Welcome to the 10th episode of the Miracle Ford Podcast! This week we speak with Wayne Hill, the Parts Manager at Miracle Ford! In this episode, Wayne shares some great information about:
Transcript Intro John Haggard: 00:02 Welcome to the Miracle Ford Podcast where, throughout the month, you will be able to learn the best ways to purchase, lease, service and maintain and also accessorize and sell your vehicle for the highest resale value possible when you’re ready to do it. And you’ll also find out about new technology on new vehicles. I’m your host John Haggard, and throughout each month right here we’ll have different team members join us from Miracle Ford to bring you tips you can use. You’ll also see a transcript of each podcast so that you can easily refer to it for information to have right there at your fingertips. Today’s topic is accessorizing your Ford Vehicle and on the podcast we have with us Wayne Hill. He’s the Parts Manager at Miracle Ford. Hey Wayne, welcome to the podcast.
Wayne Hill: 00:45 Well, thank you!
Tell Us About Your Background John Haggard: 00:46 You know, there are a lot of cool things you can do these days to accessorize a Ford vehicle. But before we dive in to the accessories available for people who are either new to the area or may not have met you before, tell us a little bit about your background. Did you grow up in Gallatin?
Wayne Hill: 01:03 My background is I grew up in east Nashville. I’ve lived here pretty much my whole life. I’ve been in the car industry since 1980. Arts department the whole time, a little bit in service. A lot of car experience and pretty much this is what I’ve always done.
John Haggard: 01:18 So since 1980. So you grew up in east Nashville. Where did you go to high school?
Wayne Hill: 01:23 I went to East High and Stratford.
John Haggard: 01:26 Wow. East High. That was the biggest one, wasn’t it? I mean it’s always been such a big school.
Wayne Hill: 01:31 Yes, it is. It was a big school. A lot of people there.
John Haggard: 01:35 Do you remember how big was your graduating class?
Wayne Hill: 01:38 I graduated from Stratford. I transferred in my senior year over to Stratford. There was about 800 in our graduating class.
John Haggard: 01:47 Wow. What was the most fun thing you did while in high school? Was there a particular hobby or a trade or anything that you were doing?
Wayne Hill: 01:55 I played baseball from my freshman year on up to high school.
John Haggard: 02:01 Did you ever have aspirations, Wayne, of thinking you’ll maybe go pro on this?
Wayne Hill: 02:06 Well, I’d love to. But in reality I was not the superstars.
John Haggard: 02:11 All right. I understand it. I didn’t have much sports in my background either. I know how you feel. Would you say that was the most fun thing you did while in high school?
Wayne Hill: 02:20 Oh yes. That and friends. You know, hanging out with friends.
John Haggard: 02:23 So since you’ve lived in this area all your life, you must have family near where you are?
Wayne Hill: 02:28 Yes. My parents live next door to me. My sister lives about a mile away. I’ve got two fantastic children and five grandchildren.
How Did You Get Into The Car Business? John Haggard: 02:38 Wow. So anybody else in the car business in your family?
Wayne Hill: 02:41 No, it’s just me.
John Haggard: 02:43 Just you, just you. So what when you got out of high school, did you elect to go to college or trade school or just direct to work? What did you do?
Wayne Hill: 02:53 I’ve done a little bit of both. I went straight to work and then I done a little bit of trade school and some computer work. Really enjoyed the car business saying that it was a good future for myself. So I come out of the college and just focus my attention in the car business.
What Do You Like To Do On Your Time Off? John Haggard: 03:12 Got It. So what do you like to do on your time off when you’re not working?
Wayne Hill: 03:16 Play with my grandchildren and I do ride a Harley.
John Haggard: 03:19 So tell me about that Harley.
Wayne Hill: 03:21 I’ve got a 2006 Harley Davidson Softail Heritage Classic. My wife and I take little trips on it quite often. I bought it in 2006 and I’m the original owner, of course. Nobody else rides it but me.
John Haggard: 03:39 Okay. And do you do you tune it up and work on it or do you have to take it in for service?
Wayne Hill: 03:44 No, I tune it up and work on it myself.
John Haggard: 03:46 Okay. All right. I got you. All right, so before you got into the car business, what, what line of work were you in?
Wayne Hill: 03:54 No, this is from out of high school to the car business
What Brought You To Miracle Ford? John Haggard: 03:57 Direct. All right, so what brought you to Miracle Ford?
Wayne Hill: 04:01 Well, I was working at another dealership when I moved to Dallas State. And then the opportunity came here at Miracle Ford. So I got to move back home.
John Haggard: 04:11 Okay. And you’ve been at miracle. How long now?
Wayne Hill: 04:14 Five years.
John Haggard: 04:15 Five years. Okay. Well we understand that miracle Ford is locally owned as opposed to a big corporate conglomerate ownership. Tell us what it’s like working for a family, as opposed to a big corporation.
Wayne Hill: 04:29 I have never worked for the corporation because I feel like I want to be a person, not a number. Working for a family owned dealership, it’s personal. I can go in Mr Galvin’s office and sat down with him and we can talk baseball or we can talk business. You know, so to me, the only way to do the car business is to work for a family owned store.
What Gets You Up Each Morning? John Haggard: 04:53 So what would you say that gets you up each morning, Wayne, about the car business and accessories? I guess the thing that makes you just, you know, just want to get into work?
