CALL OF A SALESMAN

Sometimes they're calling to complain.

Sometimes they're calling to say thanks.

And sometimes they're just calling to see if they'll really get the same grandfatherly-looking white-haired guy who appears in all those TV commercials.

As a matter of fact, they do.

"Earl Stewart," he responds genially, before walking the few steps to greet the customer in person. And in this case, to resolve a complaint about balding tires.

This direct link to the dealership owner is one of many methods Stewart uses to sell cars. And he moves more Toyotas than any other dealer in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast. (This year so far, Earl Stewart Toyota sold 3,095 cars and trucks, while nearest competitors Ed Morse Delray Toyota sold 3,080 and Palm Beach Toyota sold 2,945.)

There's the issue of dealer fees. Unlike almost all car sellers throughout South Florida, Stewart doesn't charge the add-on, which he maintains other dealers try to pass off as something mandatory, like taxes or tag fees. It's a campaign he believes has played a part in the state Legislature's recent decision to review the issue.

There's also his Spanish-language commercials on non-Spanish TV - an attempt, he says, to show respect for the Hispanic community. It's resulted in a wave of protests from non-Hispanics - and a wave of sales to Hispanics, at least according to Stewart. It's also resulted in national media attention on CNN.

But to hear others - most notably, Stewart's competitors - tell it, he's just using his "honesty" as a sales technique, passing himself off as a consumer advocate instead of, well, a car dealer.

Stewart plainly states that much of what he's done has been in the name of selling more cars, though "sleeping better at night" is a nice bonus.

He grew up in the auto business, so he's well-versed in all the time-honored methods of hawking vehicles, from the commonplace (haggling with customers) to the truly odious (tampering with odometers).

His father, also Earl, started Stewart Pontiac in 1937 in West Palm Beach. The younger Stewart decided to become a part of it in 1968 when his engineering job at Westinghouse forced him to consider moving away from South Florida.

Stewart made lots of money doing things the old-fashioned way - enough over the years to raise three sons (all now part of his business), buy a nice home in northern Palm Beach County (he recently moved to an even nicer one in the same area), purchase a 60-foot sport fishing boat and invest in a host of other enterprises, from a tropical nursery to cellphone sales company.

He also made enough to expand his auto business, adding the Toyota dealership in Lake Park. (He eventually sold his West Palm dealership.)

But about a decade ago, Stewart began to notice something: Toyota buyers loved their cars, but they didn't like buying them. In South Florida, studies showed no particular loyalty to any Toyota dealership and uniformly low customer satisfaction, he says. He started to search for ways to change that.

Also credited for his turnaround: Customers for Life, a bestselling guide by Texas car-dealer Carl Sewell, which espouses a no-nonsense, customer-is-always-right philosophy. (Some chapter titles: "Do It Right the First Time," "Good Enough Never Is," and "There's No Such Thing as After Hours.")

And telling his salespeople not to pressure would-be buyers? It didn't exactly seem like a sure-fire method for moving cars.

But Stewart says his approach has worked: Sales have more than doubled - up to 500 cars monthly - in the past four years.

Even the recent rough patch in the housing market hasn't affected his numbers. "We just had the best September we ever had," he says.

Some of his friends will tell you that for Stewart, the bottom line isn't all about the bottom line. He's really a decent guy who wants to do right by the customer. "He's got tremendous vision and integrity ... He doesn't want to be classified as the 'typical car guy,' " says Bill Reichel, a local Realtor and friend.

But there's still a fair bit of skepticism about Stewart's methods. Toni Mauro, general manager at Palm Beach Toyota, points out that if Stewart was as honest as he says he is, he would go to no-haggle pricing. "He's in business to make money just like everybody else," she says.

Stewart doesn't entirely disagree. His philosophy, he says, is to give customers all the information they could ever need, from advising them to check the Internet price when they're shopping around to warning them about add-on fees for service.

But he admits he won't just sell his cars at a fixed, bottom-line price: It gives competitors an easy opportunity to undercut you.

"I tried one-price selling a long time ago," he says. "It doesn't work."

Still, Stewart criticizes the small print often used in car ads.

Here's one advertising a new truck for more than $7,000 below list price. "It's got a stock number listed, which means there's only one vehicle at that price," says Stewart, magnifying glass in hand.

