ConsumerFi Podcast: The State of Auto Retail with Sunrise Chevrolet’s Rudy “El Patronn” Tremenio

Transcript

[00:00:20] We got, uh, none other than El Patron, Rudy Tremenio in the house. Rudy. Welcome. Welcome to the pod, man.

[00:00:27] Rudy: [00:00:27] Thanks for having me. Thanks for having me

[00:00:30] Joel Kennedy: [00:00:30] always for folks that don’t know. Um, I’m at, I’m at, uh, Rudy. I met you at a used car week, builds the diets, uh, Cherokee media venture. You would, you were receiving an award that year and, um, You know, this guy blows up social media.

[00:00:48] I mean, I, I don’t even know how, like it all came about, but I was of star struck when I met you. I need to be honest,

[00:00:58] bro. Well, [00:01:00] congratulations on that award. And I’m like, I’m saying for, for folks that don’t know you, you got so much to offer in terms of doing the right things. Yeah. From, from a GM standpoint in retail and for our listeners who are primarily going to be executives on the lending side. And I know you’ve got great relationships with your lenders and because that’s something that you preach a lot as well, so important,

[00:01:24] Rudy: [00:01:24] you know, and, and relationship is key.

[00:01:26] I always tell people, um, we can’t make it alone. And when you realize that collaborating with some amazing people and when you become, you know, that feature is that when you look at the. For the longterm haul. Right. You’ve got to make the relation with these banks and most of them are relationship bank.

[00:01:42] You know what I’m saying? So it’s pretty important, you know, if you want to, if you want to be in the business for a long time, right? Yeah. So I started doing vacations with them. I started doing a lot of things with them and you know, they get to know you on a personal level. I get to know their wives and things like that.

[00:01:56] The texting from my birthday, their wives, you know what Janesville. It’s pretty [00:02:00] cool, man. It’s pretty, pretty cool. Right. Rudy,

[00:02:02] Joel Kennedy: [00:02:02] can you give us a little, give us a little, uh, background on yourself and I definitely also want to hear about, um, your book that you wrote.

[00:02:10] Rudy: [00:02:10] Uh, yeah, so I come from humble beginnings, man.

[00:02:12] I immigrated from El Salvador, uh, seven years old against my will. You know, my parents came here and came here 15. My mom left me a seven. Uh, I was pretty rebellious. Didn’t want to learn the culture, the language, nothing. Right. So. And people say, Oh no, you don’t have an accent anymore. I’m like, ah, yeah. Uh, I was little.

[00:02:31] So when I came, you know, came in, didn’t want to go to school, left school. They didn’t want to graduate, so I didn’t graduate high school. So I left and, uh, I got in the car business, pretty young man, pretty young and I crushed it. You know, I killed it, but. Oh, I, I was, I was very talented, right, because of my Spanish and things like that, but I wasn’t disciplined.

[00:02:54] Um, I wasn’t learning how to, um, how to, how to appreciate what I [00:03:00] had at the time. I took it for granted just because of my talent. And I thought what I was going to get away with it because, uh, I was always selling cars, you know, and I was the top, top one, top two guy always. And, uh, you know, I started drinking and it just that one just down.

[00:03:14] Downhill from there. And, you know, got into an accident, got fired from the, from the place I was running both stores at the time to it and Ford. At a very young age. Um, and that caused my career man, to kind of like spiral out of control. So I wrote the book to pretty much let people know that they don’t have to go that route, you know, cause in the car business, you know, there’s a lot of that stuff, you know, and it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s quick cash, right?

[00:03:38] It’s good money. So for people that get into those things, it’s very easy to maintain it. If you don’t what I’m saying. Yeah. So I came out and, you know, pretty much I was black bowl into business. Nobody wanted to hire me cause I was like a liability, whatever I was a drunk. Yeah, sure. So I had to really, really step up my game and I said, you know, I’m going to come on, be the best version of myself and uh, [00:04:00] kind of like evolve and became this El petroleum persona, you know, took it to a whole new level.

[00:04:06] That’s

[00:04:06] Joel Kennedy: [00:04:06] such an awesome story. You know, I, myself am no different than a lot of other folks in 2020, where we had to take a good, hard look at ourselves. Cause you, you didn’t have as many opportunities. You were sheltered there with your family. And I had to, I had to had to, you know, the thing I was saying was you got to kill off the old you in order to be the new, you.

[00:04:29] Right. And, uh, and man, I, I was, I was killing a lot of bad habits and replacing them with good stuff last year.

