FeedsDrive for success
Plymouth auto dealership expands showroom, business
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Jim Schebil, above in a new Chrysler Crossfire, recently expanded his Fox Hills Chrysler Jeep dealership to have more room to showcase new Chrysler vehicles and his growing used car business.When Leonard Raniszewski decided to buy his daughter, Jenny, her first car, he knew exactly where he was going to buy it.
“I started buying cars at Fox Hills Chrysler 15 years ago and I was coming here again,” said the Livonia resident and owner of Redford Topsoil Contractors Associated who drove 20 minutes away from home and past several other car dealerships to purchase a 2007 Jeep Cherokee from Fox Hills.
“We bought an older model of the Jeep Cherokee here a few years ago and we knew that we would get a quality vehicle from Fox Hills Chrysler.”
For more than 25 years, Jim Schebil, the owner of Fox Hills Chrysler Jeep, has used the credibility and reputation he earned with customers like Raniszewski to stay afloat despite the ups and downs of the car industry and Michigan economy.
“You can’t make trust up. You have to earn it,” said Schebil who attributes 75 percent of his sales to repeat customers or direct referrals from past customers.
Fox Hills recently expanded the operation at 111 Ann Arbor Road leaving more room to showcase the newer models of Chrysler vehicles but also to accommodate a growing used car market.
“There will always be a person to buy a used car,” said Schebil who gets many of his used cars from trade-ins, lease renewals and public auctions. All used cars at Fox Hills go through an extensive Chrysler certification process guaranteeing the safety of the vehicle. Most used cars also have less than 10,000 miles.
Fox Hills also offers and innovative Internet sales program where people all over Michigan can go to his website, www.foxhillschryslerjeep.com to examine the inventory and purchase a vehicle from the comfort of their computers.
“We’re excited because we’re determined to make it with increased volume and more selection,” Schebil added.
Schebil said the recent meeting President George W. Bush had with the CEOs of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors was “a step in the right direction to begin the process of having a level playing field” with foreign car makers.
“Health insurance costs, gas prices, the difference between the dollar and the yen are all major issues,” said Schebil who dismisses claims that foreign cars have better quality than cars created in the United States.
“Big 3 quality is not an issue. Our products meet muster.”
Schebil said the American car industry for many years rode the high wave and eventually things had to slow down. However, he believes the car industry is on the way back up and he wouldn’t trade his experiences as a car dealer for anything.
“This is a great business. Selling a car is so much fun.”
And with customers like Raniszewski, it’s hard to feel any other way.
