EP# 169 - I-Deal Acquisitions: Simplifying Your Car Buying Journey

Mike Blackburn from I-deal Acquisitions joins us for an enlightening chat on episode 169 of the Good Neighbor Podcast Estero. Ever wondered how to find your dream car without the hassle? Mike breaks down how his team offers a unique concierge service that turns vehicle buying into a stress-free experience. With nearly 70% of their business coming from referrals, it's clear they’re delivering exceptional service. Plus, Mike shares the inspirational journey of his son-in-law, Don Ploetner, who transitioned from being a third-generation car dealer to founding I-deal Acquisitions, driven by a passion for creating ideal customer experiences.

We journey through Mike’s distinguished career, including his pivotal roles in corporations like Boeing and Mattel, and how those experiences paved the way for his current venture. Hear about the nationwide network they’ve built to assist clients in finding everything from cars to planes. Mike also clears up common misconceptions about their services, emphasizing their role as a conduit between buyers and sellers rather than brokers. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the behind-the-scenes of finding the perfect vehicle, and the dedication required to make each client’s experience enjoyable and fulfilling.

I-Deal Acquisitions
Mike Blackburn
(929) 274-3325
(316) 932-0201
dploetner@idealacq.com
WEBSITE

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Cabo Jim.

Speaker 2: 0:08

Schaller. Welcome Good Neighbors to episode number 169 of the Good Neighbor Podcast Estero. Today we have Good Neighbor Mike Blackburn from I-deal Acquisitions Mike, welcome.

Speaker 3: 0:21

Well, thank you very much, Jim. It's really a great pleasure to be able to chat with you today.

Speaker 2: 0:27

Always great to get to know people in the community and what they do and share that with our listeners. So without further ado, let's jump right in and share a little bit of what you do over I-Deal Acquisitions.

Speaker 3: 0:40

Well, we are a personal, professional concierge service. Well, we are a personal, professional concierge service. We help our clients find the vehicle of their choice and get them the best value through negotiation. We do all the searching, we do the negotiating, we work out all the details of the transaction, of the transaction. We make it very easy and stress-free for our clients. I think the best testimony to how much our clients appreciate us is that almost 70% of our business is referral within families or close friends.

Speaker 2: 1:20

Wow, yeah, and that's a great testament right there. I love that. Wow, yeah, and that's a great testament right there. I love that. So how did you get involved in this industry?

Speaker 3: 1:28

Well, my son-in-law, Don Ploetner, who is our president, is a third generation car dealer. He literally started driving at nine or 10 on car lifts of his grandfathers and grew up in car dealerships, ultimately became a dealer on his own, the last being a BMW dealership on Long Island. Wow, BMW decided they didn't want single family dealerships, and when that relationship ended, as he was trying to decide what he was going to do with the rest of his life, he had the opportunity to help three different friends find vehicles of their choice cars in this case. We were sitting on the balcony looking out over the Atlantic. He shared with me that he had found more joy in helping them find their vehicle than on his best day as a car dealer. From that, the concept of helping people have an ideal experience as they acquire a new vehicle took shape, and that's what we're all about. People say well, what is it that you do? Well, basically, we help make people happy.

Speaker 2: 2:48

And that's the important part, because there's not all the things that make people happy nowadays. So we did all we could think, for sure. So jumping from an auto dealer into your own business, I mean, or even you personally, has there been something along your journey that maybe a challenge or obstacle that you can look back at now and kind of say you know what, you know, I'm in a better place now and I can kind of look back at that and reflect a little bit a little bit.

Speaker 3: 3:26

Well before I joined Don in I-deal Acquisitions, I had an extensive career in purchasing. I was director of purchasing at five major different corporations, including Cessna Aircraft, boeing, mattel, rubbermaid and finally CertainT, the building products manufacturer, where I ultimately became a member of corporate staff. When I retired 8 years ago, after helping in the background getting Don started on this business, I thought I was going to retire, but little by little I became more involved with him and subsequently we enjoyed doing the business so much my wife and I moved to Florida from Kansas so we could be nearby, and the business has grown. We're 10 years old and we have people that we work with throughout the country, so we have a national network of people that we work with to help people find a car, boat, plane, motorcycle, rv, whatever it is in the way of transportation that they're looking for, and every day is different and it's always fun.

