Runde Auto Chat

Barb Brush and her long-term best friend, Roxanne Marston, just happened to be going to the right quilting show at the right time. While these two inseparable friends were on their way to see expert weavers, quilters and sewers, Barb got an unexpected call from her husband who was looking at vehicles online. He insisted that she at least stop over to Runde's and take a look at a Lexus that might suit her, and boy did it ever. While here, she kept saying how it felt like family, so we did what families do - sat down, got to know her and chatted for a while...

What brought you into Runde's today?
Barb:  A phone call. We were on our way to a quilt show and I got a phone call from my husband who knew I was looking for a car. He was looking online and found a car I might be interested so he called and said I should stop by and gave me Runde's phone number. So we called and got Al Kloft who directed us to this place and showed us the Lexus.

That might be one of the most spontaneous things I've heard in a while...
Yea it was great, and we loved the Lexus so we just decided to buy the car.

Are you going to be late for your show?
No, we should be fine. The show is in Kalona, Iowa and doesn't start until a little later.

Where are you from?
Barb: I'm from Baraboo, Wisconsin Roxanne: I'm from Madison, Wisconsin

I go up to Devils Lake in Baraboo every so often, very relaxing and beautiful place... You two seem like very good friends. How long have you known each other?
Probably about 40 years or so. We used to be next door neighbors when our kids were small and our friendship just got stronger ever since.

How did you like your experience here at Runde's?
It was really friendly, helpful and very laid back. We didn't experience any pressure or anything like that. We would both come here again. You guys have a lot of vehicles...

We have over 1,300 vehicles in stock in four different locations.
Thir-Teen-Hundred!? Wow.

On a scale of 1-10 what would you rate your Sales Person, Al Kloft?
Roxanne: Oh a 10, for sure. Barb: Oh yeah, no doubt, he's a real likeable guy. Really laid back and easy to deal with. He loves to talk but it's always entertaining and makes you feel comfortable. No pressure... I found it unusual that he seemed to let us make our own decisions and encouraged us to be sure about our purchase, not something you find anywhere else. And he let us have some of his strawberry's.

What do you like to do in your hometowns?
We are both retired now, so it's a little different than it used to be. But we like to keep busy with our grand-kids, travel, go on motorcycle rides, various projects, and we keep active in our communities. I used to like skiing when I was healthier.

I'm sure you like to quilt as well?
OH YES, I love to quilt. I started that a few years back. I have my own space, my "woman’s cave" that I go to quilt. It's much more peaceful than a "man's-cave"... My husband has one of those, I call it "toy barn" it's a whole building next to our house.

What are these quilt shows all about? Barb: They are all beautiful hand-made Amish quilts. They have the quilts strung up and people can buy them. It's basically just a good reason for Roxanne and I to get together and have a good time. We used do road-trips to Minneapolis to shop and be together every year. Now we go to Kalona for the quilt show and stop in Galena on our way back... we've been doing that for quite a few years. But we've never went on a trip where we bought a car on the way *both laugh*

 So is one of you taking home Lexus and the other taking home what you drove here in? No, I actually drove my Honda Pilot here and traded it in towards the Lexus. So we are going to continue to the quilt show in our new Lexus together! I was kind of attached to the Honda Pilot, I thought I was going to cry when I traded it in. I was confused with all the buttons in the new car at first. There were two buttons on the door that said "1" and "2" and I pressed "2" and the seat started to move forward, I thought it was going to crush me into the steering wheel! I later learned that it was memory seating, pretty neat feature. 

Do you like to travel?
Barb: Yes, we both travel quite a bit, my husband and I absolutely loved Alaska and would like to go back and spend a little more time up there. We were also talking about going to Russia. Roxanne: My husband is a travel agent so I've been lucky to go on a lot of trips and see a lot of different places. We're going to Australia in August. It's great now that we have all the time to do it.

Do you have any pets?
Barb: We have a black lab named Gretchen who is a fetchin' maniac. We are going to put up a sign at our house: "do not throw sticks around dog" because she will go and find that exact stick and keep bringing it back to the person who threw it. If you don't she will keep begging for you to throw it and she will never tire. You'll have to throw it 1,000 times before she does tire.

See any decent movies recently?
Barb: I saw "The Kings Speech" which got great reviews and awards. I thought I'd see what all the talk was about but I wasn't too impressed. I thought it was a good movie but not worth that much praise. We don't get much time to watch movies, though. We are usually doing something else. We are both golfers and we like to ride motorcycles. Once a year my husband and I go on a long bike ride... we've rode to Colorado, California, up through Canada... it's really fun. We also usually do political rides.

Political Rides?
It's basically when you ride around with political candidates and the candidates go around to local communities and chat with all the folks and get their names out in the public. There's a little group of people who go and it usually takes about a week... we typically ride around with the governor of Wisconsin.

Sounds like the funnest part of politics, ever.
Yes, it really is!