[00:04:37] Rudy: [00:04:37] That’s awesome. 2020 was a good growth year for me. Um, I crushed it and, you know, I don’t know if you follow me. I did took over, uh, Chevy became part of the end of the year, which was great. That was the goal.

[00:04:47] And, uh, even though in a pandemic, we’re blessed enough to, uh, to have a record year for us. So I’m just excited. What’s going on. Um, and I think that wanting is going to be a better year in industry alone. A [00:05:00] lot of companies, a lot of industries are going to do well, but, um, I think that this year is going to be an amazing year, man.

[00:05:06] So I’m just excited. I agree. You know, the thing, uh, going back to what we was saying about overcoming some things right independently, um, I used to hype and things like that, you know, I used to like, not tell people and be a shame of, uh, That was a drunk and this and that. And I have followed the alcoholic.

[00:05:23] And, uh, well, you don’t realize is the power where you become vulnerable. And we just tell people, you know, pretty much what it is right. For what it is. Um, you have nothing to hide and it’s just, some people would just relate to you. And, you know, just like when I posted that video that I was at a parole for 10 years, so many people reach out to me, like all I’m in this, I’m a nod.

[00:05:41] And like, I’m just a regular guy. Like you, you know what I mean? Trying to make it out. And from my family, you know,

[00:05:48] Joel Kennedy: [00:05:48] Yeah, I love your story. I really do. And I think that, I think that means a lot, you know, especially in auto, when people want to do business with somebody that they, they trust as well. I mean, for you to [00:06:00] be vulnerable like that, it creates, it creates that open door.

[00:06:03] I, I believe, I

[00:06:04] Rudy: [00:06:04] believe, listen, I, I put a lot of being out there. I have, people’s like, Oh man, you put too much out there. Uh, but it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s a blessing and a curse at the same time, don’t get me wrong. Um, but you know, The good always outweighed the, uh, the, the evil. Right. And I get so much worse from it.

[00:06:23] And it’s just, for me is just amazing because I’m able to, you know, touch other people and, you know, they touch me as well, you know, so I’m able to grow and that’s what it’s about. I believe. Yeah.

[00:06:38] Joel Kennedy: [00:06:38] That’s awesome. Hey, the book, I want to make sure we get a plugin for that. W if people want to buy your book, find out about your book, where can they buy it?

[00:06:46] Rudy: [00:06:46] Uh, Amazon game-changer and there’s also a bonds, an old as well. So, but Amazon’s easy way to get into a game changing gear type in my name, which Menil, uh, or you can type in game-changer. Charlie comes up. [00:07:00] Uh, it’s a five-star rating and, um, amazing. Like, you know, we never really did the launch because it was during a pandemic when it came out.

[00:07:08] Um, so we kind of just, you know, we did very well because of my presence, right. And solo show and, you know, the way we share it everywhere and stuff like that. And a lot of people didn’t share it. So it did pretty well at the beginning and I’m just giving the book away and, you know, we’re doing some funnels and things like that.

[00:07:23] But, um, a lot of people were touched by and like I said, you know, I said it before, but you need one person’s perspective. Or if I’m able to change even the way you think a little bit differently and change your life for your family for the better it was worth it, man. It’s worth

[00:07:37] Joel Kennedy: [00:07:37] it. I love it. I love it.

[00:07:40] Well, what we wanted to dive in with you because you’re so entrenched in the industry. And I believe that when people put themselves out there and they talk a lot. You can’t just go and talk. You have to back that up with substance and you have that substance. And that’s what I love. And that’s why I say to the haters who say, you’re putting too much out there.

[00:08:00] [00:08:00] You know what? You got an off button. You don’t, you don’t, if it’s not for you, it’s not for you. That’s fine. But I think it’s good to be prolific and put the information out there, but I really wanted to get your point of view on, you know, for folks on the lending side. Obviously what happened with us was we saw things when, when the beginning of the shutdown, it, it really clamped up.

[00:08:19] Then people had like a really nice month. I think it was April. It was like actually a good volume month. And then it just, it just slammed down. We started hearing about inventory issues. Obviously the, uh, auctions were closed, so you couldn’t dispose the stuff you couldn’t acquire new stuff. There’s so much there to talk about.

[00:08:40] Um, can you kind of tell us what you saw and what you were hearing, maybe even broadly from some of your contacts across the

[00:08:46] Rudy: [00:08:46] board? So I just stopped coming into the dealership. I’ve kept coming into the dealership because I should, this is going to be Robert journey, right. It’s an opportunity to do, I saw it, uh, for growth and to come out ahead of this thing and I’m gonna figure it out how it is that, you know, [00:09:00] we can actually do these things.

