In the short amount of time I spent with David and Jan Rafoth customers from Dubuque, I could tell that they have led interesting lives. And what constitutes an “interesting life” you may ask? For starters, how about stepping on a bomb and living to tell the story? Not enough for you? … Well add-on finding out where you are going to live based on a nice random car ride. Read on, hopefully you are as entertained by their stories as I was listening to them. How did you hear about Runde’s? Well we were looking to trade our car and we had previous experience with Runde’s and Al Kloft and we were treated right the last time we were here.  [...]

Chevrolet unveiled the new Chevy Sonic at the Detroit Auto Show which acts as a replacement to the Chevrolet Aveo.  The Detroit Auto Show is always bound to bring out the latest and greatest each manufacturer has to offer in their vehicle displays.   While the Aveo’s departure from the lineup is a sad time for some, there is plenty of good to look forward to in the Sonic. At first glance it kind of feels like an Aveo.  The new Chevy Sonic was built to replace the Aveo and will probably be priced close to that of an Aveo… so what’s the difference? Glad you asked… Lets start off the bat with the engine. Remember the Ecotec 1.4L turbo that is available on the Chevy Cruze? It’s back, this time in [...]

The arrival of the new Buick Verano sedan is only a few months away and they sales staff at Runde Buick in Platteville is looking forward to seeing this new car in person.  With all of the snow still on the ground, I’ll bet you’re thinking that we’ve completely wigged out, flipped our lids, and that we’re about to come apart at the seams.   We’ll hold onto your butts for a sec. For those of you who have studied a little Español, you probably know that the title of this blog post when translated into Spanish becomes: “El verano es mucho más cerca de lo que crees.”  The literal translation would be:  The summer is much more near than you believe.  So the Spanish word for summer (by deduction) is “Verano” and that just [...]

Hillcrest Family Services and the Dubuque Multicultural Family Center are two very worthwhile not-for-profit organizations that have done a lot for Dubuque.  With that being said, dig into your pockets. What were you going to do with that nickel? Honestly? Throw it in a cash bowl? Take up an extra 30 seconds at the register to find exact change? Sometimes I find myself feeling the need to give more to people who might be down on their luck. What better way to do so than to donate and what better time than the holidays!? Here are a couple of local charities/organizations that you might consider in your quest of finding a charity/organization to donate to, check back Monday for a couple more charity’s’ to consider in Part 2 of our charity series: Hillcrest Family Services Interview [...]

We recently had the chance to sit down with Mike Hafeman, who works in the reconditioning department here at Runde Auto Group.  Mike is an energetic teenager with a winning smile and a very bright future ahead of him.  He’s always been a great employee with an outstanding work ethic and we thought it appropriate to him some questions so the world could get to know some of the things that are floating around in the mind of this unique individual.  Are you originally from the East Dubuque area? Yes. My whole family is from the area.   How long have you worked for Runde Chevrolet and what do you do here over the course of a normal day? I have worked here for almost a year out in the reconditioning department. I get all the sold cars that are going out to customers ready to go, and get the new cars off [...]

We’ve all heard about silly laws or goofy city ordinances before such as: In Ottumwa, IA a man may not wink at any woman he does not know. In Illinois, you may be arrested for vagrancy if you do not have at least one dollar bill on your person. In Wisconsin, butter substitutes are not allowed to be served in state prisons. Well recently Eric Schmitt in our sales department sold a truck to a customer who resides in Texas. Today, the customer emailed us letting us know about a silly Texas law that forbids decorative frames to be placed on the rear license plate of a vehicle.

Ah winter time. For some, a time of peace and tranquility, a sight of beauty and wonder – perfect. To others, it’s just darn cold. Regardless your take on the season you need to be prepared for winters wrath. Here’s three winter driving tips that will help you be prepared for this potentially rugged season. 1. Check your tires before the winter time sets in. “I’m good, I put some air in those babies last week!” Check ’em again, Einstein. Cold temperatures makes the air in tires contract. You lose a pound of pressure per square inch for every 10-degree drop. Beyond that, the cold air can also make the rubber on your tires stiff, which could result in cracking or separating where the tire [...]

