To own a business is a 24 hours a day, 365 days a year kind of job. It sure helps a lot when the business owners have support and help of their families to make of the business a success. Here we would like to share a story of two brothers that run a business together and with the help of their families they are making their business successful.
David and Steve Niño, owners and operators of D&S Auto Sales never really dreamed or expected to run a business on their own. The brothers come from large Mexican and American family. David Niño remembers that when he was a child for a few years the family lived in Mexico, but the brothers grew up in Hampton, IL. Niño’s father started the business in 2006. The brothers started to work there when David was 17 years old and Steve was 18. They took a break from working for their father to study abroad. David went to study to Brazil, while his brother took some time to go to Turkey.
“After returning from our exchange program, we continued working with my father at the car lot while going to college,” David Niño told us. “Soon after, my father moved to Mexico and that is when our entrepreneurial instincts kicked in.”
The brothers took over the business. Of course the road to success is never easy.
“Being a business owner comes with many responsibilities. Keeping up with 3 locations requires dedication, focus, patience (especially with family), team building and communication skills. We constantly think of ways to innovate and improve our business. We do that by listening to our customers’ needs and wants,” David Niño shared his thoughts about learning to be successful business owner. “From a young age our parents taught us the importance of working hard and not giving up. I think that ultimately is what allowed us to overcome many of our challenges.”
But before the challenge of running 3 locations, the brothers started by looking around and learning that the residents of the Quad Cities needed a place where they could get dependable cars that would be sold at reasonable prices. With this goal in mind they started to make big changes in D&S Auto Sales.
“We opened up a second location connected to a service shop, allowing us to give a warranty all our vehicles free of charge,” David Niño told us about the changes they implemented. “With the second location we realized we needed more help so we convinced our younger brother Alex and our mother, Marcia, to work with us as well.”
That was the beginning of the business becoming family owned and operated. After opening a third location, now in Davenport, IA, the brothers invited their younger sister and David’s wife join the team. In addition, on summers, when their father comes over for visit, he also helps out with the business. D&S Auto Sales is not just any family business; here everyone is treated as part of one big family.
“Not only does our family make this possible, but our drivers and certified mechanics. It’s very important to be able to trust those around you. At D&S Auto Sales, we are a big family,” David Niño shares.
Being family owned and operated, D&S Auto Sales also prides itself in being very customer oriented. Here customers are treated as customers and not as credit history numbers. Customer can leave the lot with a car after paying a small down payment that can range anywhere between $500 and $1,000. All vehicles have a 30 day guarantee and customers can set up payment schedule. The service shop is for customers only. Customers in need of service can bring their vehicles to services shop, even after it was paid off. D&S Auto Sales also accepts trade-ins. David Niño indicated that customers can even trade the cars bought here before they are paid off.
“We also have a referral reward program for existing customers,” David Niño shares the perks of being D&S Auto Sales customer. “Not only do we price our vehicles competitively, we also finance them at 0% interest. There are absolutely no hidden fees, not even standard doc fee. If you don’t have extra money for your tax, title and license fees, we can pay for them up-front and work it in to your first payments. We also handle all of the work. Once you leave our office, there is no need to go to the DMV. We will issue the temporary plates immediately.”
D&S Auto Sales goes out of the way to meet the needs of customers who are in process of buying a car. They even have consultants that work closely with customer to help them choose the best vehicle according their needs.
D&S Auto Sales started as a small car lot, but David and Steve Niño took over and turned it into a successful family owned and customer oriented business with three different locations in the Quad Cities. They did not do it along; thanks to the whole family this business has many more successes ahead of it.
“Opportunities arise when we least expect it. Right now our priorities are to focus on our customers and continuously improve our business,” the brothers told us. “We are very proud to be Mexican American. If we can do it, so can you!”
D&S Auto Sales locations are 5226 4th Ave., Moline, IL, 5451 4th Ave, Moline, IL and 354 W Kimberly Rd, Davenport, IA. Give them a call at (309) 736-2251. The Niño siblings all speak Spanish also.
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