Texas Mazda store learns what’s necessary with relationship-building,
sponsorships, advertising. BY MARY WELCH
With roughly 40,000 soldiers stationed at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, about an hour’s drive north of Austin, it must be
like shooting fish in the proverbial barrel for a car dealership – right? Not so fast. As other dealerships near bases can
attest, it’s often far from easy to penetrate the local military market. Sometimes it’s hostile territory, in fact.
“A lot of military have been taken advantage of by the auto industry,” said John Burge, general manager of the Mazda
Killeen dealership. “They’ve done a lot of [negative]things such as overselling or giving a higher interest rate. Many
dealers see these young men and women with steady paychecks who haven’t made a major purchase before, and they
take advantage of them. That’s why a lot of officers tell their people not to buy a car from a local dealer.”
Dealerships Adjacent To Military Bases Can’t Just Sit Back And Wait For Customers