Duane and Ruth Tietjen are hardworking people and now they are Runde Auto Group customers from Bellevue Iowa. Ruth teaches and Duane operates his farm. It’s pretty rare that they get 15 minutes to do much of anything for themselves which is why I was glad to have the honor to sit down with the both of them for this interview to learn more about these great folks. What led you into Runde’s today? I saw the car I was interested in on the internet and got a hold of Al and asked him about it. So he gave us some information, we test drove it and now we are picking it up. Our son also bought a truck from Al about a year ago and loved Al. Do you know Al personally … he sells to a lot of customers from Bellevue Iowa. We let some people hunt on our farm [...]

What is the Runde mobile website you ask?  Good question and hopefully this article sheds some light on it for you.  Doesn’t it seem that time seems to speed up as you get older?   Time seemed to stand still when I was 10 years old — I really wish it was that way for me  now.  Doesn’t it seem like you grow busier with the coming of each successive year? I attended a social media seminar in Chicago last month and one of the spokespeople there was from Cars.com.  The Cars.com website has been around since 1998 and is generally considered one of the two biggest online car shopping sites. During a presentation, the Cars.com rep asked how many dealers had a mobile website [...]

If you haven’t been in the know, then you’d be excited to know that Motor Trend has placed its highest honor to none other than the Chevy Volt Sedan. Winning the Motor Trend Car of the Year (COTY) is no easy task. With 21 vehicles to compete with and a week of intensive testing on various roads and conditions the Volt proved, time and again, that it was the leader of the group. The following video shows the testing they put these vehicles through and what they look for in their pick for Car of the Year .     With most COTY winners Motor [...]

You may recall that a few months back, Mardy Gilyard who is a rookie wide receiver for the St. Louis Rams bought a new Chevy Equinox from Runde Chevrolet.   He purchased the Equinox for his mom, Trish, as a way of saying thanks for all of her love and support throughout the years. Mardy recently decided to buy another vehicles from Runde Chevrolet (he’s admittedly a Chevy fan through and through).   This time, he was buying it for himself.  And his vehicle of choice was a Chevy Silverado … … a nice 4wd half-ton crew cab that should help him get around without troubles this winter. Mark Fleege, his salesman, delivered the truck to Mardy in St. Louis.  Mardy was just finishing up a Pepsi-sponsored autograph signing session when Mark arrived with the truck.  The lady in the photo above is looking at Mardy’s picture on the Pepsi can in her hands.  How many people do [...]

Velma Martens, who has lived in Dubuque all of her life (except for three years), came into Runde’s to pick up her new Chevy Malibu sedan. While here, she was more than happy to share some good real-life stories with me. Finding out how much Velma cares for society through volunteering makes you really wonder if you could be doing something more… What brought you to Runde Auto Group? My son-in-law is in business and buys a lot of trucks through Runde Auto Group. He also knew Al Kloft very well and prefers to deal with him as well as Chris Anderson, the manager here. So when I needed a new vehicle I knew where to go. What did you think? Was all the hype your [...]

I haven’t seen the Ellen Show in ages, and I must admit that her show is quite amusing. She’s a natural entertainer along the lines of Jerry Springer, but her show itself is more comparable to the Oprah show in nature … Oprah-lite if you will. I ran across this on the net and thought it was kind of cool … Last week Ellen decided to give away a new 2011 Buick Regal to one of her loyal viewers. However, like most of the segments on the Ellen show, she decided to have a little fun with it first.   Now I realize that not everyone will receive a free Regal in this lifetime. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t get one the old fashion way. Runde’s in Platteville, WI currently has a good selection of 2011 Buick Regal sedans in stock that you can view 24/7 at www.RundeAutoGroup.com

This email message was sent to John Riley earlier this week from a customer who recently purchased a Chevy Equinox at Runde’s.  John has been the sales manager at Runde Chevrolet in East Dubuque for the past nine years. If you do the math, you’ll realize that he started working here when he was just out of high school … pretty impressive, eh?  John is always willing to go above and beyond for Runde’s customers and this customer testimonial is a direct reflection of that.  Hi John.  I meant to send you a note before, but got busy here at work. The remote start works great – maybe now that I have AWD and remote start, we’ll see a mild winter. Thank you again for all your help on this transaction.  Lots of positive feedback on my new ride and I’ve been referring Runde’s to [...]