Wayne Hill: 05:04 Well, work is my second family. You spend more time with the people at your office than you do at your real family. You know and, like I said, I’ve done this my whole life. Numbers is what I do and it’s just fine, you know. And every day is different, you know, it’s not like an assembly line. You’re doing the same thing over and over and over every day brings you something different. New Challenges.
Is There Anything Cool at Miracle Ford That People May Not Know About? John Haggard: 05:29 You know, before we go into accessories and what’s available, is there anything cool at Miracle Ford that people may not know about or something like “Hey, you know, this is something that goes on behind the scenes that most people don’t know about.”
Wayne Hill: 05:42 Yes. And back to one statement: We’re all family. I mean the technicians, the parts employees, they hang out together after hours. Once a month we do a dealership launching. We give out prizes. We pick employees of the month, we shut down the service drive, we pull out the tables, we pull out the grills, we cook hamburgers, hot dogs, just whatever we decide to eat. And we all sit together as a group.
John Haggard: 06:13 Do you do any of that cooking yourself?
Wayne Hill: 06:15 Of course!
John Haggard: 06:16 Okay. What’s the, so what’s your favorite to cook?
Wayne Hill: 06:20 I’m the hamburger and hot dog person.
Talk To Us About Accessories John Haggard: 06:23 You are the hot dog at Miracle Ford. Okay, all right. I got it. What would you say today as we talk about accessories and what’s available, what Ford vehicles are the ones that people most accessorize on?
Wayne Hill: 06:39 The F-150 is the most popular vehicle that we dress up. A lot of people will go after market and purchase the stuff. It’s not necessarily cheaper to go after market Ford products. When Ford makes her own accessories for the pickup trucks, they mount and fit perfect. And, that’s the key thing there. If it takes a hole, the hole was already in the truck. There’s no drilling, there’s no nothing to put a Ford accessory on. It mounts exactly the way it’s supposed to fit.
John Haggard: 07:11 I got you. So haven’t thought about that with after market parts you, if someone says, “Well I want this part,” and it’s not a Ford part put on here, you may have to drill into the truck, make some modifications.
Wayne Hill: 07:22 Yes.
John Haggard: 07:23 Wow. So when you have to drill in, in a situation like that with the way the pain is in the body’s put together and all that, are there any dangers like rusting that could happen or any of that type of thing?
Wayne Hill: 07:34 Anytime you break the factory seal, there’s always an opportunity that some issues could come up.
OEM Ford Parts Vs After Marke Parts John Haggard: 07:41 Got You. Okay. So that’s why you would recommend OEM Ford parts as opposed to after market made by third parties.
Wayne Hill: 07:49 Right. In the warranty that comes along with the Ford part is as fantastic if there’s an issue with it. Boards steps up, takes care of it, replaces it and get you on your way.
Accessorizing Other Vehicles John Haggard: 08:01 Now you talked about the F-150 being the most accessorized. How about the Mustang? Do people do much with that?
Wayne Hill: 08:09 They do it a little, but it’s not a whole lot to the Mustang. You’ll get some people that will put performance parts on. We don’t do a lot of that here, but it does happen. I mean, I’ve done a few spoilers for Mustangs. We’ve done it, the exhaust system for the Mustangs. But mostly it’s the F-150 and, and people accessorize the Explorers also.
John Haggard: 08:33 Okay. So the F-150s and the explorers. Now what are the most popular accessories, say, for the F-150 that people want most?
Wayne Hill: 08:41 People want the vent shades. Customers like the bug shields. Customers like bed liners, bed mats, and bed covers. Bed cover is probably one of my number one selling that we have here. And it’s back to when you buy the factory it fits perfect.
John Haggard: 09:01 Gotcha. And then what about for the Explorer? What’s most popular there?
Wayne Hill: 09:05 Explorer, the customers will buy the bug shield and also the vent shades. They purchase the rubber mats for the interior and then the rubber cargo mats.
John Haggard: 09:15 And do you actually your team install the accessories at Miracle Ford or do you send the vehicle to a custom shop to have the work done?
Wayne Hill: 09:23 No, we install every item that we sell.
Tell Me About Warranties John Haggard: 09:26 All right. And then the people would always want to know warranties. Tell me about warranties.
Wayne Hill: 09:31 Okay. The warranty if you purchase it – when you purchase your vehicle, the part will carry a 336 warranty. If you purchase it after the fact, it cares a 12-month, 12,000-mile warranty.
John Haggard: 09:43 All right? Even though it’s an OEM part, it’s less of a warranty than if you have it…
Wayne Hill: 09:49 Yes. It’s always a benefit to purchase it when you buy your vehicle,
What’s the Best Way To Get In Touch With You? John Haggard: 09:55 What’s the best way, Wayne, for people to get in touch with you?
Wayne Hill: 09:58 You Can dial us at the parts department. When you dial into the operator, you can reach us at our number and we also have a direct line. And the direct line is (615) 452-5269.
Closing John Haggard: 10:14 Alrighty. That’s Wayne Hill, everybody, the Parts Manager and the accessories pro at Miracle Ford. With all of the accessories you could ever want for your Ford vehicle, join us throughout the month right here where you’ll be able to learn the best ways to purchase, lease, service and maintain, accessorize, and sell your vehicle for the highest resale value possible when you’re ready to do it. And don’t forget the transcript! Each podcast right here on the website, you’ll see it there where you can refer easily for more information. I’m your host John Haggard and we will see you next time.