Do you have any last comments before you scoot out of here and on to your quilt show ?
Barb: I would highly recommend Runde's. It's interesting that we just stumbled upon this great place. I've been to Lexus Dealers... they don't call their salesmen "Car Salesman" they are "Auto Executives". You don't get that kind of snobby feel from Runde's. Roxanne: My husband has the same Lexus as the one Barb just bought. When we need to get a new vehicle we will go to Runde's first.

I'm happy to hear you found your gem at Runde's. We're glad that you had a great experience and hope you have a blast at the quilt show!

Nate Bremmer is a police officer from Prairie Du Chien, Wi. When he found the truck he was looking for online he couldn't believe what a deal it was. He came down to our PreDriven store and bought his truck from Al Kloft in our sales department. He was thrilled with the deal and with the way he was treated to the extent that he wanted the world to know about it by doing this interview.

What brought you into Runde's today?
I was actually looking online and found a great deal on a truck so I ended up inquiring about it through email and then got a response from Al shortly after. I ended up buying a '09 Chevy Silverado. I'll be using it to go hunting this fall and I've always wanted a truck.

What did you think of Al?
Al's a great guy, he's very pleasant to deal with. He was busy all day with people but still managed to take care of all of my needs promptly.

So if you were to rate your experience with Runde's on a scale of 1-10, what would you give it? *without hesitation*
I'd give Runde's a 10 out of 10. I was very pleased with the service I got here today and the customer service was great. On a scale on 1-10 though, Al Kloft would get an 11. He was really above and beyond. Very personable and great to get along with.

What do you do around the area you live in?
I'm actually a police officer from Prairie Du Chien, WI. I've been on full-time for 2 years and on the force for a total of 5 years, I really enjoy my job.

Are you married?
I am free and single.

Maybe you can consider this a free personals listing.
Haha, yeah.

Any pets?
We have three cats at home, and that's more than enough. Two are Siamese and one is a farm cat that we got from a fair.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I like to hunt and watch basketball and football.

Are you a big believer in online shopping?
Yea, I do a lot of research online and if I can't find it in the stores I'll buy it online.

Have you been on any noteworthy vacations?
I went to Cancun, Mexico a few years back. It was a great time. I lived it up, every night, all week... maybe more than I should have.

If you were to win the lottery what would you do with the money?
I'd probably pay off all my bills, pay my family's bills, donate some to charity and invest the rest of it into stocks or something that could help me gain more back.

What kind of music do you like?
Everything except rap. I love listening to XM radio.

What's your favorite season?
I'd say I like Spring the best. The weather's nice, it's not too hot or cold... It's just the perfect time.

Looks like you're going to be happy for the next couple months then!
Yeah, I'm loving it.

What's one invention that you would say is the most important invention created?
I'd have to say electricity. Without power we couldn't do most of the things we have the luxury of doing today.

I don't think Al Kloft could do without electricity either -- I think he actually uses it to get his hair to stand up the way it does each day. Thank you Nate for all the kind words. We wish you a happy future and hope you enjoy your truck! Good luck with hunting this spring!

Matt and Jenna Rokes are a nice young couple from the Quad Cities. They came in after doing some hunting for their new truck and ended up at Runde's. They were nice enough to sit down with me for a few minutes to share their experience and a bit about themselves.

What brought you into Runde's?
We found the vehicle that we wanted with low miles, a 2008 Avalanche.

What's it going to be used for?
Anything that we can use it for. We just bought a house and it doesn't have any landscaping so we're planning on doing a lot of that this summer and we thought a nice truck would help us with that. We also have an unfinished basement that we are going to finish. We see a lot of back and forth trips to Lowe's in our future...

How did you like your salesperson, Al Kloft?
Al was great, we called in and he took care of us. He was very personable. He gets a 10/10.

How would you rate your overall experience of Runde's on a scale of 1-10, ?
This is only my second car buying experience but I thought everything went well. I'd give it a 9.

Where are you guys from?
We're from the Quad Cities, about an hour away. We've lived there for almost 3 years and just recently bought a house in LaClaire, IA. Matt goes to school at St. Ambrose for physical therapy and there's only 4 schools in Iowa that offer that program which is why we chose to live in LaClaire.

What do you guys do around the area?
Matt: I'm a physical therapist.
Jenna: I'm a teacher at Pleasant Valley.

What kind of hobbies do you have?
We're into sports and we want to get more into camping. Currently our time is mostly just spent painting our house. Other than that we like to hang out with friends.

Have you been having house parties now that you have a new house? Yes, it's very nice to be able to have people over and have some fun.

Any kids or pets?
Jenna: No kids. We do have a Cocker Spaniel named Payton, I go running with him.

I heard it was pretty emotional trading in your previous vehicle?
Yeah, the Jeep was our first purchase together so it has some sentimental value. But we needed the truck...

Well I'm sure you'll find some good memories with your new truck, especially with all materials you'll be transporting to make your house beautiful.

Runde's would like to thank Matt and Jenna Rokes for taking out some time for this interview and we wish you luck with all your projects!

Dave and Patricia Opperman are a hardworking couple from Wadena, IA - about 60 miles out from our Hazel Green location. They took some time out of their hectic and always busy farm life to pick up a vehicle and do a little interview with me.

