July 25, 2025 • 22 mins
A conversation with Patrick Norton of Joe Bullard Acura.
1151 E I-65 Service Rd. S., Mobile, AL 36606
JoeBullardAcura.com
1151 E I-65 Service Rd. S., Mobile, AL 36606
JoeBullardAcura.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
News Radio seventy WNT. I'm Uncle Henry here at Joe
bullerd Acura. This is my first time doing and Ask
the Expert show at Joe bullerd Acura here on the
Beltline and Mobile and I'm here with Patrick Norton. Patrick,
thank you for talking to me today about Accuras.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
My pleasure, Uncle Henry, is great to see you. First
time meeting you. This is awesome. I'm excited.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Well, I'm excited to meet you, of course, and also
to talk about Accuras. Now, for people that are listening
to us that have not considered Accuras, tell me what
makes Acura so great? What sets Accuras apart from other
cars in the marketplace?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Well, without getting too detailed in it, the number one
thing reliability. These cars last you go out in the morning,
you crank your car, you know you're gonna be able
to crank your car. You're gonna make it to where
you're going be at work, grocery store, getting your kid
to school, and you're going to make it there safely.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Yeah. This is something that when I did research to
find out about Accuras, one of the first things that
popped up was that you're you seem to be in
the top five every year in reliability. People still care
about that.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
They care about it incredibly and it's all about the
consistency of being in that top five year after year
after year that makes our customers come back over and
over again. But for those who don't know, yes, we
are constantly in the top five.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
So for people that of course radio still doesn't have
pictures or video. We're working on it, but we still
don't have it. So so describe Accuras to the listener
because to me from my background, these are like entry
level luxury. This is like a luxury vehicle to someone
like me.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Well they are. They're not just entry low. We are
the luxury performance division of Honda Motor Company, and everybody
knows about Honda's reliability, right, So with performance and luxury
mixed in with Honda's reliabilit we are a luxury car brand.
Our cars come standard with moon roofs, heated seats, memory seats,
(02:08):
Bluetooth interface now with Apple CarPlay and Android AutoPlay taking
over the standard in every one of our cars to
make sure people are taken care of and they have
those plush luxury things, the plush seats, the power seats.
It's just fantastic stuff.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
When I talk about luxury with you, I just think
of it. There are other car brands. Maybe I shouldn't
mention them, but to me, the Accura is as good
or better than several other car brands that are luxury
at it's just more affordable. Accura is more affordable than
(02:43):
a lot of these other brands and easier to service.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
There's a very good reason for that. And here's the
reason we don't do a lot of ala carte with
our cars. You can't get one with a sun reef
in one without you can't get one with heating seats.
It's when they build them. They build them as a package,
and so when you do the ala car it it
makes it more expensive. Production costs get higher. So when
we build them this way, this makes it easier. Are
(03:08):
servicing luxury? Okay, Well, you get a loaner car when
you come in here, and we're not giving you a
nineteen seventy four Ford Pinto Good. We're giving you a
brand new Accur that we have used in our loaner
fleet to get you where you need to go while
your car is being serviced.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
These cars, I've also found that Accuras don't cost a
lot to maintain. There's not an ownership price.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
No, sir, there is not. And there are cars out
there that I'll just give you a perfect example, a
set of front breaks on certain cars out there, one thousand,
six hundred dollars just to do the front Yes, ours
are in the three hundred dollars range. Okay, it's very inexpensive,
and you don't have to do every three thousand miles
like you used to. These now break out by the
(03:53):
way you drive the car. You could go eight thousand
miles between oil changes, which again saves you money because
you're not doing it as often.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
So what is your most popular Accura right now? What
do most people gravitate toward when they're buying an Accura.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Well, the two larger SUVs, the Accurate MDX and our
Accurate RDX have been for quite some time our most
popular vehicles because they fit a lot of people's boxes.
