I don’t know Scott’s actual title at the dealership. I just call him Scott the car guy.
For the last 30 years or more, whenever I needed something done with one of my cars, I just called Scott. Scott would come get my car, drop off a loaner and take my car in for service.
It’s important to understand that the loaner Scott dropped off for me wasn’t the dealership’s car. It was one of his own personal vehicles. Being in the car business, Scott had plenty of opportunities to buy well-maintained used cars as they were traded in on new cars. Often these loaner vehicles would be older high mileage vehicles. But they were always impeccably maintained.
In case you missed it, these loaner vehicles made quite a statement. Namely, buy a car from Scott and let him help you maintain it and it’s going to last forever.
Once my car was at the dealership, Scott would advocate for me to make sure the vehicle got all the repairs needed, but no extraneous services. I never had to worry about cutting coupons or negotiating prices with the service department, Scott always made sure I got the best deal possible.
Sometimes making sure I got a good deal meant referring me to another service provider that was just more competitive. Scott always put my interests above any other.
This all started back when all I could afford was whatever broken down used car was available on the cheap. No wonder Scott was always having to service the thing.
Over time, my business grew. We needed trucks and other service vehicles. Now I buy new vehicles every year, or more often. Of course, I buy them all from Scott.
I remember one occasion when I decided to buy a new car. I did some internet research and I picked out exactly what I wanted and told Scott. I also researched what I believed would be a fair price for the car. Scott procured the car. I was sitting in Scott’s office and Scott was going through all the paperwork related to the sale. The tension was overwhelming. Finally, I said, “Scott, how much for the car?” Scott mentioned a price that was lower than what I anticipated from my research. I said, “that will be fine.” That was the extent of our negotiations. That was the pattern for all future transactions as well, except I stopped doing any research about prices.
I can’t buy a car from anybody else.
Scott passed away on August 11th, the day after his 70th birthday. His obituary led with, “Scott Krause’s dead, 2020 Chrysler Pacifica for sale.”
Guess I’ll have to get a horse.