[00:09:01] So. I kept coming in and I kept coming in. I saw that the business has, you know, meaning the car prices went up. I saw that, you know, banks and tying it up, meaning, Hey, for people I employ several hundred scores getting stiff, this and that. How can we do this deal? How we can get around it and can we afford it?

[00:09:18] Right. Their income has dropped. So I learned a little bit about that and with the banking and how we’re gonna do it, guys, you don’t put it together. Um, so what I saw was that. Even though there was a shortage. Right. But there was still opportunity because I, for me, for example, in New York, you know, you’ve got 3 million people using the subway now, as people are scared to go to the freaking subway.

[00:09:38] Right. Oh, that’s

[00:09:39] Joel Kennedy: [00:09:39] true. That’s true. I didn’t even really think about

[00:09:41] Rudy: [00:09:41] that. Yeah. Yeah. So that’s what happened that so many people were forced to buy a car, you know? So that’s why New York was so busy with cars because so many people, they didn’t want to go into a Uber because of the pandemic. So that, like, you know what, the money I spent on the toll, the money I spent on [00:10:00] Uber over, whatever, let me just get myself a car.

[00:10:02] Right? So pricing didn’t become an issue. It was just a matter of, I need a car. It wasn’t like a want, it was more like a need. So I focus on that. I raised the prices out, believe it or not. Uh, my per copy went through the roof and complete transparency. Right. Everything would scrolled over the phone based on who the video would through, through my app.

[00:10:24] And, you know, customers came in and pick up the car from the service department. They signed everything, whether DocuSign or I mailed the paperwork and they picked up the car and service and I did great. We had some amazing months, obviously units weren’t, you know, we had like five, six a record months, um, and, uh, groceries were through the roof as well.

[00:10:42] Wow. Wow. So that’s what happened here in New York. And, uh, we crushed them in, were there. You know,

[00:10:48] Joel Kennedy: [00:10:48] omni-channel having the ability as a lender to talk to and touch your customer on their phone and have it seamlessly move over to you right at the dealership where [00:11:00] they’re coming to buy the car. Maybe they came through one of those, uh, car bank platforms, and then having that information then C and the communication string seamlessly, then flip over to the lender once they’re servicing the paper.

[00:11:12] Yeah. There’s a lot of lenders on the smaller side, maybe some of the smaller regional guys that were, that were not really prepared for that. And they had to act quickly, but it sounds to me like you already had a lot of that. Did you already have a lot of this online presence, online engagement? Did you have that already lined?

[00:11:29] Yup.

[00:11:30] Rudy: [00:11:30] Yeah, I already had, you know, I was already involved, uh, even from prior to prior to any DA’s that I went to, I had really researched, uh, You know, digital reading challenge. And I was one of the guys besides like Brian, best doc that embraces that. I’m like, yeah, it’s coming this coming this way. And I, and a lot of people, obviously you don’t think old school and like, Oh, this is never going to happen.

[00:11:51] People don’t wanna buy cars. Online. Right. And independent having happens is like, Oh shit, we’ve got to figure it out in two months. How to, how to do the logistics and everything online. [00:12:00] And, uh, boom. Right. Look what happened to zoom? We’re on zoom right now. Right? We kept the number one app and all these billions of freaking downloads or whatever.

[00:12:09] Um, because there was a demand now, all of a sudden it’s. So I was already ahead of the game because I was already there. So now it’s just make little tweaks and it worked out perfect for me. I

[00:12:20] Joel Kennedy: [00:12:20] love it. I love it. Perfect. You know, there’s, there’s just a certain grittiness. There’s a certain, uh, I guess it is grit.

[00:12:28] I mean, there’s a certain grit that you have to have. You got to have a thick skin, you gotta be tough in auto. You obviously had that. You’re obviously a hard worker, but the thing that really amazed me about. About your presences, that you’re. So forward-thinking that you’re so intelligent.

[00:12:44] Rudy: [00:12:44] You have to evolve my brother, you have to evolve because at the end of the day, listen, every business has changed in the last 12 months, eight months.

[00:12:52] You know that we all know that, right? So if there’s still GMs and owners out there and saying, once we get this [00:13:00] over with people gotta come back to the dealership and that’s bull man, you during a pandemic, you’ve got your cards delivered at your front door. And all you have to do is click, click, click from the bedroom, or if you’ve been picking couch, guess what?