This Accurate MDX, it's a seven seater vehicle, but the
third row folds down so if you don't need it,
you don't need it, you don't use it, and it
just folds flat into the floor so that if you
(04:28):
have larger items you can put them in there. The
RDX has storage in the back, but it also has
hidden storage underneath. Very practical in the function of the
way the car does.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
See I test drove in MDX last week, and you
mentioned that it's a seven seater. It doesn't really look
like one. Now you're laughing at you're smiling when I
say that.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
I laugh and smile because I've been here for twenty
seven years.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Twenty seven years with Accura.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
The Bullard family has been very good to me. Acura
has been very good to me, and I don't have
to run from people. We're going back to this reliability
thing real quickly. Yeah, when I sell a car, I'm
not concerned that I'm going to have someone come back
and be angry. Look at this bill, or look what
happened to my car. My car is stuck on the
side of there. I have confidence in knowing that these
(05:15):
people are gonna be happy for a long time. But
when you look at the cars from the outside, especially
if you look out of inside of a shoreroom, it's
the physics of the way it looks. It doesn't look
like a very big vehicle, but no ones inside, and
it's cavernous. It's the way the lines are designed on
the car.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Indeed they are. They're beautiful vehicles. The in fact, I
test drove an MDX, and again it looked it. It
just does not look like you could fit a bunch
of people in there, and then you can seven seater
UH and and even the cars they all look sporty
to me. And again you're you're smiled, but they all
(05:56):
do look like sports cars to me.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Well, they are the performance luxury division of Honda Motor Company. Yes,
so we want to look sporty, but when you get inside,
it's very luxurious. Did you try out the massaging seats
in the NBA.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
I did not. I did not try the massaging seats.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Three of our versions of that MDX have massaging seats,
cooling seats, heating seats, so and the massage has nine
different functions. So one of the other neat things about
the MDX is the center second row seat. We can
lay it down in a kind of an armrest, or
we can remove it completely, so in an MDX you
don't have to choose captain's chairs or bench seat. You
(06:33):
get both.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Yeah, it is. It is a great vehicle, the MDX
and the and the UH. In the comfort of the ride.
You were talking about massage, But Larry took me on
the test drive, one of your co workers, Larry, who's
not he's not been here twenty seven years. He's only
been here about seven or eight. But he took me
on the test drive and he picked a nearby road
(07:00):
is one of the worst in town in terms of potholes,
and it just it was gliding over that didn't feel.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Them With our double watch bunsensions in some of the cars.
Other cars have air ride suspensions. The car is designed
to absorb. We want you to know the bumpture there right, okay,
because if you need to avoid or do something, we
want you to know that. But we want it to
be a nice, smooth, compliant, loving ride so that when
you go on a long trip, you don't get out
(07:26):
of the car going oh, I am sixty. You know
you want to feel good getting out of the car.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
So the new Accuras you just mentioned the two that
people come in and gravitate toward anything special going on
with new Acuras right now, or any any great financing.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
There's some fantastic deals going on. One of our greatest
things right now is the latest entry to our world,
which is the Accura eighty X. This is a five
seater medium sized suv. It's about three inches shorter than
the RDX. It's a little bit narrower, but it gets
us into a much better structure in terms of dollars
and cents. Not everybody can buy a fifty eight thousand
(08:06):
dollars car. This car starts at thirty five thousand dollars.
And this comes with a sunroof, It comes with heated seats,
comes with a powertailgate. It's a very well equipped vehicle
and can hold five people comfortably and stuff. So my
wife actually owns one. We have one ourselves, and it's
(08:27):
been a perfect vehicle for the last four months now.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
We've spent a lot of this time already talking about
the new Accuras. Beautiful vehicles, great vehicles, reliable vehicles. What
about used Accuras. I know you have a certified program here.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Our certification program is, in my opinion, second to none.
And here's a very short dissertation on why. Okay, First,
our technicians go through a one hundred and eighty two
point inspection of the car. We not only make them
go through that, we print it out and we show
it to the client so they can have the knowledge
of knowing that everything was checked, everything was gone through.
(09:07):
Within that they will run specials that are sometimes better
than the new car specials on our interest rates for
those Accuras. Now the warranty package on that it extends
the warranty two years and an additional fifty thousand miles. Okay, well,
here's the bonus that comes in. Not only does the
warranty on the car, but all the extras, the roadside assistance,
(09:30):
the trip in eruption expense benefits, all extend is well,
and your first service if you need all changed tire rotation,
if you need brake flush, rea, a differential flush, air
filter or pollen filter, any of those are needed in
the first service paid for by Accura. And here's why.
(09:50):
If you've ever been to a guy certified car and
you went in for your first service and they hand
you a bill for three hundred and twenty five dollars,
all your confidence is gone.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
That's true.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
You're like, wait a minute, what did you You didn't
check Diddley or Squat and they were right next to
each other. What's the deal? Come on? So, Accur wants
to make sure that that first experience is a great
experience for you.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Now we just we we're talking about your certified used
here at Joe bullerd Acura. But back to the new Briefly,
I wanted to ask you about warranties on new Accuras.
Where do they compare to the rest of the industry.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
In compared to the rest of the standard industry, we
are head and shoulders above, and compared to the other
luxury brands, we're pretty close to equal. We are a
four year fifty thousand mile new car comprehensive warranty. We
have a six year seventy thousand mile powertrain warranty, and
we have a four year unlimited mileage roadside assistance warranty. Okay,
(10:45):
so built within that we can extend those warranties beyond.
