About Champagne Motorcar Company
Champagne Motorcar Company in Mansfield Center is proud of our humble story. When GM filed bankruptcy in 2009, our dealership, then Champagne Chevrolet, which was opened in 1991 by Ken Champagne Sr., was one of the smaller rural single point new car dealers that GM closed down. through a legal technicality General Motors got to pick and choose which dealerships they wanted to keep for the brand new General Motors family of dealers. They mostly kept bigger market areas, and dealers with multiple franchises (Chevy-Cadillac or GMC-Buick). We learned that nothing is promised to you and that sometimes, bad things do happen to good people. We struggled, wondering if we should close our doors and sell our property.
We decided as a team to move forward. It’s how we handle rough times that defines us as people.
After the GM closure, times were tough. With no inventory and no financial backing, we had to re-invent ourselves. Ken Champagne Jr. had to take a long look at what we were doing right and wrong and come up with a viable business model that could succeed in a very competitive market. "Build it and they will come" was our motto.
In 2010, we started with just 26 cars on our 5-plus acre lot. The lot looked barren, to say the least. But, we had the right cars, all handpicked by Ken himself. The right options, the right colors, the right mileage, and most importantly, the right prices. And, customers began to come. Ken instituted some new rules of doing business. As always, be honest and polite first. We instituted a policy that we would be able to give our customers our best price within five minutes of a showing with no back and forth games, no bait and switch. We gave the exact final price and payment and interest rate down to the penny. If a customer liked the deal and wanted to close the deal at that time, we did business. If a customer needed time to shop or do their due diligence, we told them that was no problem and that we understood their needs completely. Not only that, we pledged to never call them or bother them after their visit to our dealership.
People couldn’t believe this. ”You mean you’re not going to bug me? Really?” And, more people came. And, we were right: They called us back! We decided not to put our dealer badges on our customers' cars. We figured that if customers wanted to advertise for us, they would do it willingly on their own. “No stickers on the back? We love that!" they said. We kept our dealer conveyance fee (or documentary fee) to the lowest in our area, only $699. Other dealers in our area are in the range of $799 and up per transaction, and even add admin fees, VIN etching, value add, and reconditioning fees on to their price as well—Some shady CT, NY, and Mass. dealers have add-ons up to 10 percent of the sales price per unit that they add to the internet price, but only tell you that when you arrive... Again, we strive to be the lowest in our market, with full transparency.
Our service department was re-vamped from scratch with 15 brand new employees in the mechanical, service, and body-shop departments. Doing top-notch work, at the lowest possible rates in the area, sometimes at $20 dollars an hour less than other competitive dealers, has made us the fastest growing service industry in our area. To prove it, we have quadrupled our repair orders in the last three years!
Let’s fast forward to today, with up to 200 cars on our lot!
1. We have more than $6,000,000 worth of the nicest pre-owned inventory on the planet, all the absolute right cars at the absolute right prices! Every make and model has been on our lot at one time or another, and our huge selection gives you the unique opportunity to compare almost all makes and models in one stop. You can compare a Honda, then a Toyota, then a Chevrolet, then a BMW... You get the idea! We have the freshest inventory, with true market pricing done daily. With more than 40 new arrivals hitting our lot each and every week, our inventory is always changing. If we don’t have what you are searching for today, just let us know. It might be coming in tomorrow! And, we watch the market and the price swings each and every day and make sure our asking price is always competitive and fair to the true market.
2. We have sold to customers from 41 different states since we started our new company, and to Asia and Europe. The internet has made the world a much smaller place, and it is not uncommon for us to ship 40 cars a month to other states and areas. Yes, we can handle delivery to your door for you. Just ask!
3. We are outselling our old company (Champagne Chevrolet) each and every month and growing every single quarter. Having the best online reviews in our area and winning the prestigious “best place to buy a pre-owned vehicle” award 10 years in a row by the local media in our market only helps us and our reputation grow!
4. The moral of the story? Everything happens for a reason. If you are reading this, maybe Champagne Motorcar Company will have the opportunity to put you behind the wheel of your brand new ride. If so, we thank you in advance and promise to do business with you the right way!