[00:13:11] The next time you buying a car, you’re not going to be going. What’s a dealership, five hours, three hours at a dealership. Negotiating. You know, when you, when you already know how easy it is to do it online, Yeah. So that’s why I think guys are not getting, they’re really not getting it. So it’s, it’s it’s time to, uh, you know, step it up and like get on with the program.

[00:13:33] Yeah.

[00:13:34] Joel Kennedy: [00:13:34] How about with, um, with the operations that you have? Not just the sales, but maybe the fixed ops and the other stuff. Uh, how, how, how did, how have you guys been able to manage that in a COVID type environment?

[00:13:46] Rudy: [00:13:46] So staff was an issue right? A year a year when we kind of like flat line. Um, you know, because there was a lot of businesses in the year before, uh, this particular store, uh, service, you know, all the police who started the fire [00:14:00] department, we have ultimate of capacities here at this place, which is why the place didn’t really get shut down during COVID.

[00:14:05] So I had to stay open because of them because I have to continue to service in all of their vehicles. Right. The reason why I was mandated to open, uh, put New York city kind of

[00:14:17] Joel Kennedy: [00:14:17] help you out at the same time. Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, there were some folks in Pennsylvania, they were pretty active on social media showing that they had their stuff’s still open and they were just in defiance, the governor.

[00:14:28] Yeah. Yup. I mean, I feel for people like that, I really do

[00:14:32] Rudy: [00:14:32] it really. It really does because this is our bread and butter. Right. And it’s like, you don’t have to be told you got to shut down and you feel so bad. You know, I had to, for a lot of my employees, Uh, it’s so hard to find, uh, staff nowadays and people that are really, you know, embrace your, your, your changes and forward thinking, like you said, and once you like, you know, you let them go.

[00:14:52] I was like, damn, you know, you gotta start all over again, but we have to do what we had to do. You know, stay on fines. Of course, this is a corporate [00:15:00] store with GM and, uh, we want to make sure everything’s on the up and up, you know?

[00:15:04] Joel Kennedy: [00:15:04] Yeah. How, how about on the inventory side, we talked a little bit about, I know there were some shortages coming from the manufacturers shutting down.

[00:15:12] Um, what did you say?

[00:15:13] Rudy: [00:15:13] So no issues there with us, we own a buying center. We buy anywhere from 900 to a thousand cars a month. We have 19 locations all over the country. Um, so independent make it dropped a little bit down to like maybe five or 600. Um, and since I’m a partner, I have, you know, pretty much first.

[00:15:32] Uh, first dibs on every car. So I didn’t have an issue with, uh, with inventory. That’s what the options were. You know, the prices were crazy. I did have to pay over. Um, but I didn’t care because I was also getting over and retail. So, you know, sometimes look at us, Oh, you got to pay all this money. Hey, listen, you get the money.

[00:15:53] Anyway, whether from the bank, you know, even the least return, look at the least return. You had a crazy money just to acquire those things. You’re trying, [00:16:00] but we paid it anyway because we had the demand for it. So I didn’t care, GM crushed it, you know, which with the least return. So, Hey, listen, we’ll power to them.

[00:16:10] They didn’t know this was going to happen. They just profit from it.

[00:16:15] Joel Kennedy: [00:16:15] That’s true. So you sell more gross, but fewer units and you’re still just as fine as you would have been leaner,

[00:16:23] Rudy: [00:16:23] a little more leaner, but you know, more meat on the bone. Right. So Cosmo sell for more money because the market demanded.

[00:16:29] And obviously now you had a high demand in New York because all these people, they needed a car to get to work. Yeah.

[00:16:35] Joel Kennedy: [00:16:35] Yeah. So 20, 21, we’re here. Right here. We’re here. Uh, we got some silly stuff going on today in the news.

[00:16:47] Rudy: [00:16:47] I was doing meals together today.

[00:16:53] I was able to put eight deals together. I got three people on the short right now signing up. Um, it’s just crazy, you know, and [00:17:00] we kinda had a feeling this was going to happen right. At the end of the day, we just got to go about it. It is what it is. Right. We know who we’re dealing with. We just move on. I believe that it’s going to be a record year for the car business and for a lot of businesses as well.

[00:17:15] Um, I just want her to be ready, uh, and my people to be ready to get our fair share. Do you think

[00:17:21] Joel Kennedy: [00:17:21] there’s some pent up demand out there with the consumers? Right now.

[00:17:25] Rudy: [00:17:25] So I think once all this nonsense is over, uh, once they kind of stabilize the economy and kind of do what they gotta do, uh, to get a boost up, I think there’s going to be not only consumer competence is going to go up.