Here's the other great part about Accurate. They know about
their cars. They know they should last, so there are
sometimes exceptions made. We had a client come in that's
fifty seven thousand miles. As ac went out, Accur said, no, no, Iris,
you're supposed to last longer than that. We'll put your
(11:06):
brand new one in. Don't worry about it. And they
took care of it nice. So Acura will step in
as a personal point and get talking to you one
to one, not email to email. We have representatives that
are here every couple of weeks from ACCURRE in North
America talking to people, asking questions and wanting to be
(11:26):
there to help.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Well, now I heard something about if I go on
a trip in the vehicle, tell me about that is
some type of trip insurance or trip warranty.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Part of our warranty and our Accurate Roadside Assistance program
is called trip interruption Expense Benefit. Okay, so I had
the weird feeling that you might be an Alabama fan.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Well, I came in here with Alabama gear, Alabama Alabama
umbrella roll time roll Yes.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Okay. So let's say you're going up to tusk Loose
and you go up through Montgomery and you cross over,
well about Montgomery, there's an issue with car light comes on. Well,
you were going for a day trip. You weren't planning
to stop. Well, when you bring that to the Accurate dealership,
ACCURR Roadside Assistance will reimburse you up to three hundred
dollars a day for three days for reasonable food, lodging,
(12:15):
and rental car expenses because they know you hadn't planned
that that's extra money. Well, your car's under warranty. You
shouldn't have to pay for anything about that, So they
go ahead and make sure you're protected there.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
You know, I've never heard of anything like that. That
is a great just another great added value to an Accura.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
That's because no one else does it. We're the only
going you are.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
You're the only one that does that. Yes, okay, well
I'm expecting others to follow suit to try and copy
that because that is a great, great warranty there.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Well, can we just exclude that then, because we like
being special?
Speaker 1 (12:45):
I well, I understand, but people need to know. By
the way, we're over halfway done with this conversation. Let's
make sure that people that have just tuned in know
that I'm talking with Patrick Norton here at Joe Bullard Acura.
How do you tell people to get to Joe Bullerdacua.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
We're on the east side service Road, so in between
Airport Boulevard and Cottage Hill Road. We are on the
east side of that and if you just follow the
service road down you will run right into us. We
have a gorgeous blue sign out front that says accurate
on it. It says Joe Bullerdacura on the building. So
if you turn off right there at the mall at
(13:23):
Airport Boulevard and take it right, you'll follow the service road.
It'll take you right to us. If you're coming down
Kottage Hill Road from Westmobile, you just turn left onto
that service road after you go under the interstate, and
there we are.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Now. We touched briefly before I got your bank on warranties.
We touched briefly on your certified used Accuras. Do you
do a lot of business with used accurates? Do people
want those?
Speaker 2 (13:47):
We do a great business with used accuris. And it's
because you can. With our loaner fleet that I mentioned earlier,
after about five thousand miles, we bring them out front. Well,
that car now has more warranty than a brand new car.
So instead of the four year, fifty thousand my warranty,
that has over five years and probably about ninety five
thousand miles of warranty left on the car, and you
(14:09):
save money. So we're not talking one hundred fifteen, you'll
say five to eight thousand dollars off. One of those
cars that has more warranting than a brand new car
has been in our care the entire time. So it's
a fantastic deal to do those Serto hud pre on cars.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Now, talk to me a little bit about just Joe
Bullard Accura in general. Something that I'd really surprised me
when I first came and met everybody here at Joe
Bullert Accura is how many people that have been here
for so many years? I mean, you just told me
that you're what twenty seven twenty eight years? Twenty seven
twenty seven years? Aren't there other people that have been
(14:49):
here that long or close to it? I know you've
got I talked to Larry I think Larry Stewart or
I may have his last name wrong, that's right, Well Larry,
he's here or eight years, and he told me he
was the guy with the least seniority. And I've been
to a lot of car dealerships in my life, like
a lot of people have. You don't often run into
(15:09):
people that are are with a car dealership those many years.
Do you have a lot of other people that have
been here for years?
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Yes, as a matter of fact, we do. And I
guess to give you the example, as I mentioned, I've
been here twenty seven years. I started in June of
nineteen ninety eight. John McBride is one of other salespeople.
He has been with the company and with Actor for
over twenty two years. If George Sliman, one of our
service advisors, has been with us, he's closing in on
thirty years. He's almost to thirty years. Our service manager
(15:35):
has been with us for over nine years. We have
technicians that have been with us for over ten years.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
So what's going on? I mean, why is that there's
you talked about customer loyalty. This is a car dealership
with employee loyalty.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Well, it's very simple. Attitude reflects leadership. Our leadership here
with Ty Bollard is fantastic. His father, Joelby Bullard Junior
was before that. And when they don't just hand the
keys to the kingdom over. You have to learn the business,
You have to learn the processes, you have to go
through and actually do the job so that when you're
(16:12):
working with your team or when you're working with the client,
you know what you're talking about. So it's a fantastic
culture that's been created here, especially in this building. We
all get along and we don't just get along with
each other. Up front and they get along with the other.
