends people use a mix of digital and in-person methods to determine exactly what they want.

He says most people start their car-buying process by scouring the deep and wide corners of the internet, but there is still a great benefit to the intangibles that can only be realized by visiting a dealership.

“We feel most people want to come in and touch and drive this kind of car,” Gordon says. “We are not in just the ‘transportation business’, nobody needs anything we sell…everything we sell is about want, and people want to come in and touch and see.”

A place modern technology comes in handy for Fields BMW is once potential buyers have determined what they want, the team at the dealership is ready to help them purchase it from other locations if the vehicle they want is unavailable on the lot.

“COVID has changed [society] and we are ordering a lot more cars than we used to, and you know, all of the supply line problems and chip challenges and everything else…either you’re backing up or moving forward, and right now we’re growing.”

SBC - Dan Cannon

Cannon says every potential buyer should come to the table with settled answers to these two questions: “What do you need in a vehicle?” and “What is your budget to purchase it?”

“From there, there is so much information online, as far as ratings and quality,” he says. “For example, Subaru is known as one of the safest cars ever…so we have our daughters in Crosstreks because if I’m paying for it, I want ’em safe.”

In all of Cannon’s years in the automotive industry he has never seen such an unusual market — where at times slightly used cars are as or more expensive than new ones due to the factors mentioned by Gordon. Because of that, he says buyers need to be willing to act quickly when they find what they want at a price they can afford.

“If the car has gone off a lot today, it’s not like they’ve got 10 others right behind it to replace it with,” he says. “It may be months before they can get a replacement for that vehicle.” 

Benefits of Buying from Your Neighbors

What benefits does the dealer provide local buyers that separates them from competitors?

Bartow Ford

Robles Jr. is in the business of selling cars, but he said he’s more interested in building long-term relationships with people than utilizing some “magic phrase” that convinces them to buy a vehicle on-the-spot because he wants to have customers for life.

With that in mind, Bartow Ford focuses on offering individuals and families “reliable vehicles at an affordable price.”

Customers can also enjoy an on-site shuttle service, access to loaner vehicles and the benefit that comes from purchasing from a dealership with a highly reputable service department.

Robles Jr. said at the end of the day he wants people to be fully satisfied and know they can trust his team.

“Recently, we had a customer who was having an issue with a shock,” he says. “The warranty only covered the one shock, but we understood that before it was replaced it may have had a negative impact on the other shock, so we went ahead and gave the person another shock.”

He says that type of service contributes to the fact that roughly 60 percent of customers are repeat or referred by friends or family.

Fields BMW

“Two things - it’s the product and the people. One of them is us, Fields Auto Group, and the other is the brand,” Gordon says. “It’s a different experience. People walk in here, they know everybody, they’re friendly with everybody…people always say, ‘It’s the best car buying experience we’ve ever had.’”

The dealership offers amenities such as free car washes, valet service and a cafe. 

Gordon says Fields BMW understands that customer experience extends from the lobby of the dealership to the ethers of the world wide web.     

“We do a lot of business in the greater Lakeland and Tampa area,” he says. “We valet service our customers, we pick up and deliver their cars, we wash them, we fix them right the first time and take good care of them.”

SBC Lakeland

“(Customers)  want to know when they ask what’s the “out the door price”... they wanna know the out the door price, without having gimmicks and, you know, ads that show $10,000 worth of discounts and, you don’t know if they qualify for any of ‘em,” Cannon said. “Our goal isn’t to necessarily be the cheapest ever out there, our goal is to be honest, give our customers a fair price and to give them a great experience and to know that if they have a problem with their car, then we’re gonna take care of it.”:

Cannon said one of the things that sets SBC apart is its highly qualified technicians. 

“We have one of the best service departments in the country…they’re just the best of the best,” he says.

He said the list of everyday amenities customers can expect is long, but includes: a hand wash car wash and vacuum service, a loaner fleet of between 50 and 60 vehicles, concessions at the lounge and more.

Spending Money 

that Earns 

a Return

How is the dealership involved in the community and how does it give back?

Bartow Ford

Some of the organizations Bartow Ford supports are: VISTE, Achievement Academy, Wounded Warrior Project and Talbot House.  

“I’m most proud of supporting a spectrum of different charities,” Robles Jr. says.

He also lights up when talking about the special events his dealership has put on in the community. They have hosted several Winter Wonderland events where they brought in 80 tons of snow, had Santa on hand and served up a festive brunch for attendees. 

On Nov. 5 the dealership is welcoming country star Michael Ray to its lot for a live concert.

“Bartow Ford matches up with the hard working, care-about-people culture of our community…and we love to serve them well,” he said.

Fields BMW

“John Fields and the Fields family are great people,” Gordon says. “They actually care about their employees, they care about their customers, they care about their communities.”

The proof that backs up that statement can be found in the fact that in 2021 the auto group’s foundation supported nearly 80 nonprofits and organizations.

Locally, Fields BMW has given back through a variety of entities including: Noah’s Ark of Central Florida, Orlando Magic Youth Foundation and Make-a-Wish Central and Northern Florida.

SBC Lakeland

The Myers Auto Group is continuing the Cannon family’s long-standing local philanthropic impact through the dealership.

The dealership group raised money for Lakeland Volunteers in Medicine at last year’s Swan Derby, support the Alliance for Independence Wine Festival of Central Florida and have plans to partner with SPCA for an upcoming pet adoption initiative. 

Each Christmas the Subaru dealership participates in the company-wide Share the Love event, where Subaru donates $250 for every car sold to the charity of the dealership’s choice. Recently that non-profit has been kidsPACK, and the kicker is that SBC Lakeland has matched that donation dollar-for-dollar.

“What we love about kidsPACK is it allows our employees to become involved,” Cannon said. When a company writes a check and makes a donation to a charity that’s great, but the employees don’t necessarily get to see it and feel it. kidsPACK is something some of our employees can be involved with once a month, you know, getting there and getting on the assembly line and packing the lunches.”