[00:17:37] Um, I believe that, you know, a lot of jobs, a lot of pent up is going to come back up because people are going to be eager to it’s like, all right, it’s over. Let’s just get on with it. Right. And pandemic is what it is. The vaccines are coming out. People are getting fractionated and things like that. And, uh, I think we’ll, we’ll get this behind you and nothing about 18 months, I would say we’re wrong.

[00:17:57] It’s, it’s a, it’s a time that they’re given it to [00:18:00] say, okay, that was, that’s what it was. You know what I mean? Right. And then we to remember, obviously we’re never going to forget 20, 20, you know what I mean? Yeah.

[00:18:07] Joel Kennedy: [00:18:07] Yeah. For the, for the L on the lender side, were there some lenders, it, was there anything that you saw that was noteworthy during the pandemic where you said, Oh man, you know, these guys rolled out something new or they were really getting it.

[00:18:18] Uh, were you feeling the love or was it just kinda

[00:18:22] Rudy: [00:18:22] some lenders? It worked out for them to slow down because remember some lenders sell the paper. Some of them don’t keep that paper on their books, right. Someone who is buying into and Devin. That’s the question, right? Who’s buying the paper. There is no people buying it as aggressively as it is before.

[00:18:42] So, you know, in a way, worked out for them, the business load out a little bit for them. So they’re not taking the higher risk. All the banks crushed it, you know, like the, some tenders of the world, but obviously they have a model and they don’t break it for nothing, whether it’s good or bad, they just run with it.

[00:18:57] Right. That’s just [00:19:00] what it is. You know what I mean? Dan known for that. That’s, they’re designed that way with their business model and it works for them. You know what I’m saying? I give them a lot of business, but that’s just what they do. So. I think for some banks, it benefited a lot for them. And some banks, I think they lost the boat.

[00:19:15] They missed the boat a little bit because they wanted to be gun shy or they want to just ride it out. Right. Like somebody tried it out and they tighten the belt, you know, cause they couldn’t afford it to have it on the sheets, but I long or whatever. Um, but so there was a lot of them though, winners. And, uh, there’s gotta be some big bonuses.

[00:19:32] I can tell you that right now. Oh yeah.

[00:19:34] Joel Kennedy: [00:19:34] Yeah. I think some of the captives might’ve actually done pretty well with their, with their financing during this period. I think a lot of the, some of the smaller lenders or some of the, some of the folks that had, you know, tried to put on their analytical hat, they were thinking, I don’t know if I want to load up the books with a bunch of.

[00:19:51] I’ll call them toxic assets. Maybe there are people who had a shaky job situation or something like that because of COVID. Right. But then at the end of the day, they got to [00:20:00] feed the beast. They have a loan portfolio that is, you know, in, in non-prime your, these loan portfolios, they’ll, you’ll have to replenish like half of your book every year, if you want to stay flat.

[00:20:11] Right? Yeah. So there was a lot of people that were constrained by that. So they just had to keep. Originated. They had to keep getting the loans on

[00:20:18] Rudy: [00:20:18] the books. I kept a bit amazing, a big take care of me, man. I gotta tell you, um, not only I was impressed, but I was thankful and the way that they took care of me, I, you know, I gave him majority of the business and they show right.

[00:20:31] And then, um, and to do great, you know, to degrade and put yourself in a, they put themselves in a position that they had a record year. They had a crazy year. Uh, because it was all these other prophets were coming out everywhere. Like at least in public that they were turned. Right. So they’ve been amazing and it’s Academy and, you know, I love the relationship that I have with them.

[00:20:49] And that’s the reason why I always say it’s so important to have the lenders by your side. Always do the right thing by them because at the end of the day, rubbed them. You can’t sell card, man. Yeah.

[00:20:59] Joel Kennedy: [00:20:59] Yeah. I know [00:21:00] on the lending side, we have a saying, we say you never stopped looking for money. So even if you have investors, even if you have a deadline bank line, You gotta, you gotta still keep talking to other banks and it’s not like, it’s not like you’re cheating on them.

[00:21:13] You just, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta, cause they can drop you in a minute. That’s right, right. That’s right.

[00:21:19] Rudy: [00:21:19] Yeah. I, I’m more like, you know, I’d always think long term, right. Do the right thing by them and they always didn’t carry you back, you know? And so far it worked to me my entire career. I always have.