We cross over, we talk to the service text, we
talk to our parts. Guys, we're all friends. We have
(16:34):
a function where we hang out together every spring and
we all just get together and have a great time.
And there's no oh, well you're just salespeople. Oh you're
just service. No, we're all friends. And it's a fantastic
thing where everybody wants to help each other and they
all want to do the right thing. So it's a
fantastic world live in.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Well, and you mentioned something a few minutes ago when
we started the conversation. You're all providing a service in
selling a product that people love, that you have repeat customers,
that you don't have to run away from. People that
have bought Accurates, they keep coming back for more. So
it must feel good to sell something that people value
(17:15):
like that.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
It feels great. It really does. It turns it from
being a job to being just something you want to
go do every day. It doesn't have the negative connotation
go go to my job. No, I'm going to help
somebody out. I'm going to help put a person with
the product that fits their world perfectly and then continue
(17:37):
to take care of them from that point forward. Our
process doesn't end when you buy the car. That's where
our process begins. That's where we get to take care
of you and make sure you're taken care of for
the next coming years until it's time for you to
get your next car.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
All right, So we're almost out of time here. What
have I not asked you? Is there something you've been
burning to talk about that I have not asked you about?
Job d Accura?
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Well, two things. One, we are an accurate store, but hey,
if you want a Toyota Camri or if you need
a Rav four, we've probably got that too. We have
about sixty used cars. Well half of them are certified
pre owned cars, but the other half they're just a
bunch of collection of cars out there that will probably
(18:22):
fit one of your needs. That's number one. Number two,
As Joe Bullard started many years ago, we have evolved
and changed and grown and now it's really it's about people.
It's not just us as people, it's our clients as people.
We always want to take care of people, and we
(18:43):
have programs in place that do that and that help
with people. The store donates to several pet rescue groups.
The Sword donates to a assisted living facilities, things of
that nature. So there's a lot of giving back that
goes with what we do. And as I mentioned our teams,
(19:04):
I mean, who has people that are been there for
that long. There's not a lot of stores out there now,
you know. And as we both know, the grass is
not greener on the other side, it's greener where you
mow it, fertilize it and water it and take care
of it. So that's what we do here. We take
care of our world to make sure it stays great.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
So what are the hours at Joe Bilernakurra. I know
you're six days a week, right.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
We are six days a week. Mister Buller wants us
to be able to spend time with our families on Sundays,
so Monday through Friday, the service hours are seven thirty
to five thirty, but our sales hours are nine to seven. Okay, Saturday,
our service hours are eight to four and our sales
hours are nine to six. So it's great to make
(19:49):
an appointment. We really prefer to make an appointment because
we really want to give you the attention. If you
just show up and there's a bunch of people here
in your la calls. Anybody can take care of me.
We want to be there, We really do.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Okay, So let me ask you this before we're done.
If somebody listening to this wants to make an appointment
and come visit Joe Bullard, Acura, what couple of vehicles
do you suggest they give a test drive that they
would find what vehicles would help them fall in love
with the Accura?
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Probably the MDX would be the number one car that
would make you fall in love with acting okay, because
it fits so many different people, so many different stages
of life, from the person that carries a portfolio that
needs a lot of storage to the person that's got
three kids and then they need to carry all the
soccer equipment or the baseball equipment or whatever it happens
(20:44):
to be. And it's also a great travel vehicle and
road vehicle, so it fits so many different personality styles
and life changes that the MDX would probably be the
one that people would need to look at and need
to touch and say, yeah, this is something I can
get behind this. I want to see what else you got.
If this is this great, I need to see everything else.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
And one more, because the Accura's you've pointed out a
couple of times in this discussion, is a performance luxury car.
So what car is the most fun to drive? Just
get in there and drive that car.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Well, it's a car that's right behind you, Uncle Henry.
It is the twenty twenty five Acura Integra Type S.
This car is a six speed manual transmission, not a
lot of those out there. Over three hundred horsepower ooh,
a dynamic exhaust system that gives you explosions and pops
(21:40):
as you go through the gearing. It is just a
fun car. It is one of those neat things. It's
almost like a street legal race car. It has a
very wide set and going through curves and hitting the gas,
it is just a blast to drive. It's something that
you would just like you exit with a smile on
your face. So if you don't have a smile on
(22:01):
your face when you exit this card, there's something wrong
with you.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
All Right, We are out of time, uh, Patrick Norton,
thank you for your time here at Joe Buller Dakira.
