Tell us a bit about your background.
My entire working career has been in the motor vehicle industry. I started off in wholesale at European Motor Distributors which is the importer for Volkswagen, Audi & Porsche. After that I spent a bit of time in the United Kingdom for a little bit working the automotive industry.
I came back to New Zealand and worked in the retail side of the business. I was at Giltrap Prestige for six years selling Audi and Volkswagen products at Giltrap Prestige and Coutts’s Mercedes-Benz.
Following that, I started working for the Winger Motor Group with Subaru predominately as a sales manager role at the Greenlane & North Shore branches.
I did that for five years before I joined up at Driveline as a Business Development Consultant. As I had done roles like this at the various dealerships, it was definitely a nice fit.
What’s your dream car?
I’d probably need a garage like Jay Leno to fit all my dream cars in there but if I were to choose one or two I’d go for a muscle car like the 1969 Camaro or a classic Ferrari.
What do you enjoy about the job?
The fact that we can provide many different types of solutions. Being an independent company, we’re not restricted by one vehicle or one type of solution. We can tailor make something to suit the clients situation.
What’s the process which you go through from initial contact all the way through to handing them the keys?
We start by spending some time talking with the person and get an idea of exactly what they’re after and understand the business. If it’s possible, we’ll try and arrange a time to sit down and meet them. Sometimes though they prefer to do it over the phone and via email.
After that we’d start the quoting process and get them to fill out some application forms and as that’s progressing we’d start providing them with some solutions and show them the different makes and models. As they start developing a good idea of what they want, we’ll organise a chance for them to go out to the dealership and test drive it.
The last stage is getting them signed off and approved with credit checks and so on.
There’s no time length on how long it takes. We’re happy to move along according to the client’s needs.
What are some of the things Driveline’s clients enjoy about the Smartlease?
Probably the fact that the terms not fixed. They really love that flexibility. They enjoy the fact we don’t have fixed kilometres and there aren’t any charges for excess kilometres. It’s just a lot more flexible than a traditional operating lease.
How much has the industry changed since you entered it?
It has changed quite a bit. Probably the major way is the amount of products available. Even from fifteen years ago the competition has increased a lot in a good way. The great thing about a consumer driven market is that the motor companies are lifting their game.
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