Pine Belt Cars, Lakewood, Named 2024 Dealer of Excellence
Because Pine Belt Cars, 1088 Route 88, Lakewood, including Pine Belt Chevrolet, Pine Belt Mazda, and Pine Belt Subaru have demonstrated their commitment to exceeding customer expectations and have provided excellent customer service, Pine Belt Cars has been certified as a J.D. Power U.S. Dealer of Excellence, an outstanding achievement, in the J.D. Power Program,.
Rob Sickel, Brick, owner of Pine Belt Cars, said, “This certification sets us apart, especially from such an authority as J.D. Power. I feel that everyone in this dealership contributes to making our customers happy, so every member here shares in this achievement.”
J.D. Power 2024 Dealer of Excellence Program recognition is based on achievement of high scores from automotive manufacturer customer research and completion of an in-dealership best practices verification visit. For more information, visit jdpower.com/us-doe. Pine Belt will receive a trophy, lapel pins, and window stickers, among other promotional items for its designation.
For more information, contact Joe Pagano, director of business development and marketing, Pine Belt Enterprises at 973-652-0656.
About the Dealer of Excellence Program: Dealer of Excellence is an exclusive program and not all dealerships can qualify. Those that do must pass a three-step process: As the first qualification criterion, J.D. Power limits the percentage of eligible dealerships by nameplate based on each brand’s performance in the most recent J.D. Power U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study. SM Thus, proportionally more dealerships from top-performing brands can become a J.D. Power Dealer of Excellence.
Second, dealerships must rank among their brand’s top performers in key customer satisfaction areas consistent with measurements found in the SSI Study. Finally, qualifying dealers must pass an audit to show they meet or exceed J.D. Power sales best practices. Those best practices include, but are not limited to, listing vehicle inventory and pricing on the dealership website; negotiating in an efficient and transparent manner; offering a fair trade-in value; and presenting a clear and easy-to-understand menu of finance and insurance products.
About Pine Belt Cars: Pine Belt Cars, 1088 Route 88, Lakewood, NJ 08701, is a family-owned and operated New Jersey car dealer that offers new or pre-owned cars, trucks, and SUVs. Pine Belt Cars specializes in Chevy, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Subaru cars. The dealership employs a professional team of service technicians with the skills and equipment to handle all manner of maintenance and repairs, and has a full stock of authentic parts.
Pine Belt Cars has four dealerships in Lakewood, N.J., and is very committed philanthropically to local communities. Some of Pine Belt’s philanthropic affiliations include sponsoring the Pine Belt Arena, Lakewood Little League, United Way of Ocean County, Lakewood Police Department, Jewish Federation, and the Monmouth-Ocean Development Council.
Pine Belt Cars was founded in 1937 by Leon Sickel. His son, president and CEO David Sickel, is a lifelong Lakewood resident who graduated from Franklin & Marshall College. He joined the family business in 1970 after attending the General Motors Institute in Detroit, Michigan, and serving in the U.S. Naval Reserve. When his father retired in 1975, David assumed his current role.