What is the website for Joe.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Bolerdacura www Dot Joe j O. E. Bullard b U
L L A R d Acura A C r A
dot com, Joe Blerdacura dot com.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Thank you very much, my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Uncle Henry is great to meet you.
News Radio seventy WNT. I'm Uncle Henry here at Joe
bullerd Acura. This is my first time doing and Ask
the Expert show at Joe bullerd Acura here on the
Beltline and Mobile and I'm here with Patrick Norton. Patrick,
thank you for talking to me today about Accuras.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
My pleasure, Uncle Henry, is great to see you. First
time meeting you. This is awesome. I'm excited.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Well, I'm excited to meet you, of course, and also
to talk about Accuras. Now, for people that are listening
to us that have not considered Accuras, tell me what
makes Acura so great? What sets Accuras apart from other
cars in the marketplace?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Well, without getting too detailed in it, the number one
thing reliability. These cars last you go out in the morning,
you crank your car, you know you're gonna be able
to crank your car. You're gonna make it to where
you're going be at work, grocery store, getting your kid
to school, and you're going to make it there safely.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Yeah. This is something that when I did research to
find out about Accuras, one of the first things that
popped up was that you're you seem to be in
the top five every year in reliability. People still care
about that.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
They care about it incredibly and it's all about the
consistency of being in that top five year after year
after year that makes our customers come back over and
over again. But for those who don't know, yes, we
are constantly in the top five.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
So for people that of course radio still doesn't have
pictures or video. We're working on it, but we still
don't have it. So so describe Accuras to the listener
because to me from my background, these are like entry
level luxury. This is like a luxury vehicle to someone
like me.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Well they are. They're not just entry low. We are
the luxury performance division of Honda Motor Company, and everybody
knows about Honda's reliability, right, So with performance and luxury
mixed in with Honda's reliabilit we are a luxury car brand.
Our cars come standard with moon roofs, heated seats, memory seats,
(02:08):
Bluetooth interface now with Apple CarPlay and Android AutoPlay taking
over the standard in every one of our cars to
make sure people are taken care of and they have
those plush luxury things, the plush seats, the power seats.
It's just fantastic stuff.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
When I talk about luxury with you, I just think
of it. There are other car brands. Maybe I shouldn't
mention them, but to me, the Accura is as good
or better than several other car brands that are luxury
at it's just more affordable. Accura is more affordable than
(02:43):
a lot of these other brands and easier to service.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
There's a very good reason for that. And here's the
reason we don't do a lot of ala carte with
our cars. You can't get one with a sun reef
in one without you can't get one with heating seats.
It's when they build them. They build them as a package,
and so when you do the ala car it it
makes it more expensive. Production costs get higher. So when
we build them this way, this makes it easier. Are
(03:08):
servicing luxury? Okay, Well, you get a loaner car when
you come in here, and we're not giving you a
nineteen seventy four Ford Pinto Good. We're giving you a
brand new Accur that we have used in our loaner
fleet to get you where you need to go while
your car is being serviced.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
These cars, I've also found that Accuras don't cost a
lot to maintain. There's not an ownership price.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
No, sir, there is not. And there are cars out
there that I'll just give you a perfect example, a
set of front breaks on certain cars out there, one thousand,
six hundred dollars just to do the front Yes, ours
are in the three hundred dollars range. Okay, it's very inexpensive,
and you don't have to do every three thousand miles
like you used to. These now break out by the
(03:53):
way you drive the car. You could go eight thousand
miles between oil changes, which again saves you money because
you're not doing it as often.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
So what is your most popular Accura right now? What
do most people gravitate toward when they're buying an Accura.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Well, the two larger SUVs, the Accurate MDX and our
Accurate RDX have been for quite some time our most
popular vehicles because they fit a lot of people's boxes.