Here's another that promises to let customers "make a deal in 30 minutes or less." "Look closely," Stewart says. "The offer is not valid on advertised vehicles."

And his print ads don't talk about specific deals; rather, they outline the dealership's philosophy and challenge other dealers to follow suit.

Furthermore, Stewart's weekly meetings with his management team aren't the usual strategy sessions about driving sales. If anything, they're touchy-feely affairs in which company executives are encouraged to share personal news, good and bad, from reports of vacations to reports on bed-wetting children. When numbers are analyzed, they're done so with a lot of mathematical fussiness - Stewart is still very much the engineer - but not a lot of finger-pointing.

It's enough to make you ask, who is this guy?

Is he a "fine gentleman," as one industry leader describes him? Is he a media glutton, ever eager to roll out a new TV campaign?

Is he a man on a mission to change the way cars are sold? Or is he just a man on a mission to sell more cars?

Perhaps he's all of that, plus the guy who answers that red phone.

Right after that weekly manager's meeting ends, Stewart is on the sales floor, shaking hands with a new buyer, Joseph Wilson, who's purchased a Scion. Wilson ended up at the dealership because he recognized it as that one with "the guy you see on TV." He had already done more than his share of haggling elsewhere, he said. He wanted a place with a personal touch.

Stewart hands Wilson his card. It's got his home number listed on it.

Earl Stewart's five-step method for getting a good deal on a car:

1. Figure out what you want: You can't shop for the best deal by looking at one make and model at one dealership and another make and model at another dealership. 'You need to compare apples to apples,' Stewart says. Oh, and make sure to test drive every make and model you're considering, but don't plan on buying on the spot when you find the one you like. Instead ...

2. Get three price quotes: Yes, it truly pays to shop around. Often, the best pricing can be found through a dealership's Internet sales department, but Stewart cautions that these departments typically work with customers who have already done the hard work outlined in the first step. Also, make sure whatever quote you get is the out-the-door price, including any dealer fees.

3. Get quotes on your trade-in and financing: A great deal isn't so great if you end up paying more for financing and/or getting less for your trade-in. Stewart advises separating those aspects of the purchase process. In other words, shop for financing from at least two banks or credit unions, then see if your dealership can match or beat the best offer. Similarly, ask at least three other dealerships what they'll pay for your car (most will gladly consider buying a used vehicle without a trade-in), then see if your dealership can match or beat that. (Another source for selling a vehicle is CarMax, the largest used-car seller in the country.)

4. Be wary of dealer-installed options: Some of them are 'worthless' extras, says Stewart. Others can be had for far less outside the dealership - say, at an auto-parts store.

5. Don't let a dealer convince you that you can't get the car you want:

Figure out what you want: You can't shop for the best deal by looking at one make and model at one dealership and another make and model at another dealership. 'You need to compare apples to apples,' Stewart says. Oh, and make sure to test drive every make and model you're considering, but don't plan on buying on the spot when you find the one you like.

Instead...

Get three price quotes: Yes, it truly pays to shop around. Often, the best pricing can be found through a dealership's Internet sales department, but Stewart cautions that these departments typically work with customers who have already done the hard work outlined in the first step. Also, make sure whatever quote you get is the out-the-door price, including any dealer fees.

Get quotes on your trade-in and financing: A great deal isn't so great if you end up paying more for financing and/or getting less for your trade-in. Stewart advises separating those aspects of the purchase process. In other words, shop for financing from at least two banks or credit unions, then see if your dealership can match or beat the best offer.

Similarly, ask at least three other dealerships what they'll pay for your car (most will gladly consider buying a used vehicle without a trade-in), then see if your dealership can match or beat that. (Another source for selling a vehicle is CarMax, the largest used-car seller in the country.)Be wary of dealer-installed options: Some of them are 'worthless' extras, says Stewart. Others can be had for far less outside the dealership - say, at an auto-parts store.

Don't let a dealer convince you that you can't get the car you want: So, you've found the perfect car at the perfect price, but it's in red and you want something in black. Don't be talked into buying it. Dealers can usually get the car that meets all your specifications, either by trading with other dealers or ordering it from the factory (the latter option, however, adds to the wait time). To rush into a purchase otherwise is foolish, especially when most dealers have a glut of inventory because of the recent slowing of the economy, Stewart says. 'The worst thing you can do is hurry the buying decision,' he concludes.

CHARLES PASSY

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer