Decarie Motors: English Cars And Family Values
For a number of years now, Décarie boulevard, divided by the expressway of the same name, has become a sacred place for car enthusiasts. On Wednesday nights in the summer the parking lot around the enormous Orange Julep sphere fills with old cars, both modified and original. What many people don't know is that there's another sacred place very close by.
Indeed, at the corner of Décarie North and De La Savane, those who appreciate works of art on wheels get an eyeful of the stuff that dreams are made of in front of the Decarie Motors Jaguar/Land Rover/Aston Martin/Bentley dealership.
Decarie Motors first set up shop on – you guessed it – Décarie Boulevard in 1946 when Moe Segal and his father Max opened a used car lot in a small garage at the corner of Isabella. Then, in the mid-sixties, needing more space, Moe and Max decided to leave Décarie Boulevard for a spot near the L'Acadie Circle. English car lovers, the Segals started to sell Land Rovers in 1966 and Jaguars the following year. In 1987 Aston Martins and Bentleys were added to the mix. At one time, the business sold Alfa Romeos and even Saabs, until General Motors purchased a majority stake in that brand. In 2002, Decarie Motors returned to its rightful place, on Décarie at the corner of De La Savane. Today, the prestigious dealership is run by Moe Segal's son, Joel.
The Car Guide recently had the privilege to talk with the personable Cheryl Blas, general manager of the business since 2000. We talked not only about the history of the dealership but also about the prestige car market.
Specialization and loyalty
First of all, Decarie Motors sells about 600 cars (new and used) per year, which is an enormous number when you consider that the least expensive new vehicle costs more than $40,000! Accounting for about 50% of total sales, Land Rover/Range Rover products are the most popular, followed by Jaguar with 25% of annual sales. Aston Martin and Bentley share the rest. Each sales representative specializes in a brand, but they all know enough about the other brands to help a customer.
Specialization is even more acute when it comes to service. We had the chance to chat with Omar Libbos, Master Technician – Bentley products and Michael Scriven, Master Technician – Land Rover and Range Rover products. These guys have been at Decarie Motors for 18 and 21 years, respectively, and know their product like the backs of their hands. More importantly, they love their product.
Decarie Motors employees tend to stick around for a surprisingly long time. George Niphakis, Service Manager – Aston Martin/Bentley, has been there since 1972. Other, recently retired employees had 34 and 39 years of service! These days, keeping employees that long is a feat in itself and the business is benefitting from this wealth of experience – and you can’t put a price on that. Customers are made to feel like members of the Segal family. Cheryl admitted that some customers weren’t even necessarily looking for an English car but they simply wanted to buy a car from Decarie Motors. Now that’s loyalty!
Different challenges
As you can imagine, being an Aston Martin and Bentley dealership (not to mention the “ordinary” Jaguar and Land Rover) isn’t like being a Mitsubishi dealership. Like all dealerships, Decarie Motors must respect a certain brand image, but here, the standards are much higher.
Furthermore, the retail sales challenges are as important as for any dealership, but they’re different. A customer who wants to buy a Bentley won’t think twice about spending another $50 or $100 a month whereas another $5 can make all the difference in the world elsewhere. Cheryl Blas knows this all too well, since she began her career at Nissan. Customers are looking for a vehicle of exceptional quality and incomparable service, and that’s where the experience of the employees comes into play. Over the years, Decarie Motors has even become a model for other Jaguar/Land Rover/Aston Martin/Bentley dealerships in Canada.
Approximately half of all customers choose their new car directly at the dealership, while the other half wants something more customized. That costs more and means a longer wait (at least six months for Bentley, five for Aston Martin, three for Jaguar/Land Rover), but when you have the means to make your dreams come true, why not? In any case, this future car can wait a bit, especially since there’s often a Land Rover or Range Rover already in the client's driveway. Otherwise, maybe the wife will let you borrow her Jaguar while you're waiting for the Aston Martin to arrive from England.
The “less fortunate” can make do with a used model. However, even the used car prices remain very high since the number of units on the market is very low, especially for Aston Martin and Bentley products. You want a black Continental GT with red interior? Well, unless you’re willing to wait a decade or more, you're better off to take what you find on the used car market, regardless of the price.
A bright future
Business is pretty good for the English brands. More and more models are being developed to reach a wider clientele and sales figures are consistently climbing. Decarie Motors is a "victim" of this success and is a smidge cramped in its current space. A new building will be constructed next year in order to add more square footage to the existing facilities.
Those who love beautiful cars and start drooling every time they pass by the corner of Décarie North and De La Savane will have difficulty imagining that the cars, as prestigious as they may be, are only part of the story of this Montréal-based enterprise. So attractive are the cars that it's easy to forget it’s the people behind them that are the real keys to the success of this enterprise.