This Accurate MDX, it's a seven seater vehicle, but the
third row folds down so if you don't need it,
you don't need it, you don't use it, and it
just folds flat into the floor so that if you
(04:28):
have larger items you can put them in there. The
RDX has storage in the back, but it also has
hidden storage underneath. Very practical in the function of the
way the car does.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
See I test drove in MDX last week, and you
mentioned that it's a seven seater. It doesn't really look
like one. Now you're laughing at you're smiling when I
say that.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
I laugh and smile because I've been here for twenty
seven years.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Twenty seven years with Accura.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
The Bullard family has been very good to me. Acura
has been very good to me, and I don't have
to run from people. We're going back to this reliability
thing real quickly. Yeah, when I sell a car, I'm
not concerned that I'm going to have someone come back
and be angry. Look at this bill, or look what
happened to my car. My car is stuck on the
side of there. I have confidence in knowing that these
(05:15):
people are gonna be happy for a long time. But
when you look at the cars from the outside, especially
if you look out of inside of a shoreroom, it's
the physics of the way it looks. It doesn't look
like a very big vehicle, but no ones inside, and
it's cavernous. It's the way the lines are designed on
the car.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Indeed they are. They're beautiful vehicles. The in fact, I
test drove an MDX, and again it looked it. It
just does not look like you could fit a bunch
of people in there, and then you can seven seater
UH and and even the cars they all look sporty
to me. And again you're you're smiled, but they all
(05:56):
do look like sports cars to me.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Well, they are the performance luxury division of Honda Motor Company. Yes,
so we want to look sporty, but when you get inside,
it's very luxurious. Did you try out the massaging seats
in the NBA.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
I did not. I did not try the massaging seats.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Three of our versions of that MDX have massaging seats,
cooling seats, heating seats, so and the massage has nine
different functions. So one of the other neat things about
the MDX is the center second row seat. We can
lay it down in a kind of an armrest, or
we can remove it completely, so in an MDX you
don't have to choose captain's chairs or bench seat. You
(06:33):
get both.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Yeah, it is. It is a great vehicle, the MDX
and the and the UH. In the comfort of the ride.
You were talking about massage, But Larry took me on
the test drive, one of your co workers, Larry, who's
not he's not been here twenty seven years. He's only
been here about seven or eight. But he took me
on the test drive and he picked a nearby road
(07:00):
is one of the worst in town in terms of potholes,
and it just it was gliding over that didn't feel.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Them With our double watch bunsensions in some of the cars.
Other cars have air ride suspensions. The car is designed
to absorb. We want you to know the bumpture there right, okay,
because if you need to avoid or do something, we
want you to know that. But we want it to
be a nice, smooth, compliant, loving ride so that when
you go on a long trip, you don't get out
(07:26):
of the car going oh, I am sixty. You know
you want to feel good getting out of the car.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
So the new Accuras you just mentioned the two that
people come in and gravitate toward anything special going on
with new Acuras right now, or any any great financing.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
There's some fantastic deals going on. One of our greatest
things right now is the latest entry to our world,
which is the Accura eighty X. This is a five
seater medium sized suv. It's about three inches shorter than
the RDX. It's a little bit narrower, but it gets
us into a much better structure in terms of dollars
and cents. Not everybody can buy a fifty eight thousand
(08:06):
dollars car. This car starts at thirty five thousand dollars.
And this comes with a sunroof, It comes with heated seats,
comes with a powertailgate. It's a very well equipped vehicle
and can hold five people comfortably and stuff. So my
wife actually owns one. We have one ourselves, and it's
(08:27):
been a perfect vehicle for the last four months now.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
We've spent a lot of this time already talking about
the new Accuras. Beautiful vehicles, great vehicles, reliable vehicles. What
about used Accuras. I know you have a certified program here.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Our certification program is, in my opinion, second to none.
And here's a very short dissertation on why. Okay, First,
our technicians go through a one hundred and eighty two
point inspection of the car. We not only make them
go through that, we print it out and we show
it to the client so they can have the knowledge
of knowing that everything was checked, everything was gone through.
(09:07):
Within that they will run specials that are sometimes better
than the new car specials on our interest rates for
those Accuras. Now the warranty package on that it extends
the warranty two years and an additional fifty thousand miles. Okay, well,
here's the bonus that comes in. Not only does the
warranty on the car, but all the extras, the roadside assistance,
(09:30):
the trip in eruption expense benefits, all extend is well,
and your first service if you need all changed tire rotation,
if you need brake flush, rea, a differential flush, air
filter or pollen filter, any of those are needed in
the first service paid for by Accura. And here's why.
(09:50):
If you've ever been to a guy certified car and
you went in for your first service and they hand
you a bill for three hundred and twenty five dollars,
all your confidence is gone.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
That's true.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
You're like, wait a minute, what did you You didn't
check Diddley or Squat and they were right next to
each other. What's the deal? Come on? So, Accur wants
to make sure that that first experience is a great
experience for you.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Now we just we we're talking about your certified used
here at Joe bullerd Acura. But back to the new Briefly,
I wanted to ask you about warranties on new Accuras.
Where do they compare to the rest of the industry.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
In compared to the rest of the standard industry, we
are head and shoulders above, and compared to the other
luxury brands, we're pretty close to equal. We are a
four year fifty thousand mile new car comprehensive warranty. We
have a six year seventy thousand mile powertrain warranty, and
we have a four year unlimited mileage roadside assistance warranty. Okay,
(10:45):
so built within that we can extend those warranties beyond.
