For 36 years, Bill Kappas has put his trust into one local car dealership – Currie Motors Ford of Valpo. Whenever he or his wife are looking for a new vehicle, it means a trip to that dealership – one they’ve made 12 times over the years.
He didn’t start out as a Ford lover, however. For quite a while, Kappas was a GM customer and mostly drove Pontiacs. Things changed when he decided to move up to an SUV and found that his usual Pontiac dealership didn’t have what he was looking for.
“They didn’t have the GM SUV, but they did have this very nice Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer,” he said. “I drove it, said ‘this is nice,’ and ended up buying it, and they told me they’d let me swap to the GM I was looking for when they got it in. Well, it took them about six weeks and when they called me I already liked the Ford so much that I said, ‘No, I’m going to keep this.’ That’s how I ended up a Ford Guy.”
Currie Motors, then known as Burrell Ford, picked up his business. Kappas loved the cars, but it was the dealership’s commitment to customer service that kept him coming back.
“Their approach is to do whatever it takes to make the customer happy,” he said. “I’m not an easy customer to make happy, but they’ve done it every time. They go out of their way to make sure I’m satisfied. That comes from having attention to detail, very competent mechanics, parts people, service writers, and the like.”
As an IT executive, Kappas travels a lot for meetings and to his company’s sites. He does a lot of driving and can’t afford to be left without a car. As a result, Kappas finds service, maintenance, and repair work just as critical to his experience at Currie Motors as the sales team.
“Quality in that department is paramount because there’s nothing worse than buying a vehicle and always finding it in the repair shop,” he said. “They make sure that doesn’t happen. I’ve never, on any of our cars, had to go back after we’ve had work done. When they do a job, they do it right the first time.”
He particularly values the emphasis the team places on communication. When he drops his car off for service, he is never in the dark on its status.
“Communication is what really sets them apart from other dealerships,” he said. “There’s not much worse than having your car in the shop and not hearing anything for a day or two. Currie Motors doesn’t do that. No matter what department you’re working with, they’re talking with you. You know where your car is; you know what they need to do and what’s going to happen.”
His and his wife’s positive experiences with Currie Motors also led their sons to purchase vehicles from the dealership.
“It’s because of the service we’ve gotten as a family,” Kappas said. “We’re people that work hard, expect service, and expect quality. We’re getting all of that from Currie Motors.”
To learn more about Currie Motors Ford of Valpo, visit fordofvalpo.com.
