Small Business Feature - Platinum Auto Plaza
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New and used vehicles have become a hot topic of late with the well-reported stories about a chip shortage in cars. When the world shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, making the supplies needed for chip manufacturing became difficult and led to chips being unavailable for months. “The used car market is very difficult right now because many of the used cars before the shortage came from new car dealer trades,” said Cody Fitzgibbons, part owner of Platinum Auto Plaza, an independent used car dealership, in Topeka. “With the chip shortage now lasting well over a year, new car dealerships are not able to sell as many new cars thus keeping more of their trade-ins in their own inventory. Auto auctions do not have nearly the selection they did pre-pandemic.”
Since the pandemic, everyone has had to learn to adjust or promote their product or services in a different capacity, and Platinum Auto Plaza is no different. Fitzgibbons, has seen how this shortage has impacted their used car market. “Not having as much inventory to select from has led us to go further away to procure inventory. Once the inventory has been procured, we are putting way more money into the refurbishment process to get the vehicles up to our standards,” he said.
Even with these extreme challenges, Platinum Auto remains dedicated to giving customers the time and attention they need when car shopping. “Dealing with customers is what I enjoy the most,” said Fitzgibbons. “When you’re talking to customers, you begin to understand what they’re looking for. We want them to feel like family. We are a family run organization and we want everyone we encounter to feel comfortable. They can get in and out within an hour or two,” he said.
The customer service doesn’t just stop when they drive their vehicle off the lot. “Once we put them in a vehicle, we always recommend they come back and get their vehicle serviced with us at our dealership. If there are any issues with the car, we will take care of them and make sure they’re happy with their purchase,” said Fitzgibbons.
“Our experience with CapFed® has been great. The relationship our dealership has with them is essential to grow. Being able to pick up the phone and discuss the needs of the business is key,” said Fitzgibbons. “We are able to make a call and fulfill our needs many times in the same day. We would not be where we are today without Capitol Federal®. As a family owned and operated business, it was important that we worked with a bank that also make their customers feel like family.”
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