Azar Allasvandi said her brother, Sia Allasvandi, started a luxury used-car dealership because of the variety involved.
“He wanted to be able to get his hands on different cars, BMW, Volkswagen … he didn’t want to do just one,” Azar Allasvandi said.
In 2011, Sia Allasvandi achieved his goal, starting Northline Motors in Woodbridge, Ontario. Northline sells pre-owned luxury brands such as Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Maserati.
So what are some top trends the dealership is seeing at the moment?
One is that people are showing more interest in economy cars.
“A couple years ago you would have only seen Range Rovers, BMWs, and Porsches on our lot, but we have added a lot more options,” said Azar Allasvandi, who is operations manager for the company. “We’re doing more Hondas, and we’re doing Toyotas, which is what our customers have been requesting. That’s one of the major trends we’ve seen.”
Her brother started the business with about 10 cars at a small location in 2011. The business is at a larger location now with about 120 vehicles. Azar’s and Sia’s sister, Aly Allasvandi, joined the business soon afterward and is finance director, and Azar Allasvandi started with the company about three years ago. For all three of them, taking action in response to customer feedback has been important.
The company is proud to have won a local People’s Top Choice Award five years in a row, and feedback from survey respondents led to the company opening a mechanic shop. General inspections, oil changes and detailing are among the shop’s services.
“Customers who were voting for us were also mentioning in the comment section that it would be nice if they could get all of their services done here,” Azar Allasvandi said.
Another trend she mentioned is that customers have become even more interested in completing the entire sales process online. Northline has made that process available.
“They still have their chance to cancel the deal if they don’t want it after the test drive,” Allasvandi said. “They still get a chance to come in and test drive the vehicle after final questions and full inspection of the vehicle in person, but that’s something we’ve been working on and we want to make sure that we excel at it. We reached that point this year where everything can be done online securely and safely.”
Popular pre-owned luxury vehicles
Those customers have a choice of many vehicles to purchase. Customers looking at Northline inventory in September saw vehicles such as a 2020 Mercedes-Benz E-Class and a 2021 Audi SQ8 as just two examples.
Allasvandi said used Range Rovers were popular sellers a few years ago, but not as much now. Porsche Macan, Cadillac and BMW X5 and X3 are popular used luxury sellers now, she said.
Volkswagen Jettas are an example of an economy vehicle that doesn’t last long on the lot, she said, also mentioning Honda Civic as a popular economy car seller.
One-stop shop
The Allasvandis did not enjoy having to refer their customers somewhere else to service their vehicles.
“We wanted to be able to do everything for them in one location, and just make things more streamlined and smooth,” Allasvandi said. Northline started its mechanic shop about three years ago, and the company also performs services such as detailing, polishing, and tinting in house.
“We wanted to make sure that it’s a one-stop shop,” she said.
After the feedback from that People’s Top Choice Award — in which local residents vote for their favorite businesses such as car dealerships and coffee shops — Northline started the mechanic shop, and the company plans for the shop to continue growing in profitability. Northline also sells aftermarket warranties.
“It’s a lot easier for those customers to be able to come back to us and get their work done with us as opposed to having to go find another mechanic that accepts that warranty,” Allasvandi said.
The process of hiring experienced mechanics took some time, she said, adding that trustworthiness was also important.
She provided an example of a customer coming in for an oil change.
“If they don’t need an oil change right at that moment, he will tell them your car needs an oil change within 1,200 kilometers, or you have another 2,000 kilometers to go because you keep their records and their service records on file,” she said. “If they don’t need an oil change right then and they still have a couple more weeks or a month or two to go, he tells them as opposed to just charging them.”
The shop employs two mechanics, and Allasvandi said it wasn’t too difficult to find mechanics who are qualified.
“But we wanted to make sure that we find someone who shares our values in business: honesty, integrity, transparency,” she said, adding that Northline leaders also wanted to know who was doing the work on its vehicles prior to delivery.
“We complete all required safety work and services on each vehicle prior to sales, and having it done in-house with trusted mechanics gives us the confidence we need to hand over the keys to our customers,” she said.
It all comes down to family
“We always say and it’s all over our website as well, if we wouldn’t do it for our family, then we wouldn’t do it for you,” Allasvandi said. “We make sure all of our processes are like that. We treat every customer who would walk in like a family member. We make sure their vehicle is completely safe to drive. Everything is in best condition possible.”
The Allasvandis are proud of various awards the dealership has received and the positive feedback that comes with them. Customers providing that feedback have said they felt positive vibes at the dealership.
“We put a lot of effort into making sure that this is a pressure-free, hassle-free environment,” she said. “You want to make sure that when you buy that car, you are buying it with complete satisfaction, so that you don’t walk out and say, ‘Man, I felt pressured.’ That’s a lot of the feedback we got … so that’s something we’re really proud of.”
The family theme extends to how the company operates, as well. Allasvandi said she and her siblings get along well and strive to keep the customers’ interests at heart while not mixing company and personal business.
“Anything that’s personal, we have to leave it outside the door, so that’s been very successful for us,” she said. “When we’re here, it’s all business, it’s all about the customers and it’s all about how we’re going to run our business that day.”