Ever hear of Zip Car?  We’ll you’re about to. In Seattle recently, five green bikes appeared at a bus stop one day.   There was a message on each bike that read, “Please return to any bus stop. For maintenance, contact Guy.”  It was part of a new free public transportation called Green Bikes and it was the brainchild of a man name Guy Olson from the area.  His idea is that people can borrow a bike, use it, and then return it.  Seems like a good idea, eh? Now you may remember that the city of Portland tried something similar called the Yellow Bike Project in the 1990’s.  The concept was good and seemingly altruistic, but they eventually scrapped the project because bikes were being stripped down or stolen.  So now it seems that Guy is going to give it a go in Seattle to see if he can get that proverbial boat [...]

Paul and Rhonda Kirkegaard have lived in Dubuque for over 40 years. The other day they stopped by Runde PreDriven to check out a used Cadillac on the lot. Little did they know that they would be leaving with the car in their possession! So we sat down with Paul and Rhonda and got to learn more about them and how their experience was at Runde’s. Hello Paul and Rhonda. Thanks for taking some time to meet with me today.  How did you find Runde’s? I went online and I searched [Googled] “Used Cadillac” between the years I was considering then there was a website I went to that asked some information from me and sent out my request to several dealers. The next morning my phone was ringing all morning.  I went around and did some shopping in different places then I came here and you had the best used Cadillac. I heard [...]

Sometimes things in real life aren’t as smooth as they appear in Hollywood movies.  Our favorite yellow Camaro, BumbleBee, found that out the hard way the other day. (see video below) There was a movie that came out earlier this year that demonstrated what could happen if a normal person like you or me tried to put on a superhero’s costume and fight criminals.   Initially it turned out very, very bad for the protagonist as he was stabbed in the stomach and then was hit by a moving car.   It showed that in most instances, people like us aren’t capable of making a successful jump to being a blue-collar superhero in the real world. So please leave fighting criminals to the people who serve and protect us and do it professionally … unless of course you have a death wish or lack a brain. Well what happens if a superhero tries to make a jump [...]

Darlene and Frank Potter came from Zwingle Iowa to pick up their Jeep Liberty recently. While here they sat down with me and we had a relaxing conversation to get to know how their experience was. I don’t know if I’m just out of the loop or something, but I had never heard of a spaghetti western! What led you here to Runde’s in the first place? Oh…We’ve been dealing with Runde’s for years. How do you like Dave Smith, your salesman? He’s a terrific salesman. You come in when you don’t even intend to buy and you walk out buying something. He must be quite the smooth talker, huh? What would you give him on a scale of 1-10? 10, he’s just [...]

Mandy Pollock Blom was the latest contest winner at Runde Auto Group so stopped in today to pick up the free two tickets that she had won to the upcoming Sara Evans concert.   Mandy provided the first correct answer to our Facebook online trivia contest.  The concert will be held this weekend at the Mississippi Moon Bar in Dubuque this weekend and according to Mandy, the concert is sold out.  Mandy knows this because her mom unsuccessfully tried to call to get tickets recently.  Mandy said she’d share the tickets with her mom so it worked out nicely for both of them that she was our contest winner. We’ve heard that Sara Evans puts on one heck of a show.  So leave your suds in the bucket, your laundry hanging [...]

