(Photo above: Local Motors owner Morgan Matlock | courtesy of Local Motors)
When it comes to buying a used vehicle — where you shop matters. Purchasing a used car in the city you live in from a trusted dealership not only supports the small business owner, it puts money back into the local economy. Bend car dealership, Local Motors, is family owned and operated. The company prides itself on focusing on the community by selling high quality vehicles, building partnerships and always offering excellent customer service.
Where are you from originally?
I grew up in Newport Beach, California spending a lot of time in the sand and the water.
How did you get into the car business?
After relocating to Bend in 2004, my girlfriend, now wife and I wanted to start a family, buy a home and enjoy all the things that Central Oregon has to offer. Out of necessity, I got into sales and started down a new career path. I started out at Smolich Motors in 2005 when they first opened their Nissan location and learned quickly how challenging the car business really is. No matter how difficult it got, I stuck with it.
What do you want Central Oregon to know about Local Motors?
One of the main objectives of Local Motors is to change the stigma about the used car business. The way that we achieve this is through our customer experience, our focus being a ‘customer first’ business. We base our value system on small town ethics, meaning no matter how big Bend grows, we’re going to maintain our way of doing business and how we treat people who come to the dealership. We want everyone to feel comfortable and to have access to our vehicles, products and services.
Our partnerships and business relationships with banks, warranty companies, auctions and other dealerships ensure that our customers are accommodated in every way. What sets us apart from other dealerships is the ability to focus on our customers without the distraction of massive overhead and pressure of numbers.
What key milestones has Local Motors achieved since opening?
Going from a small start-up company, barely on the radar to now, a very well respected and reputable company in the community four years later. Being customer focused has helped us get there every step of the way. Local Motors has been able to expand business, offer more variety of vehicles and offer more lending opportunities.
What is the current focus of the company?
Local Motors is embracing the changing seasons by expanding our SUV market and our truck market to accommodate our customers’ needs in the winter time. We all know how challenging winter travel can be. We want to make sure we are offering vehicles that take you where you want to go like the over the pass or Eastern Oregon and bring you home safely.
What do you like most about your new location?
We like that the space for more inventory and more parking. It’s in a safer area of Division Street without the distraction of the train tracks or massive traffic at the intersection. This is a more permanent area and we’re excited to continue everything we’ve been doing since day one when we opened on the south side of town.
What do you like most about living and working in Central Oregon?
Central Oregon is more than just a physical place, it represents the great outdoors. Bend is like a window that we get to look through and see all that is beautiful about the area we live in and how we can enjoy that as a community together. There are so many activities to do here and the common denominator is the appreciation of being alive and being in a community where everyone cares for one another.
