Pierce Auto Center helps customers drive in style
<p>The Pierce Auto Center team stands ready to guide customers through friendly, exciting car sales and service. (Photo by CAMERON RASMUSSON)</p>
SAGLE — When Jim Pierce started out in the car dealership business, his competition gave his career a life span of 90 days max.
More than 25 years later, the dealership owner is still delivering the friendly, customer-centered experience that fueled his business dealings in Montana. Now he’s brought that style of service to Bonner County with Pierce Auto Center’s newly-renovated facility at 30 Gun Club Rd.
“It doesn’t cost a dime to be nice to people,” he said. “The cheapest investment you can make is being good to a person.”
According to Pierce, the decision to expand their business into Sandpoint wasn’t a difficult one. He still remembers eating on the Spud’s Rotisserie and Grill lakefront deck with his wife during a visit many years ago. When Chrysler officials asked if they’d like to expand into the area, Pierce took them up on the offer. After some searching, they struck a deal with the May family to purchase the property formerly used as a Honda motorcycle and ATV dealership.
“We’re directly hooked up with Chrysler, so we’re a full service shop,” Pierce said.
On the service side of the business, Pierce is thrilled with the team he and business manager Nick Pierce have put together. Pierce Auto Center’s car shop includes the only level-three-certified master technicians north of Coeur d’Alene, he said. Their high degree of training brings a new level of technical proficiency to the service center.
“We really got lucky on that,” he said. “Those guys are hard to get.”
Meanwhile, car shoppers can expect a no-pressure, pleasant experience from the sales department. The inventory includes offerings from Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, and both new and used selections are available. Pierce is confident customers will find their pricing competitive, while the experience itself is promised to be fun and worry-free.
“We don’t want to treat people like they’re going through a lunch line,” Pierce said. “We want them to leave as friends.”
That’s especially true in a community the Pierce Auto Center crew intends to call home. They’ve committed themselves to investing in the community by getting involved with local organizations and supporting worthwhile endeavors. And if the early signs are any indication, Pierce Auto Center should be doing that for a long time.
“We’re really happy to be here and are excited to form some lasting relationships,” Nick Pierce said.
Pierce Auto Center is open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Call sales at 866-783-0047, service at 866-815-1396 and parts at 866-858-4814