Yuma's Best 2012: Bill Alexander Ford-Lincoln

Put aside any notions you may have about car shopping, says Everett Dawson.

At Bill Alexander Ford-Lincoln, you don't have to brace yourself for high-pressure sales tactics, said Dawson, the dealership's general manager.

Bill Alexander holds the highest possible regard for the customer and his or her needs, he said.

And it's not just Dawson who says that. Meeting customer needs is one of the core values of the dealership.

Another is dealing with the customer with honesty and integrity.

Those values were instilled by Alexander during the dealership's earliest days, said Dawson, and they have remained in place since Bill Alexander's passing in 2008.

And those values, he believes, are the reason the Bill Alexander has been picked by voters in the Yuma's Best poll as the area's Best New Car Dealer and Best Used Car Dealer for 2012 and in previous years.

Dawson knows many consumers find car shopping to be a stressful and unpleasant experience.

“We like to believe we are different,” he said. “We try to deviate” from the stereotypical car transaction. “We invite people to buy without pressure.”

The dealership, located at 801 E. 32nd St., can meet whatever particular needs a customer has, Dawson said, because it doesn't just sell Fords and Lincolns. It offers the vehicles in the Mazda lineup, if that's what customers are looking for. And it offers Mitsubishis, Toyotas and Scion cars at its other lots nearby on 32nd.

Dawson is proud of the fact that after all of the luxury lines of vehicles pulled out Yuma amid the recession, Bill Alexander continued to offer Lincolns. But, he added, the dealership offers vehicles in all price ranges to fit shoppers' budgets.

“We have a vehicle for every need, from the high-end luxury vehicle to the economy model. We are pretty much able to meet any need.”

Apart from meeting customer needs and dealing honestly and fairly with customers, he added, Bill Alexander's two other core values are developing the dealership's employees and promoting from within, and using employees collective talents and strengths to meet challenges and solve problems.

“Everyone (at the dealership) has the same focus, and everyone has skin in the game.”

The dealership's services include collision repair and vehicle servicing and maintenance. Indeed, Bill Alexander took second place in Yuma's Best voting in the category of Best Auto Repair.

“We service a lot of vehicles, so we are very good at it,” Dawson said.

Alexander got his start in auto sales in 1956, said Dawson, and in later decades his dealership on 32nd continues to grow and add other brands to the Ford lineup.

Today, Anderson's grandson, Ryan Hancock, is president and chief executive officer of the dealership, and Dawson said the values that Anderson established decades ago remain in place today as his legacy.