WEST HERR WEDNESDAY: Dave Peters

For this week’s West Herr Wednesday, we headed over to West Herr Hyundai of Williamsville to meet Sales Consultant, Dave Peters! Dave has been on Team West Herr for almost 10 years now.

Dave says that since he’s been a child, he’s dreamt of being in the automotive industry. Although he’s not sure why he had those ambitions from a young age, he is sure glad this is the field of work he ended up in. “My mother can attest to this, when I was younger at one point, I said I want to own my own car dealership,” Dave says.

Prior to work in car sales, Dave worked in collections for seven years. He mentions that being behind a cubical all day was not what he wanted to do. He knew himself to be a people-person and wanted that face to face interaction with customers.

Although Dave always dreamt of getting into car sales, he says he was hesitant to leave a job that had a guaranteed hourly rate plus commission, to a job that was solely based on commission. He mentioned that he once had an interview for a lot attendant at another local dealership that didn’t end up working out, but what’s meant to be, will be!

Dave had a friend that was working at our West Herr Used Car Outlet, which has since been absorbed by West Herr Hyundai, and encouraged him to follow his dreams to sell cars. The manager at the time gave Dave a call, he went in for an interview the very next day, and the rest is history!

Over the last ten years, Dave says a large part of why he’s stayed at West Herr is because of the atmosphere. “I just love what I do. I love being able to help people,” Dave says. He mentions that he loves going to friends and family’s houses, seeing their cars, and saying “Hey, I sold that!”

As you can imagine, over the last ten years there have been so many great memories that come to mind in Dave’s career. He says one of his favorites was the Employee Appreciation Picnic at the Erie County Fairgrounds. “I loved taking my stepson there. He played the games and went on rides,” he adds.

When Dave isn’t working, he loves to stay busy with his family. He, his girlfriend, stepson & daughter love to spend their free time on the water! “Boating, Buffalo football games, and golf consume my life,” Dave jokes. He joyfully explains that he is a relatively new dad as his daughter is about 20 months old! He also has two dogs, MJ & Hercules!

Over the last several years, Dave has crossed paths with so many amazing people who’ve helped teach him the ropes. He wanted to give a shoutout to Jimmy Elston on the finance side, and his Used Car Manager, Mike Vazquez Jr. Dave also wanted to wanted to give a shoutout to his previous manager, Michael Domster, who is now at our West Herr Nissan of Lockport location!

“I’m a used car guy to my core. I love doing new cars now, but used is my bread and butter,” he says. Looking towards the future, Dave says he would love to work his way to becoming a Used Car Manager. He mentions right now, he is loving the flexibility that sales allow him to have. “Since having my daughter, I want to embrace all these moments when I can,” he says.

Dave spoke on a memorable sale that he will never forget earlier in his career. He had a customer that asked if he and his wife would be able to meet Team West Herr’s Josh Allen & Steve Tasker upon pickup of their new vehicle. Dave confidently says, “I can absolutely arrange that for you!” As the day comes, the customers walk in to be greeted by cardboard cutouts of both Josh & Steve! Everyone laughed and posed for a photo, and it makes Dave laugh every time he thinks back on it.

Dave says one of the best parts of his job is just constantly meeting new people and getting to know those around you. “I love getting to be myself at work. I always tell people, you can’t but me anywhere else,” he says. Dave mentions to all his customers that “he comes with the car.” Any help you may need after the sale, Dave is your guy!

We are so proud of all the hard work and dedication that Dave has exemplified over the years. Keep up the amazing work, Dave!