A new used auto dealership and service center has opened up in Kinston. Finch Auto Sales opened its doors Jan. 19 about a mile off of U.S. 70 on U.S. 258 South.
Owner Craig Finch said he’s been selling cars since he was 19 years old, first working at Lee Motor Company in Wilson for 16 years.
The Kinston native started out on his own recently at his Deep Run home while he waited for repairs to be done on the former Brinkley Transmission Service building.
“We are an official North Carolina Inspection Station,” he said.
With repairs to the roof, air hoses and lifts, a new compressor and outdoor flood lighting, the business is ready to offer service and sales. The staff provides exhaust, brake and motor work; tune-ups; oil changes; radiator service; and limited transmission work.
Finch’s uses Chevron oil, sells bulk oil at discounted prices and will be offering periodic discounted oil changes.
Finch said on Thursday he expected to have 28 cars sold in February by the end of the day.
“So we’re very pleased with the first month,” he said. “And that’s one a day, so we couldn’t be happier. Our goal is 15 (a month).”
Finch said all his used cars are trade-ins from franchised dealerships that he knows personally.
“We do an inspection before any of them are put up for sale,” he said.
The company offers an extended warranty up to three years and 36,000 miles, depending on the model. The average prices fall between $1,500 and $15,000, Finch said.
He has a staff of three, and he and his staff drive the cars first to test them out before selling them.
“We definitely want to make sure we sell quality cars,” Finch said, “because we definitely feel it’s important to have a good name.”
His good name, he said, includes his parents, Lamar and Judy Finch of Kinston, who used to own North Carolina Coin and Pawn and Royal Jewelers.
Finch said he wants every customer to be satisfied with his or her purchase.
Finch Auto Sales, 1664 U.S. 258 S., is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. For information, call 252-208-0300.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Judy O. Jones credits her sales team for the success of her State Farm office, but she has been selling insurance successfully for 20 years to the day.
“I have a great team,” Jones, the owner/agent, said about her two full-time licensed agents and a part-time employee. “Also, we represent the No. 1 insurance company.”
Jones said State Farm, a Fortune 500 company, has the most auto and homeowner insurance customers of any insurance firm in the country.
“Technology has changed the way we do business a lot,” she said. Most customers used to come into the office to do business, but today they can “call in, walk in and click in” on the Internet.
Jones graduated from Grainger High School in 1968, attended ECU and graduated from North Carolina Wesleyan College with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration.
She worked as a mortgage banker for 20 years in Kinston before working for State Farm for three years in the building next to where she now works.
“We really try to personalize our service,” she said.
Jones and her husband Terry have two grown sons in the banking industry.
State Farm Insurance Agency, 704-H Plaza Blvd., is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and Wednesday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays, and evenings and weekends by appointment. For information, call Judy O. Jones at 252-527-6352.
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.
Got a suggestion?
Do you have a new retail business or one that’s undergone a significant change? The Free Press would like to hear about it. Contact Margaret Fisher at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com.