Vehicle manufacturers are constantly trying to adapt to the wants of consumers with their vehicles … technology, gadgets, etc. Within the last couple of years we have seen vehicles with built in GPS, T.V’s, touch screen computers, and a plethora of voice controlled features – from making a call to updating your blog on the go. Anymore it seems like we are riding inside a computer with all these features and gadgets… but who’s watching the road when drivers are checking out their stock report, facebook updates and trying to instruct their kids how to connect to the wireless hotspot? Personally I have always been a tech-head – when it came to features and technology “the more the merrier” is what I would respond and I fully understand that technology doesn’t always work the way it should. Here’s a scenerio to consider:   That hot new hands-free car simulator video game app is glitching up and while [...]

One of Runde’s newest customers is Ricardo Matthews, who currently plays noseguard on the defensive line of the Indianapolis Colts.  Ricardo purchased a new Jeep Grand Cherokee from Runde’s last week and was thoroughly pleased with everything.  As you can imagine, with the NFL season in full swing, Ricardo didn’t have time to come all the way to Runde Auto Group in Manchester, IA to pick up his new SUV … so Runde’s delivered it right to his doorstep in Indianapolis. You may recall that we’ve sold a couple of vehicles to Mardy Gilyard of the St. Louis Rams.  Well it turns out that Ricardo and Mardy (both rookies in the NFL this year) were teammates last year at the University of Cincinnati.  The two teammates still keep in touch and Mardy let Ricardo know where he could find a great deal on a new vehicle and door-to-door service on top of that. Ricardo Matthews attended high school in [...]

We had the pleasure of talking with Jenni McCann today.  She was in to pick up the car that she just purchased from Runde Chevrolet.  We are very appreciative of Jenni’s repeat business and she had some kind words, in turn, to say about Runde’s.  The following is the long and short of our conversation: How did you find Runde Auto Group?  Have you purchased here before? Yeah, I bought two Cavaliers here before, actually. I bought my 2nd Cavalier here 6 years ago. What did you buy this time? An Impala SS.  I moved up and I love it. Where is the first place you’ll take your new Impala? Probably to show it to my mom over in Dubuque. Who was your salesperson and how would you rate them? Al Kloft.  Al was excellent – he really was.  Him and Anderson and what is “California’s” real name? Steve. Yep Steve. They were all very good.  I’ve never [...]

Unless you’ve been living  in a cave somewhere just east of Siberia for the past year and a half, you’re probably at least somewhat familiar with Craigslist by now. Craigslist is a website that allows anyone to post items for sale and they don’t charge any membership fees, listing fees, or selling fees.  Great deal, eh?  Yes and no.  While it gives you an opportunity to sell your items and provides you with national exposure that you probably wouldn’t get if you advertised in the local paper  — it also opens you up to the skilled and seasoned scam artists of the world. Scammers love Craigslist and the best ones make a good living off of the website by preying on gullible victims.  It’s been said before, but I think it needs to be said again … “if it [...]

I spent three days fighting through the dense jungles of Cuba City to gain the opportunity of meeting one of the longest surviving sales people in the Tri-State area… Al Dellabella. Al has been with the Runde team since 2002. This is his story… Are you originally from the Cuba City area? Yes-sir, I have lived here all my life. How long has Al Dellabella worked for Runde Buick and what do you do here? I have been here since the sign out front changed. I actually used to run Dellabella Motors before it became Runde Buick. My grandfather opened this store in 1938, and made it an official Buick dealership in 1949. So this store has been in your blood for a while… Yes it has. Like I said, my grandfather started the store, then [...]

There was a new face that appeared wearing a Runde shirt recently.   No this was not just an extremely loyal customer who loved wearing Runde garments … his name was Brian Pinch.  And we seized up the opportunity to interview our newest employee.   What do you do here at Runde’s?   I’m a sales consultant here for new Chevy vehicles.   How long have you worked here?   I’ve been here just a few weeks now.  Oh and I also can assist customers in leasing Chevy vehicles too. Are you originally from the area?   I’m originally from Dubuque and lived here most of my life.  I lived in Cedar Rapids until fourth grade.   What is your best experience at Runde’s to date?   My best experience really is just working with management and having other employees point me in the right direction.  Everyone is very helpful and has the great characteristics of good customer service.   What are your past times / [...]