Car dealer sees business growing

AIRWAY HEIGHTS – Cars are sparkling in a grass lot off the Sunset Highway. They look inviting. Customers murmur through the rows, led along by dealership staff under the West Plains sun. Traffic is fast and thick out on the highway.

It’s an indication that Airway Heights is growing. And with it, the car dealership Automated Services Corp.

Owner Rich Mast said his business, built in 2005, regularly benefits from people moving into and through the city. He sells used cars and trucks and pushes the fact that he’s got the right networks to track down any good-quality car a person might need.

That’s because he used to deal more in wholesale, trading cars between dealers.

It was a business that ran well until a few years ago, when Mast saw how busy traffic was becoming on the highway. There were lots of potential customers driving by, he thought.

So he started this dealership along the highway. The building used to be Wallaby’s Pub. The bar was so popular that even after Mast had filled his lot with vehicles, old bar regulars were still coming around. He actually sold a truck to a guy who came by looking for a drink.

Mast said he likes to have solid, trustworthy relationships with potential customers, even before asking them about a car they’d like.

“That’s how you sell a car to the people who come in looking for the bar,” he said.

Business is good for the dealership right now.

With a gas crisis in full swing, his sales have predictably shifted. Gas guzzlers like full-size SUVs or heavy-duty diesel pickups linger in his lot longer these days. At the same time, fuel-efficient cars are selling well.

“That’s the tone of the economy right now and I feel like I’ve got an edge on that,” he said.

Mast said he also sells many used cars in the $2,000 to $3,000 range. These are often cars bought by parents getting their child their first car.

City manager Albert Tripp wasn’t surprised to hear that a fairly new business is doing relatively well in Airway Heights. He knows the city is growing.

“It’s great to hear he’s doing well. We hope as a city to foster an environment where other businesses will come and feel welcome here as well,” Tripp said.