At Team Chevrolet of Valparaiso, the crew knows that new or used car buyers have a big decision on their plates and that making that decision can quickly become a stressful, overwhelming experience. That is why the dealership's sales and finance teams work closely together to ensure that buying a car at Team Chevy is made easy every time.
The finance team is led by managers Aric Miller and Rich Powroznik, both veterans of the industry with 20 plus years of experience under their belts. They understand that what customers want most is simple – honesty. What you see is what you get at Team Chevy – there are no surprise costs or hidden fees, everything is consistent from the showroom through to the paperwork.
“We’re incredibly transparent, everything is shown upfront and there are no surprises,” Miller said. “We’ve all heard the horror stories from other dealerships where customers are signing paperwork and all of a sudden the figures are different with finance department versus what they talked about upfront. That never happens here.”
At a lot of dealerships, you might not see a finance manager until you’ve already settled on your vehicle and are ready to figure out how you’ll be paying for it. That’s not the case at Team Chevy – Miller and Powroznik are part of the process every step of the way.
“We’re there with them right from the beginning, building that rapport,” Miller said. “There’s not a single customer that comes into our office that’s just a number. I could tell you most of my customers’ first names when they walk into the store, whether they’re from six months ago or three years ago. Half the time I could tell you who they’re financed through. We’ve got customers who’ll come in to talk for a while just because they’re bored.”
A car is a big investment, and customers weigh a lot of factors into their purchase – their budgets, stories they’ve heard on social media, their families’ desires, and much more. Since they get to know their customers, Team Chevy is better equipped to handle those concerns.
“They’ve found the car they love, the price sounds good, but can they afford it?” Miller said. “That’s where the anxiety comes from for most of our customers. Rich and I, we’ve been doing this for over 20 years and have over 30 local and national banks we can use as resources.”
With their wealth of experience, Team Chevy keeps the buying process streamlined – there’s no wasted effort or unnecessary credit checks.
“A new finance manager might send your credit to 12 different banks to figure out what they want to do,” he said. “Rich and I can look at it and say, okay, these banks are the best options – that way you’re not having 12 different inquiries from the credit bureau. We know customers get nervous about that, so we want to take care of them right up front.”
And for inexperienced car buyers, Powroznik and Miller are eager to slow things down and walk through each part of the process step-by-step.
“One of the best parts of my job is when I’m helping someone who has never bought a car before,” he said. “I’ll take that extra time and effort to help them understand every step of the process and soothe that anxiety. I love having the chance to educate people on what the process should look like, and what everything means on every piece of paper that comes their way. I’m not throwing papers at you saying ‘sign here, sign here, and sign here.’”
Team Chevy also provides an array of online tools for car buyers, such as a payment calculator and a simple, fast, free, and secure online financing application.
“If you’re short on time, you can have a credit application filled out before you even step through the door,” he said. “It’s to the point you can know what your payments will be, what your interest rate is, what your terms are before you even show up at the store.”
The online application can cut hours out of the car buying process and get you driving home in your new vehicle without needing to spend the whole day in the dealership.
“We know time is money for a lot of people in Northwest Indiana,” he said. “There’s a lot of mill guys who work 90 hours a week, and the last thing they want is to spend eight hours in a car dealership. They can have everything done, pre-approved, and be in and out of the store within 90 minutes instead of spending the whole day figuring out the specifics of buying a car.”
To learn more about Team Chevrolet of Valparaiso, shop for new and used cars, or to apply for financing online, visit www.chevyon30.com.
