Love of Music, Family and Chrysler Town & Country vans – Tony Payne

Tony Payne is a man who loves his music, his family and his Chrysler Town & Country van. When he’s not tinkering with his music he’s enjoying his family and loving his pets. He came into Runde’s on a very good tip from a relative that encouraged him to try us out and he’s glad he did!

Where are you from Tony?
Wheaton, IL

What do you do in Wheaton?
I teach music at the Wheaton College.

How did you hear about Runde’s and what made you come in to purchase your vehicle from us?
My friend, Keith Allen, buys GM trucks from you. He has probably bought about 10 trucks from you. He buys every 18 months or so. He recommended the place and said how nice it was but I was skeptical and didn’t believe how nice it would be but I was convinced after my experience. This is now my second vehicle from Runde’s.

What vehicle did you end up buying and what made you want to buy that vehicle?
I bought a Chrysler Town & Country. My brother works at Jeep and lets me know of great offers and that got me started to look for one. But I’ve owned probably 8-10 Chrysler Town & Country minivans. I’ve been trying to convince my wife to try something else for a change but the vehicle has served us so well and she wasn’t really interested in any other vehicles. She keeps saying she just likes the Town & Country. And frankly, we both agree that they just keep getting better and better every year. We were so impressed with everything about this new one – the engineering, the design… everything.

Overall, how was your experience at Runde’s and if you were to rate that experience on a scale of 1-10, where would you rate it?
I’m trying to think of any reason to give it a 9, but cannot. I’m inclined to say 10 because you guys are responsive, you take the customer seriously and there’s no humiliation or condescending tactics of the typical car dealers. I was really impressed with how seriously you take the customer, the effort to which my salesperson went to get the vehicle that we wanted. You guys sent someone to Nebraska to pick it up for us as a courtesy! You guys wanted me happy, everything was perfect so I’d give you a ten and I don’t usually give 10’s.

What do you like to do in Wheaton?
I’ve been involved in church music all of my life so we are close relationship with the church. All of our kids and grand-kids live close to the area and those are the things that make life worthwhile.

How long have you been married?
Since 1981, so 31 years.

Any pets?
Yes. My wife, Marian, is a nurse and is actually working on developing a business in animal assistant therapy. She really likes the idea of helping people through the love of animals. Personally, we have 2 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.

Any hobbies?
I’m in music so it’s kind of like music is a hobby and career. We’re kind of stuck in a rut in that respect. Then the dogs come close to that.

Would you recommend Runde’s to Friends and Family?
Yes, I already have, actually. I’ve given the salesperson my brother’s name in Michigan. He might be trading in his Chevy Cruze for a minivan and told him how great of an experience I had.

That’s all the questions I had for you Tony, thanks for doing the interview!
I have to tell you that I went into a different Chrysler dealer that I’ve done business with for about 25 years. And I couldn’t believe how much of a poor experience I had as a customer. They didn’t care about how they looked or how they presented things. They didn’t even know how to handle my trade and was tossing around prices between managers and owners and would never give me an answer!  It was the complete opposite at Runde Auto Group of Manchester. Everything was handled well, everyone presented themselves and their knowledge flawlessly and responded to my questions immediately. After going through different dealers I know how good Runde’s actually is by comparison.  I’ve already asked my salesperson to keep in touch with me of a Dodge Dart because that car looks really promising.