Campagni says conditions ideal for car buyers

In his four decades in the automobile sales business, Dick Campagni has seen the economy go through good times and bad.

"The times are what you make of them," said Campagni, owner of Carson City Toyota and Capital Ford. "I'm 65 years old, and I've probably gone through everything in the automobile business. We don't have control over things in the Middle East, but we have control over things in Northern Nevada, and we try to take care of our people and we run our business the same. It's an exciting time to be in the car business."

Campagni said that times are really good for those looking to buy a new car.

"It's by far the best time I've ever seen in the many years I've been in the business," he said. "There are some tremendous deals on vehicles, low prices and great quality. When cars aren't jumping off the lot, that's a great buyer's market."

Media attention on problems in the automotive sector have caused people to have misconceptions about what is really happening, according to Campagni.

"I got more response from my recent TV ad when I said I'm sick and tired of the negative news media ... than any other I've done since 1985," Campagni said. "People are under the fallacy that they can't get loans. I've got Ford Motor Credit, Toyota Financial, we got the banks, we got the credit unions, we've got institutions approving loans every day. But if you listen to the news media, you would believe that nobody could get a car."

Campagni started in the car business in 1973, after the Chicago native found himself teaching school in Tucson, Ariz.

"I was the eighth-grade teacher, the football-basketball-baseball coach, drove the bus and made $7,000 a year," he said. "I didn't see the light at the end of the tunnel financially to support a family, even though I liked teaching."

After working his way up to general manager of a dealership in Arizona, Campagni was offered a chance to buy into the Toyota-Mazda-BMW dealership in Carson City in 1985.

"I said, where's Carson City, Nevada?" he said.

He became the sole owner of the dealership in 1987, and later purchased Capital Ford across the street. The move came as domestic car companies have tried to respond to the perception that the Japanese build better quality vehicles.

"I've always had Toyota, but I've never seen Ford with such great quality," Campagni said. "They are learning, and they are really building the right kind of cars. I'm pretty lucky because I've got great product on both sides of the street. I think the foreign car companies like Toyota and Honda forced the domestic car companies to have better quality."

All car makers are offering numerous incentives, according to Campagni, such as rebates, customer cash and zero-percent financing.

"Any car you buy here right now is going to be a great deal," he said. "I think this is a great opportunity for people to get a great vehicle for a great price."