Customer satisfaction is driving force behind new car dealership

Friday, June 27, 1997 | 11:17 a.m.

To build a new concept in dealerships, the brain trust of AutoNation USA made a list of everything people hate about shopping for cars.

High-pressure tactics. Dickering for deals. Hearing sales pitches on similar models you really don't want to hear. Cars that work fine until the papers are signed. Listening to the kids whine as the pressure builds.

Then, they came up with ideas to address those problems. The result: a new chain of used-car dealerships, one of which opened its doors this week in Henderson.

The company, a subsidiary of Florida millionaire Wayne Huizenga's Republic Industries Inc. empire, is so new that the Southern Nevada entry is only the 15th store nationally in a chain whose stores are an average age of 4 1/2 months.

"The whole chain is a work in progress," said Lawrence Rich, president of the company, who was in Henderson for the local store's grand opening on Wednesday. "When the company was begun, we talked about the undesirable qualities of buying a car, then went about finding a way to change the existing mentality. What we got is unlike anything around today."

Visitors to the 23-acre AutoNation site are greeted at the front door of the cavernous 39,000-square-foot building by one of the 125 employees who explain the workings of the company's computerized car listings.

Using one of the 50 menu-driven, touch-screen monitors, customers can select the type of car they want and can further limit the search by listing a price range. When the search command is given, the computer produces a data base of available cars at the dealership.

Select a car and the computer will produce a comprehensive report about the vehicle, including a list of features, mileage, color and, in some cases, a photo. One touch of the screen will produce a printed record of the report.

The report also lists the location of the vehicle on the lot by identifying its parking place by color-coded zone, row and space number. Customers can then locate the car on the lot and look it over before getting assistance.

The lot itself is in a park-like setting with trees, benches and landscaping. There's room for about 1,000 cars, although the inventory at the grand opening was at about 800.

"The process is what really wows them when they come in the door," Rich said of early reviews of other AutoNation dealerships in Florida and Texas. "We try to take the anxiety out of the second-largest transaction most people ever make."

The one-price policy is probably the most popular feature at the dealership, an innovation introduced on a broad scale by Saturn at its dealerships. Rich said the policy ends haggling over prices. In addition, he said the one-price policy applies to trade-ins -- once a value on a trade has been set, it will stay consistent regardless of what car is under consideration for purchase.

Rich said he believes nonfranchised used-car dealerships to be AutoNation's biggest competitors and he also expects to steal customers who shop for used cars through classified advertisements.

The growth of Southern Nevada is what lured AutoNation to the market, Rich said. The area's demographic profile fits favorably in the company's strategy, he said, and the transiency of the area has not altered the company's basic plans to enter what nationally has become a $370 billion industry.

Every car sold at the AutoNation facility comes with a 99-day, 3,300-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, a seven-day, 300-mile money-back guarantee and 24-hour free roadside service for a year through the American Automobile Association.

The facility also has a glassed-in child care center with a small jungle gym and a television with videos. It's staffed and there's a wristband security system to insure children's safety.

An on-site auto accessory store under the name AutoGear USA has 2,000 items on the shelves and a 24-bay service center is available for car repairs as well as servicing vehicles brought as trade-ins.

The facility also features a community room that can be reserved free by nonprofit organizations.