[00:21:30] Uh, there were also involved. The reason how I got this job is because of the relationship that I have with, uh, with my banks, because they’ve vouched for me, they know what I’m about, and they know I I’ve put money on the, I put cars on the road and they stick, you know what I mean? Yeah.

[00:21:44] Joel Kennedy: [00:21:44] Well, I would, I would think so.

[00:21:45] I’ve not spent a lot of time in retail. I’ve spent no time in retail, but I wonder like, You S you, you told me about your story and you said you got kind of, you were kind of not in the in-crowd anymore. You had a hard time kind of getting your [00:22:00] name back. When I think about there are known, known guys that are just pulling sneaky maneuvers and this and that, and you know, it happens, right.

[00:22:10] It happens in any, any industry. I wonder how, you know, how does it work in retail? Do you guys know who those guys are and you kinda like

[00:22:20] Rudy: [00:22:20] you do. We all do, man. They all know who they are and the bank knows who they are. Uh, but it it’s sharp term sighted, you know, like if you want to think that way and you think you can to get away with it, it’s just a matter of the time it’s going to come out, man in the open as well.

[00:22:34] Why do it. You know, there’s no deal that I’m willing to take, you know, for, for jeopardizing that, you know what I’m saying? No, wait, there’s no way. It’s just, you gotta stop thinking that way because you never gonna beat the bank means no way you’re going to get away with shit like that. So just do the right thing.

[00:22:51] You know what I’m saying is what it is. Some deals I just not worth it. I just rather not do the deal to be honest.

[00:22:57] Joel Kennedy: [00:22:57] Yeah. Yeah. I mean the, [00:23:00] the, some of the. A fraud or misrepresentation that happens with, you know, income, employment, all that type of stuff. You know, that’s that’s, as you know, the lenders have their guard up on that, that can be very painful run into like an early, early default.

[00:23:13] And maybe the consumer is not who you thought they were. What do you, what do you, I mean, cause if you have these good relationships with lenders, Rudy, you’re obviously doing some, some verifications front end there. And in, in, in a remote situation, did you guys find yourself using different, uh, tools to verify this information?

[00:23:32] Or was it kind of just, Hey, take a picture of this and take a picture of a pay stub type

[00:23:36] Rudy: [00:23:36] thing. Uh, because there’s a few digital retailing out there, uh, to believe it or not take a picture of the shoe. And, uh, it still went through it, like it was the license. So I learned that the hard way. Uh, but it’s, you know, it’s questionable.

[00:23:54] I’ve give to deal California today. And, uh, you know, I told the bank, doesn’t call the customer [00:24:00] interview on yourself. Um, it’s a real deal, you know, here’s the pay stuff. This is what it is, but. I said, this is the new norm. And you know, and even when I talked to her, she’s like, but he’s in California. And I’m like, yeah.

[00:24:11] I said, now you allowed to advertise your car in California. As you’ll be here in New York, you know, all vendors have changed their way, their advertising, right. Because of this whole Carvana mode and this whole pandemic thing. So. October to the guy like him in New York and the guy’s like I’m buying a new car.

[00:24:27] Like, all right, let me get you approved. So of course the rent coolest is I just got off the ball with him. He’s like, this is a legit deal. Was dope. I’m like, all right, let’s put it together. I’m shipping the car out next week. Uh, money in the house. You don’t get in the contract. Um, pretty much DocuSign, whatever.

[00:24:43] And they got to do what they’re going to do, protect it, but you also have the dealer responsible for making sure the other person on the other line, he’s who they say they are. Right. And this ways you can do it. There’s platforms, you can put it. Um, and the banks have, you know, pretty much have updated all their stuff as [00:25:00] well, because they know, you know, when these things happen and obviously, uh, red flags go up, right?

[00:25:05] There’s a lot of people doing frauds and this and that. Um, when you gotta do the right thing and this court, wherever it is that if you see something, say something, right. If it’s on a fish, just tell the bank and you know, at the end of the day, um, you gotta protect them at the same time.

[00:25:20] Joel Kennedy: [00:25:20] So do you, you were, you were set up to come up when the whole thing came because you were on the front foot with digital retail.

[00:25:26] Yeah. Yup. Thinking ahead. Yeah. Where do you, where, where are you going to go from here?

[00:25:33] Rudy: [00:25:33] Thinking I have man. Um, I want to open my own a group of my own auto group in 2021 in this year.

[00:25:41] Joel Kennedy: [00:25:41] Yes. That’s big deal. What, what, tell me more.

