For Chad Day and Christian Andrade of AZ Euros, 2020 has turned out to be a banner year for business. While most industries are struggling or have struggled in the recent past due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic impact, AZ Euros has seen expansion come its way. In fact, with people stuck at home and a little more free time on everyone’s hands, car enthusiasts who had been pushing off some much-needed repairs or service wheeled their way into the auto shop.
The result was a move to a bigger building and room for more cars to work on, cementing AZ Euros as a fixture in the local custom auto industry for years to come. What’s the secret to their success? Consistency.
“We’ve always done the same thing. We’ve had the same approach to everyday business, and that’s being honest and upfront. We figured out that we needed to get the right team members on board to have the same vision and fine-tuned process,” explains Andrade. “We’ve been so busy because of that. Our biggest asset is our team. We have a great group of guys that have a lot of the same dreams and aspirations.”
Headed up by Day and Andrade, the auto sales and service business started of their shared passion for cars. AZ Euros offers car buyers a full lineup of cars for sale, including Audi, BMW, Volkswagen, and Porsche, brands that the two car enthusiasts have experience driving and fixing.
With its expanding client base, AZ Euros was forced to find a new place to fit its services and growth. Located on the border of Mesa and Tempe, the new space—just two buildings down from its previous location—is free standing with 360-degree access, which makes it easy to get cars in and out. And after tearing out five of the building’s eight offices inside, Day and Andrade were presented with the opportunity to maximize their space for more cars.
“We added a mezzanine for storage and organization and a Mustang AWD-150 Dyno that we flush mounted in the ground. Also, we took our existing Hunter Hawkeye Laser alignment rack and also mounted flush in the ground for easy access on even the lowest exotics. It helps with cutting down on labor and set up time and gets the car in and out faster with less risk of damage. We were targeting customers with the dyno for drivability concerns, emissions testing, pre/post HP figures after upgrades and we’re able to cater to that,” explains Andrade.
Day and Andrade were able to add four more lifts altogether and double their work capacity. They even hired two more employees to take on the new load of work. As service specialists, AZ Euros makes it a point to handle anything bumper to bumper. With eight full-time employees, the shop offers full-service options for cars, except for painting. Engine swaps, A/C service, general maintenance, timing belt, safety–they can handle it.
For the guys, 2020 has also opened the door to more partnerships in the custom auto market as AZ Euros became an authorized dealer for Recaro and DS1 from Australia earlier this year. These moves only emphasize the team’s devotion to meet the customer more than halfway.
“We know what’s buzzing out there of what’s popular, so we read between the lines and try to get ahead of what customers might want. We want to be able to cater to everyone because this industry is so fast and so many good companies are popping up, we want to be able to have the best options to offer” notes Andrade.
The team has found its sweet spot as to what cars to service and what cars to carry for their unique inventory, shifting to cars in the $20,000-$30,000 range. Andrade points out that it’s the entire shop’s goal to bring in more Porsches for the year ahead while also being sure to offer up sought-after brands like Audi and BMW in its 20-unit inventory.
“COVID-19 did the opposite of hurting us this year. We had some record-setting months with services and inventory. When everyone was working from home and staying at home, we took on more projects since people had more time,” says Andrade.
But no matter the rate of growth or size of building AZ Euros operates out of, the goal has always been—and always will be—to treat each car that comes in as a priority. It’s the team’s dedication to service and understanding what each car needs and how it ticks that separates AZ Euros from other import houses.
“Our whole goal is to have a car come in and leave the shop and the customer should have no clue the car was even touched. No fingerprints, no scratches, no sign it was even worked on. Just the made better.”
AZ Euros
Call: (602) 606-7380
Email: sales@azeuros.com
Visit: www.azeuros.com
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