Speaker 2: 4:44

I absolutely got to love what you do, be passionate about what you do, and that's that's the biggest thing. Are there any myths or maybe misconceptions surrounding what you do that maybe we could clear up for our listeners?

Speaker 3: 4:56

Well, I think there's two that we have to clarify for the new person that we're talking to. First of all, we are not a broker. With the rare exception, we don't take possession or title to the vehicles that are sold. We merely act as a conduit to connect the buyer and the seller seller. Secondly, we work exclusively for our client, holding out their best interest at all times, and accept no remuneration from the seller, from the car dealer, from the boat dealer, what have you. So it allows us to have a clear focus of what our role is in the transaction have a clear focus of what our role is in the transaction.

Speaker 3: 5:45

Absolutely so do you notice anything? Maybe trending in the industry? No, prices keep going up and sadly, people who got their last vehicle and I'm thinking cars, but the same is true of boats who got their last vehicle four or five years ago. When we start talking the cost of a replacement like vehicle, either as a purchase or as a lease, they have sticker shop. In many cases a like for like is going up 40, sometimes 50 percent from where they were before before. So we do a lot of financial planning and consulting with our clients to help them get ready to bridge that gap.

Speaker 3: 6:42

Sadly, many people are what we call underwater, that is to say the debt on their vehicle exceeds its market value today and that's a harsh reality to come into and there's many factors. But the price increases going into and out of COVID have a lot to do with it. And the interest rates, albeit historically they're not exceptionally high, they're so much higher than they were four years ago and that again adds to that stress factor of making the acquisition. We do look at alternatives and one alternative we're being very successful with is for people who would like a new car but it's outside of their financial reach at this time is we look at certified pre-owned CPOs and all of the major manufacturers have CPO programs and we do national searches to find cars that match the objective of the client the objective of the client and we're able to get them in at a much lower price point into a two or three year program with the CPO that includes a factory bumper to bumper warranty.

Speaker 2: 8:03

Very nice, very nice. So is there one thing you wish our listeners knew about what you do that maybe they wouldn't be aware of?

Speaker 3: 8:11

They wouldn't be aware of. They wouldn't be aware of. That's a very good question and it causes me pause. We try to be very transparent about what we do. It's even in our name. We try to make your acquisition ideal and what we do is we bend over backwards to make sure our client gets the best possible stress-free acquisition process. When a person goes to a dealership and gets completely held up for four or six hours, they're not having a great day. Our record is 17 minutes. Having a client in and out of the dealership to pick up a car. It generally takes about 45 minutes, but we are with them all the way through the process. We make sure that there's no surprises, that both the client and the dealership are ready up on the appointed time to do the transfer, and I think it's that close relationship of making sure things go smoothly that a lot of people don't realize it's what we do and we do that every day.

Speaker 2: 9:27

Very nice. So how would our listeners go about contacting you if they were looking for a vehicle or had some questions or needed some help?

Speaker 3: 9:35

Well, they can look at our website, which is wwwidealacqcom, or they can simply call me. I answer the phone every hour I'm not asleep. Or they can simply call me. I answer the phone every hour, I'm not asleep, and that's at 316-932-0201. We love to talk. Vehicles, cars, boats, motorcycles, rvs, what have you. We'll have you to chat. We'll kick the tires if you will, and if you'd like us to help you, we'll get the job done.

Speaker 2: 10:17

Absolutely I love it. Mike, it's been a pleasure getting to know you. Thank you for being such a good neighbor and I hope to see you out in the community soon.

Speaker 3: 10:21

All right, appreciate it, you have a great day.

Speaker 1: 10:23

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast, estero. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpastero. com. That's gnpasterocom, or call 239-296-2621.