The Rules Of The Road | Ashburnham car dealer adjusts offerings to meet customer needs
Photo/Amanda Roberge
DRIVEN: Daniel J. Kelly III has owned DJ's Classic Cars in Ashburnham since 1992.
Daniel J. Kelly III is just as likely to sell you a car as he is to tell you the best place to get your oil changed, give you a ride home at 2 a.m. or help you move some furniture. It’s that small-town-guy approach to his business that has helped him keep DJ’s Classic Cars, located in the sleepy town of Ashburnham in the northernmost part of Central Mass, afloat even through the worst of economic times.
“2009 was an awful year for business but I’m still here,” he said. “People know that if they come to me looking for something vehicle-wise, I can help them out.”
New Direction
The declining economy has been a catalyst for Kelly having to make some executive decisions about what kinds of cars to sell and accumulate an inventory that is more desirable for current buyers.
He has recently moved only a few steps away from his true passion — classic cars from bygone eras — and into what the customer of 2010 (and presumably 2011) is hunting for: a good, solid, reliable used car that will keep on truckin’ until things take a turn for the better and they can start dreaming about owning that ’66 Ford Fairlane they’ve always coveted.
Having started up in 1992, his business has ebbed and flowed with his life.
He operates his car lot in conjunction with his job as a salesman for Maki Corp. of Lunenburg, maintaining both businesses from his on-site office and his “mobile office” — a truck outfitted with a laptop station and Internet access.
For a guy with a grassroots approach to life and leisure, Kelly has become amazingly adept at all things technological. He uses CraigsList, Facebook, his BlackBerry and his web page to every advantage in order to draw in new customers, and gives his existing customers the personal touch that keeps them coming back. He prides himself on quick response and complete customer satisfaction.
“I want my customers to walk away feeling like they got a great car for a great deal,” he said, adding that more than 25 percent of his business is from repeat buyers. “And if someone calls or e-mails me with a question, I am right there with a reply.”
The used car market has shifted dramatically toward practicality and thrift. So while Kelly still keeps a few oldies but goodies on the lot for old time’s sake, most of his customers are more in the mood for something a lot less exciting.
Of course, Kelly is hoping for a classic car comeback in the very near future as he bides his time with Saturns, Subarus and the occasional Hyundai.
“Ever since the Cash for Clunkers program started up, there hasn’t been much out there by way of decent used cars,” he said, which motivates him to scour the planet for some great finds.
At the request of some of his valued iccustomers, Kelly is more than willing to attend auctions to search for whatever they are looking for.
A car aficionado from an early age, Kelly knows the ins and outs of the industry and makes his name on being the kind of guy people can trust.
“I know what the reputation is for used car dealers,” he said. “I am trying to break the mold.”
Fortunately, for a guy who works solely for and with himself, it’s easy to make a quick decision.
He runs everything by his right-hand man Tim — his 17-year-old son — who is the very life force that propels Kelly forward in everything he does. Every conversation eventually leads back to his boy, who has as much of a passion for cars as his dad.
A senior at the technical high school’s auto program in Leominster where the Kellys live, Tim is something of a chip off the old block. Having cut his teeth on classic cars, there is a strong possibility of partnership in the future for father and son.
“If I didn’t do what I do, I wouldn’t have had the time with my family, or with my son,” he said.
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