[00:25:45] Rudy: [00:25:45] It’s in the works right

[00:25:46] Joel Kennedy: [00:25:46] now as we speak. Okay. There’s

[00:25:48] Rudy: [00:25:48] a lot of people that like, will this stuff that we’re doing in New York.

[00:25:51] Um, I have a big, big, um, big influence in New York, you know, and there’s a lot of things that I do and people do end up doing it at the end, at the [00:26:00] beginning of my say, I’m crazy, but I could see it, you know, the next couple of weeks they have it on their site. Right. So that’s sort of influence, right? So say what you want to say better on your website.

[00:26:14] You know, so there’s a lot of things that we actually purchased two tow trucks today. Right. So we in the negotiation and purchasing two trucks. So, you know, we might be the Carvana of New York.

[00:26:27] Joel Kennedy: [00:26:27] So

[00:26:29] Rudy: [00:26:29] these are the things that I’m thinking about. These are the things that people like. You’re crazy, but I’m like, you crazy not to think of it or you crazy not to do at first.

[00:26:38] So it’s just a matter of time, you know what I mean? Later on you see it was by untold strokes. Yeah. Or maybe they’ll do it after they get to see this video with me and you

[00:26:47] Joel Kennedy: [00:26:47] people, you know, there’s people called Elon Musk crazy, you know, with a lot of this stuff that he’s doing, they call him crazy. And look, obviously, you know, Tesla, it’s kind of with, I know he’s out there, but.

[00:26:59] But [00:27:00] look it, man, the guy has got kahunas and I think he almost likes it when people say he, they don’t believe him. I mean, have you seen it rocket? Like the booster rockets when they come down, they land like something out of a 1950s Saifai film. It’s an, I’ve never seen anything like it.

[00:27:14] Rudy: [00:27:14] Yeah. Yeah, actually, that’s what I want to do.

[00:27:17] Um, that’s one of my bucket list, you know, I actually know somebody that works in the X, X, X, X space, whatever space X, and, um, I can get a tour if I go to Cali, but obviously we have to get all this craziness.

[00:27:28] Joel Kennedy: [00:27:28] I wanna see honestly, LP. I want to see something with you. Live, live broadcasting. Uh, A Facebook thing from like orbit.

[00:27:36] I want you to be in orbit in outer space, wearing that jacket

[00:27:42] Rudy: [00:27:42] cost about the price of a house. Okay. To move, uh, to move out there. And it takes about four months to get there. All right. So in 10 years, I think by 2030, on 10 years, he wants to pretty much. You know, with the colony and everything, he wants to [00:28:00] start sending people up there.

[00:28:01] Uh, so it’s pretty crazy. I follow it. I watched the videos and things like that and all these prototypes they’re doing. And, uh, one of my friends is one of the engineers. So, you know, he explained some of the, all of these things. So yeah, he’s out there, but you know, it’s crazy not to do it right now. I’m thinking of it.

[00:28:15] Yeah. I think he’s going to do it guys. Forward thinking, like you said, so it

[00:28:20] Joel Kennedy: [00:28:20] is what it is. Yeah. I think there’s, I think there’s a lot of people, you know, that nowadays they take it as a badge, you know, a badge of honor when people say, man, you’re crazy. You’re like, okay, good. Then this is a good idea.

[00:28:36] Rudy: [00:28:36] They call me worse. So I don’t care anyway.

[00:28:38] Joel Kennedy: [00:28:38] Exactly. Yeah. I had an old business partner. He used to always say that I cussed him out. He’d say I’ve been called worse.

[00:28:46] Rudy: [00:28:46] I’m excited for this year. I really am. I really believe that I have some record numbers. Um, and it’s just. I see opportunity. I see growth. I see, you know, the government bailing out the industry. I [00:29:00] see a lot of, a lot of people, um, boosting up the economy, man. And I just want to be part of it. I’m, I’m, I’m blessed to be part of it.

[00:29:08] And, uh, I just want to get my fair share and I hope everybody out there is doing the same thing, uh, instead of just moping and complaining and, you know, What else is going to do

[00:29:16] Joel Kennedy: [00:29:16] you know what I mean? So if folks, let’s say we’ve got some other folks in retail, maybe folks in lending, they want to, they want to get in touch with you, pick your brain, you know, what’s, what’s the best way for people.

[00:29:26] I mean, obviously they want to like, and follow you on, on LinkedIn and on the social

[00:29:30] Rudy: [00:29:30] media pages. Yeah. It’s very simple, you know, I, I, uh, I own the first two pages of Google and feel if you Google a patrol. So my cell phone is kind of like public, so, you know, not to own home, but. It’s easy just to Google my name, uh, either with the twins or without it comes up anyway.