Here's the other great part about Accurate. They know about
their cars. They know they should last, so there are
sometimes exceptions made. We had a client come in that's
fifty seven thousand miles. As ac went out, Accur said, no, no, Iris,
you're supposed to last longer than that. We'll put your
(11:06):
brand new one in. Don't worry about it. And they
took care of it nice. So Acura will step in
as a personal point and get talking to you one
to one, not email to email. We have representatives that
are here every couple of weeks from ACCURRE in North
America talking to people, asking questions and wanting to be
(11:26):
there to help.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Well, now I heard something about if I go on
a trip in the vehicle, tell me about that is
some type of trip insurance or trip warranty.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Part of our warranty and our Accurate Roadside Assistance program
is called trip interruption Expense Benefit. Okay, so I had
the weird feeling that you might be an Alabama fan.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Well, I came in here with Alabama gear, Alabama Alabama
umbrella roll time roll Yes.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Okay. So let's say you're going up to tusk Loose
and you go up through Montgomery and you cross over,
well about Montgomery, there's an issue with car light comes on. Well,
you were going for a day trip. You weren't planning
to stop. Well, when you bring that to the Accurate dealership,
ACCURR Roadside Assistance will reimburse you up to three hundred
dollars a day for three days for reasonable food, lodging,
(12:15):
and rental car expenses because they know you hadn't planned
that that's extra money. Well, your car's under warranty. You
shouldn't have to pay for anything about that, So they
go ahead and make sure you're protected there.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
You know, I've never heard of anything like that. That
is a great just another great added value to an Accura.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
That's because no one else does it. We're the only
going you are.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
You're the only one that does that. Yes, okay, well
I'm expecting others to follow suit to try and copy
that because that is a great, great warranty there.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Well, can we just exclude that then, because we like
being special?
Speaker 1 (12:45):
I well, I understand, but people need to know. By
the way, we're over halfway done with this conversation. Let's
make sure that people that have just tuned in know
that I'm talking with Patrick Norton here at Joe Bullard Acura.
How do you tell people to get to Joe Bullerdacua.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
We're on the east side service Road, so in between
Airport Boulevard and Cottage Hill Road. We are on the
east side of that and if you just follow the
service road down you will run right into us. We
have a gorgeous blue sign out front that says accurate
on it. It says Joe Bullerdacura on the building. So
if you turn off right there at the mall at
(13:23):
Airport Boulevard and take it right, you'll follow the service road.
It'll take you right to us. If you're coming down
Kottage Hill Road from Westmobile, you just turn left onto
that service road after you go under the interstate, and
there we are.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Now. We touched briefly before I got your bank on warranties.
We touched briefly on your certified used Accuras. Do you
do a lot of business with used accurates? Do people
want those?
Speaker 2 (13:47):
We do a great business with used accuris. And it's
because you can. With our loaner fleet that I mentioned earlier,
after about five thousand miles, we bring them out front. Well,
that car now has more warranty than a brand new car.
So instead of the four year, fifty thousand my warranty,
that has over five years and probably about ninety five
thousand miles of warranty left on the car, and you
(14:09):
save money. So we're not talking one hundred fifteen, you'll
say five to eight thousand dollars off. One of those
cars that has more warranting than a brand new car
has been in our care the entire time. So it's
a fantastic deal to do those Serto hud pre on cars.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Now, talk to me a little bit about just Joe
Bullard Accura in general. Something that I'd really surprised me
when I first came and met everybody here at Joe
Bullert Accura is how many people that have been here
for so many years? I mean, you just told me
that you're what twenty seven twenty eight years? Twenty seven
twenty seven years? Aren't there other people that have been
(14:49):
here that long or close to it? I know you've
got I talked to Larry I think Larry Stewart or
I may have his last name wrong, that's right, Well Larry,
he's here or eight years, and he told me he
was the guy with the least seniority. And I've been
to a lot of car dealerships in my life, like
a lot of people have. You don't often run into
(15:09):
people that are are with a car dealership those many years.
Do you have a lot of other people that have
been here for years?
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Yes, as a matter of fact, we do. And I
guess to give you the example, as I mentioned, I've
been here twenty seven years. I started in June of
nineteen ninety eight. John McBride is one of other salespeople.
He has been with the company and with Actor for
over twenty two years. If George Sliman, one of our
service advisors, has been with us, he's closing in on
thirty years. He's almost to thirty years. Our service manager
(15:35):
has been with us for over nine years. We have
technicians that have been with us for over ten years.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
So what's going on? I mean, why is that there's
you talked about customer loyalty. This is a car dealership
with employee loyalty.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Well, it's very simple. Attitude reflects leadership. Our leadership here
with Ty Bollard is fantastic. His father, Joelby Bullard Junior
was before that. And when they don't just hand the
keys to the kingdom over. You have to learn the business,
You have to learn the processes, you have to go
through and actually do the job so that when you're
(16:12):
working with your team or when you're working with the client,
you know what you're talking about. So it's a fantastic
culture that's been created here, especially in this building. We
all get along and we don't just get along with
each other. Up front and they get along with the other.
We cross over, we talk to the service text, we
talk to our parts. Guys, we're all friends. We have
(16:34):
a function where we hang out together every spring and
we all just get together and have a great time.
And there's no oh, well you're just salespeople. Oh you're
just service. No, we're all friends. And it's a fantastic
thing where everybody wants to help each other and they
all want to do the right thing. So it's a
fantastic world live in.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Well, and you mentioned something a few minutes ago when
we started the conversation. You're all providing a service in
selling a product that people love, that you have repeat customers,
that you don't have to run away from. People that
have bought Accurates, they keep coming back for more. So
it must feel good to sell something that people value
(17:15):
like that.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
It feels great. It really does. It turns it from
being a job to being just something you want to
go do every day. It doesn't have the negative connotation
go go to my job. No, I'm going to help
somebody out. I'm going to help put a person with
the product that fits their world perfectly and then continue
(17:37):
to take care of them from that point forward. Our
process doesn't end when you buy the car. That's where
our process begins. That's where we get to take care
of you and make sure you're taken care of for
the next coming years until it's time for you to
get your next car.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
All right, So we're almost out of time here. What
have I not asked you? Is there something you've been
burning to talk about that I have not asked you about?
Job d Accura?
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Well, two things. One, we are an accurate store, but hey,
if you want a Toyota Camri or if you need
a Rav four, we've probably got that too. We have
about sixty used cars. Well half of them are certified
pre owned cars, but the other half they're just a
bunch of collection of cars out there that will probably
(18:22):
fit one of your needs. That's number one. Number two,
As Joe Bullard started many years ago, we have evolved
and changed and grown and now it's really it's about people.
It's not just us as people, it's our clients as people.
We always want to take care of people, and we
(18:43):
have programs in place that do that and that help
with people. The store donates to several pet rescue groups.
The Sword donates to a assisted living facilities, things of
that nature. So there's a lot of giving back that
goes with what we do. And as I mentioned our teams,
(19:04):
I mean, who has people that are been there for
that long. There's not a lot of stores out there now,
you know. And as we both know, the grass is
not greener on the other side, it's greener where you
mow it, fertilize it and water it and take care
of it. So that's what we do here. We take
care of our world to make sure it stays great.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
So what are the hours at Joe Bilernakurra. I know
you're six days a week, right.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
We are six days a week. Mister Buller wants us
to be able to spend time with our families on Sundays,
so Monday through Friday, the service hours are seven thirty
to five thirty, but our sales hours are nine to seven. Okay, Saturday,
our service hours are eight to four and our sales
hours are nine to six. So it's great to make
(19:49):
an appointment. We really prefer to make an appointment because
we really want to give you the attention. If you
just show up and there's a bunch of people here
in your la calls. Anybody can take care of me.
We want to be there, We really do.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Okay, So let me ask you this before we're done.
If somebody listening to this wants to make an appointment
and come visit Joe Bullard, Acura, what couple of vehicles
do you suggest they give a test drive that they
would find what vehicles would help them fall in love
with the Accura?
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Probably the MDX would be the number one car that
would make you fall in love with acting okay, because
it fits so many different people, so many different stages
of life, from the person that carries a portfolio that
needs a lot of storage to the person that's got
three kids and then they need to carry all the
soccer equipment or the baseball equipment or whatever it happens
(20:44):
to be. And it's also a great travel vehicle and
road vehicle, so it fits so many different personality styles
and life changes that the MDX would probably be the
one that people would need to look at and need
to touch and say, yeah, this is something I can
get behind this. I want to see what else you got.
If this is this great, I need to see everything else.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
And one more, because the Accura's you've pointed out a
couple of times in this discussion, is a performance luxury car.
So what car is the most fun to drive? Just
get in there and drive that car.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Well, it's a car that's right behind you, Uncle Henry.
It is the twenty twenty five Acura Integra Type S.
This car is a six speed manual transmission, not a
lot of those out there. Over three hundred horsepower ooh,
a dynamic exhaust system that gives you explosions and pops
(21:40):
as you go through the gearing. It is just a
fun car. It is one of those neat things. It's
almost like a street legal race car. It has a
very wide set and going through curves and hitting the gas,
it is just a blast to drive. It's something that
you would just like you exit with a smile on
your face. So if you don't have a smile on
(22:01):
your face when you exit this card, there's something wrong
with you.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
All Right, We are out of time, uh, Patrick Norton,
thank you for your time here at Joe Buller Dakira.
What is the website for Joe.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Bolerdacura www Dot Joe j O. E. Bullard b U
L L A R d Acura A C r A
dot com, Joe Blerdacura dot com.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Thank you very much, my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Uncle Henry is great to meet you.
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