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BLUFFTON, S.C. — Mike Reichenbach, owner and president of Bluffton’s latest car dealership, said he and his wife got into the business 12 years ago for an ironic reason — they had never really liked the experience of buying a car and wanted to improve it.
“We never liked buying because it was a lot of high-pressure,” said Reichenbach, a native of Bluffton, Ohio. “A car is the second biggest purchase for most families, and they should have no stress or pressure when they’re making a decision like that and trying to buy within their budget.”
That’s the approach Reichenbach said he takes with his dealerships in Florence and plans to take with Mike Reichenbach Chevrolet, which opened April 1 and is located off U.S. 278 at 10 University Parkway in Bluffton.
A ribbon-cutting and grand-opening ceremony was held Thursday for the dealership, which Reichenbach said sells the entire lineup of vehicles, parts and service. The dealership will offer specials throughout June, he said.
An open house will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and will feature barbecue, refreshments, prize drawings and specials on cars and parts.
“The main goal of the open house isn’t to try to sell more cars,” said Reichebach, whose wife and sister work at the dealership with him. “We just want people to come out and meet us, get to know us and understand we value family.”
Reichenbach said that sense of family is what attracted him to the Bluffton area.
“We love the Lowcountry, and it has a terrific economy,” he said. “I was on the corporate side of things for most of my career, and we wanted to start a business where we wouldn’t have to constantly relocate and we could be in a place that we could call home and plant roots.”
Giving back
Thursday also marked the kickoff of a monthlong charity partnership between the dealership and Bluffton Self Help.
Bluffton Self Help provides food, clothing, financial aid and educational support free to those in need year-round. The organization was founded by the late Ida Martin in 1988 in her own garage and has since expanded to a 6,500-square-foot building.
For her service to the community, Martin, who died last June, received the Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation’s second-highest civilian honor, from President Barack Obama in October 2011.
Over the next month, whenever a person takes a test drive and mentions Bluffton Self Help, Reichenbach said, the dealership will donate $10 to the organization.
“We live in such a generous community,” Bluffton Self Help executive director Lili Coleman said in a statement. “Bluffton Self Help welcomes the opportunity to partner with businesses in our community, especially when they bring new jobs to the area. The partnership with Mike Reichenbach Chevrolet is an example of a partnership that benefits a local charity and a new business neighbor. We are excited and look forward to a long-term relationship with (Reichenbach).”
Reichenbach said he wanted to find a way to give back to the community.
“My wife and I have been very blessed to be car dealers, but we’ve realized you can’t take anything with you in this life, and we wanted to be known as more than just car dealers,” Reichenbach said. “We’re blessed to have patrons, and we want to make sure we’re good stewards of what we’ve earned and give some of it back.
“Bluffton Self Help helps people better themselves, and we thought it was the perfect organization for us to partner with.”