[00:29:49] So my cell phone is always there and all my platforms are linked in there. So you can just click a leg there, uh, or make a connection on, on, um, I think the first one that comes up is probably LinkedIn because I’m very [00:30:00] active. There is up to a hundred thousand connections there. Wow. Yeah. So we get a lot of reach on, uh, on LinkedIn and, um, you know, we’ve got a lot of ROI out of it.

[00:30:09] So that’s my number one ROI right now, to be honest with you. It’s not Instagram that Instagram, I like because of the stories or whatever, but, uh, LinkedIn is kind of like my favorite and, uh, that’s when I get the most opportunities, believe it or not, before I missed the boat on LinkedIn, I always said that before, and I’ve been on it for three years.

[00:30:24] You know what I mean? Yeah,

[00:30:26] Joel Kennedy: [00:30:26] and I like it. Cause I think, uh, some of the trolls and some of the other negative aspects that you sometimes run into on some of the other platforms, you know, you’re dealing with some more people that are there for professional purposes. So I think you’re going to keep that

[00:30:37] Rudy: [00:30:37] real professionals you deal with real people that give you the respect and they know that you’re a buyer, your grind, and you want you out there.

[00:30:44] Right? Putting your stuff out there. And I get a lot of respond, man. I get a lot of people I give back to everyone. Sometimes it, the speaking to me was really a robot. You know, I took like in the morning until like two in the morning, I’m like, dude, there’s a bot. You would talk. I thought it was, [00:31:00] well, you had that feature.

[00:31:02] You just gotta fucking pay it. But, uh, you know, I just have fun with it. So. But, uh, yeah, I’m, I’m having, I’m having the best time of my life right now, man. I just hit 40, you know what I mean? I was able to celebrate, I was a little bumped out because, you know, I had this rooftop thing, a hundred people and I had to shut it down, whatever, but it is what it is maybe happened for the better.

[00:31:27] Joel Kennedy: [00:31:27] Yeah, I enjoyed the holidays. It was kind of nice because the kids we’ve, we’ve got like a little cluster we hang with where we try not to go outside the circle and the kids’ friends were all around as opposed to everybody, you know, going to some other state to visit grandparents or something like that.

[00:31:41] It was sad. But at the same time I was telling my kids, I’m like, you guys had a nice little break here and you got to have a lot of fun with the friends.

[00:31:49] Rudy: [00:31:49] Yes, yes, yes. It was actually, uh, it was actually very humbling. Um, you know, everyone. Right. Because a lot of people didn’t make it in 2020. So I did the same.

[00:31:59] It was [00:32:00] quiet, but I had a, I had a nice humbling experience.

[00:32:03] Joel Kennedy: [00:32:03] Well, I love it. Uh, El patroned folks, he is a positive influence. He’s a positive man. I appreciate getting to know you. And you know, a lot of us got rid of toxicity in 2020. I hope we continue to do that. And we just continue to consume positive people and positive messages like you.

[00:32:22] And thank you. Thank you so

[00:32:23] Rudy: [00:32:23] much to get rid of. The toxic people around us, the people that don’t bring us any value alright. Whatsoever. And they will support what you got going on and they don’t want you to level up. Get rid of them, trust me the best decision you’re gonna make. You see the different right away, man, right away.

[00:32:40] Because the energy that you take just to, you know, deal with that situation, you can use it for so many other positive things. And right now I refuse to give in. I’ll never give in to negativity because where I am right now, you know, I’m just getting started so much amazing things going to happen this year.

[00:32:57] And now I have some announces coming up [00:33:00] and I’ll be able to share with you. So. I

[00:33:03] Joel Kennedy: [00:33:03] love the story we got to have you back on once. Once the big news is ready to drop, we gotta have, you let’s do

[00:33:08] Rudy: [00:33:08] it. Let’s do it. I’m down.

[00:33:12] Joel Kennedy: [00:33:12] Rudy out patrol, coming to us, live from New York city with, uh, with, uh, with the triple fat goose jacket on

[00:33:20] when the hood on. Oh man, he looks like an Eskimo. That’s legit.

[00:33:32] All right, everybody. We’ll see. Thanks again, El Patrones some good laughs. A great guy. No, patroned you’re the man. Thanks brother. The consumer five podcast has been brought to you by Northbridge loan software. That accelerates change. We’d also like to thank the national automotive finance association, the only trade association, exclusively serving the non-prime auto financing industry. [00:34:00]