Ford Dealership Looking To Re-Energize Local Market

Craig Ford (4th in from left) and the staff at Kraig Ford stand ready to serve the people of Oskaloosa, Mahaska County and South East Iowa.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – On the east side of Oskaloosa nearly a month ago, a quiet change took place at one of the area’s biggest businesses.

The Oskaloosa Ford Dealership, owned by the Carrikers, changed hands to Craig Ford. Ford, who is known in the area for his dealerships in Pella, readied himself for the challenge ahead as the new kid on the block in Oskaloosa.

Ford has owned Pella Motors for a little over nine years. Ford says there are many similarities between that initial purchase and his acquisition of the Oskaloosa Ford dealership. “We’re looking to grow this business with 30+ employees. We expect to have 150 – 200 cars on the lot within 6 months”.

Upcoming additions to the Ford lineup like the soon to be reintroduced Ford Bronco has Craig Ford excited, who says that being an off-road enthusiast who uses the time on the trails to be with his family. “To see Ford reintroduce that vehicle with its off-road capability, I’ve got to tell you, I’m really excited to sit in and drive”.

The current crop of muscle cars roaming the streets, many of which take their styling cues from the past, have folks like Ford excited as well. Cars like the Mustang, Camaro and Challenger are all bringing back that retro feel with modern amenities and safety to today’s drivers. “It makes for some really cool cars for us to get”, says Ford.

Ford explained that he had been calling on the Carrikers’ dealership for several years to see if there would be an opportunity to move into Oskaloosa. This past January, that opportunity came to fruition when the Carriker family agreed to sell to Craig Ford.

After a month, Kraig Ford has been making a name for itself, and the staff are taking on the challenge of the many changes that are taking place.

Craig Ford said that he has built his business by being “all about honesty, integrity, and dependability. Those are our core values”.

Ford said that he’s working hard to hire “really good people with really good morals, and focus on finding people the cars that they want to own and making them affordable”.

“To me, any business is a promise for a promise”, says Ford. “You promise that you’re going to provide our customers good quality transportation. Good cars. Good Service. Dependable Service with honesty and integrity. So that’s our promise. We expect our customers to be courteous, to be nice and we want to have an enjoyable experience. Just a promise for a promise”.

Ford says he carries that promise over to his relationship with his employees.

“We want loyal customers. How you get loyal customers is by treating them fair”, added Ford.

If you are looking for that first big sale to come visit the new Ford dealership in Oskaloosa, it could be some time. Ford said, “We’re not going to have sales… we’re not going to have you have a scratch off with a key. I’m a firm believer that a well-run dealership, everything is always on sale. There’s always a sale”.

Ford added that there may be events where Ford may be focusing on trucks and “the rebates might go up on trucks, or a 0% event on cars. As those things come down from the manufacture, we’re going to honor those and have those”.

“Realistically, everything’s always on sale here”, says Ford. “We’re a volume-based dealership as opposed to a gross-based dealership”.

The first month in Oskaloosa was “very frustrating. I don’t remember it being this hard nine years ago when we did the Pella turnaround”, says Ford. “My dad reminded me that I am nine years older than last time”.

Ford has informed his management staff in Pella that Oskaloosa will outsell the Pella dealership, and Ford has November circled as the time he will do that. “If you are in the market for a car, you really need to put Kraig Ford on your list, because you’re going to be pleasantly surprised on how you’re treated and the deal you can get here”.

Things like additional training for technicians, and purchasing new equipment for the service bay is something else Ford points out as a change that put the Oskaloosa location in line with the Pella location. “We’re investing heavily in the technology we have to fix cars, and that’s going to make us a lot more dependable,” says Ford.

“I know no business is perfect. Everybody makes mistakes, but I can tell you, when we make a mistake here at Kraig Ford, we’re going to make it with good intentions, and we’re going to make it with trying to do the right thing. The only mistake I can’t fix as an owner is the one I don’t know about”.

“We’re going to own our mistakes and we’re going to fix them”, says Ford.

“I’m a hands on owner”, says Ford, who is looking towards the future in Oskaloosa. “I want to know my customers. I want to meet them”.

Ford wanted to thank the people of Oskaloosa that have welcomed Kraig Ford to town. “I really feel welcomed”, says Ford. “Some many people reaching out and saying congratulations and thank you”.

“We don’t want to let you down. We want to have a great company that provides great jobs and a great service for this community”, said Ford in closing.

You can find Kraig Ford on Facebook by following this LINK.