Dealership uses eyesore trade-in to spread Christmas cheer
From the December issue of UCD
Upon inspection of the 2008 Ford E250 Cargo van on trade, Shea Phillips found few positives about the beat-up dark maroon clunker.
“The frame was solid, but about the only thing you could say… was it had four tires that were inflated,” said Shea Phillips, General Manager of Number One Auto Sales in Buckhannon, West Virginia.
The van with more than 200,000 miles languished on the back row of the dealership. Rarely getting a second look, it was almost guaranteed a trip to the junkyard.
“We parked it on the back row and thought somebody’s got to come along and give us something for it. I forget exactly how long it sat there, maybe three months. Nobody opened a door on it,” Phillips said.
One morning, glancing over at the van, Phillips thought back to a previous idea he had to help area children at Christmas, and in that moment, the clunker found its purpose. Phillips made it the official ‘Jam the Van’ vehicle, where area residents could fill it with unused toys as part of the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program.
It didn’t take long for the community to catch on, filling the van completely with toys for existing Angels and then enough for 28 additional angels.
“Our goal was to jam the van, and it got pretty packed,” Phillips said. “The Salvation Army thought in the beginning we could use these donations to help fill the current Angels, and that would be a great thing. Not only did we do that, but the community built 28 additional angels…That’s remarkable when the community comes together to help that many kids.”
With only two front seats and an empty interior, the van was perfect for its new task. But when it was parked in front of the dealership for Jam the Van, it remained an eyesore. The Phillips enlisted the community to not only make it a haven of goodwill but an artistic masterpiece.
“It was pretty ugly, so we got the idea of letting people spray paint it. They painted their own designs and made it look really interesting,” Phillips said.
Phillips used his social media platform to promote the event, along with sending out press releases. It quickly caught on.
“We had a very successful first year,” Phillips said. “We knew our community was a very giving community, but we did not know what to expect exactly with this. It was overwhelming.”
The first year was so successful, they are bringing the van back to the front line for the second Jam the Van event. There will be a bit of a change this year. Phillips painted the van solid white to provide a blank canvas for donors who will be given acrylic markers to decorate the vehicle.
“It’s a different look,” he said.
They are also giving away Jam the Van t-shirts this year.
Youth organizations are already showing up to make donations and help with the project.
Phillips has been talking with these groups about the importance of giving back and what the project means to him and his staff. He stresses this project has nothing to do with selling vehicles.
“When someone came in for a donation to the van, we didn’t talk business at all unless they engaged us first and said, ‘Hey, what’s the price of that truck?’” Phillips said. “We would talk to them, but it was strictly about doing some good.”
Number One Auto Sales was founded by Sid Phillips in 1995. Shea joined the family business in late 2006. Together, Sid and Shea Phillips have spent the last 19 years helping people buy vehicles. Shea Phillips said they have always tried to work behind the scenes to help in the community, never using their efforts to promote their business.
“If we used our business to help promote a charity and get the word out, it’s because we want to help,” Phillips said. “If you have a social media presence or a brand that people recognize and know, you can put that to good use. That’s a good thing.”
Phillips would love to see other dealers take on similar projects to help children, especially at Christmas time. “There’s always that little bit of stain on the reputation of being a quote-unquote used car dealer,” Phillips said. “There are so many good dealers across the country that want to do good for people, not just on the business side, but on the charity side as well. This was just an idea that came from somewhere else. I do believe it was God putting this on us and wanting us to do this in his glory. And if it can inspire another dealer to do something similar and give back, that’s just extra icing on the cake. And I really like cake.”