How did you end up coming to Runde's?
I was on AutoTrader.com and found a nice '03 Silverado that looked good and decided to give it a try. I came to Runde's and talked with Al and ended up buying it.

On a scale of 1-10, what would you rate your experience here?
Oh a 10, I loved the place there were no problems.

How was Al Kloft, your salesman?
He's a very interesting guy, very good.

What do you like to do around the area?
I just farm, it's about all I do. I used to hunt but I don't much do that anymore.

No movies or anything?
Not much anymore. Most of the new movies I haven't seen and I don't recognize any of the celebrities that you see on magazines and T.V. Most of the celebrities that I knew are mostly all deceased or dying.

Patricia: Yea, we don't watch a lot of movies but we did take the grand-kids to one a week ago, Yogi Bear, I thought it was a cute movie.

How many kids do you have?
We have four kids... and how many grand-kids... 11 grandkids.

Who's the Chef in the house?
Patricia: I am.

Dave, what's your favorite dish she makes?
I like her hot beef sandwiches.

How long have you two been married?
A little over forty years now.

Do you remember the first date?
I remember meeting her and I was really nervous and scared... that was a long, long time ago.

Are all of your kids grown up and out of the house now?
Yep, all married and moved out.

If you were to win the lottery what would you do with the money?
First half of it would go to charity. Then I'd pay off the taxes and bills. And maybe do something I'd like to do with the rest.

If you would go any one spot in the world where would you go?
Dave - I'd go back to Germany - I was jet-lagged when we got there for the first day and we didn't get to stay very long the first time. We flew into Frankfurt and we were only 14 clicks from the old German border so we went there and I finally got to see how they would fence off the border. For the longest time I could never quite comprehend how they prevented anybody from getting through the border. But they have guard towers with snipers and lots of lights everywhere so It'd be pretty risky to try to cross.

Patricia - I'd go to Hawaii (Dave chimes in) but she won't fly so we can't go. I definitely wouldn't mind going there either, though.

Don't care for planes too much?
Patricia - I don't trust them. Dave - I'd like to go back and see a little more of Germany though, my ancestors came out of there in the 1680's - some of the first ones to come over here. They came out of Bremen which is north-west Germany and they migrated here where most of them ended up in the Cedar Rapids Area.

What invention would you say is the best?
I'd probably say all the medial inventions they came up with over the years are the most important.

That's all the questions I had for you guys. Thank you for sharing a bit of your lives with us today. Enjoy your new Silverado!

Troy and April Hutson drove a long way this past week to come and buy their new truck from Runde Chevrolet. In the time between signing paperwork and starting out for home, they were benevolent enough to give us a little extra time to ask them some questions about their lives and about their recent experience at Runde's.

What kind of vehicle did you buy?
We bought a new 2011 Silverado 2500 HD.

You’re from Sandwich, IL – how far is that from Runde’s?
It's about 180 miles and it took us almost three hours to get here.

Have you always lived in that area?
Troy: I have. I was born in Sandwich and pretty much lived there my whole life.
April: I wasn't born in Sandwich, but I've lived in that area most of my life. 

It's the biggest county fair in the state of Illinois -- we go to it every year. What do you do for a living there?
Troy: I work for a ... basically like a farm services place.
A co-op?
Right. It's an independant fertilizer dealership. April: I work for an insurance company.

Do you want to throw out any shouts about your companies to advertise them. April: No.(laughing) Troy: (also laughing)They're probably a little too far away to do any good.

Do you have kids?
Paxton is our daughter -- she's 11 and Garrett is our son -- he's 9.

Any pets?
We have a cat and a dog ... our dog is a boxer/pit mix.

Sounds like a very muscular dog.
Yep, his name is Ranger and he's actually a big baby ... a big lap dog.

Do you have a favorite hang-out spot in Sandwich or the surrounding area?
We don't really have a hang out spot. I'd have to say our house.

If you could own your dream vehicle, what would that be?
Troy: My dream vehicle actually would be a Chevy Suburban 3/4-ton four-wheel-drive.
April: I'd just say the most expensive BMW.[

What’s your favorite restaurant and how often do you eat there?
Bianchi's Pizza Place in Ottowa, IL. It's a little bit south of Sandwich and we try to get there when we can.

When you have supper at home, is it definitely “table time” or is it head-to-the-living-room-time and all is well as long as no one spills on the couch or carpet?
Table time.
 

If someone does spill something on the floor at your house, do you handle it calmly with a Martha Stewart type voice or do you fly off the handle like Sam Kinnison would? April: No comment (laughs).
Troy: I guess that could go either way. It depends on the situation and if they were horsing around or if it was a legitimate accident.

Favorite movie of all-time?
April: The Notebook.
Troy: Smokey and the Bandit I guess, but it's not quite the same when they edit it for TV.

What did you think of the Super Bowl?
We wanted Pittsburg to win - not the Packers. We're Bears fans and we're waiting for next season.

What did you think about Jay Cutler not playing the whole game in the NFC Championship game against the Packers?
game. I mean if he was really hurt bad, that's one thing. Looked like he was walking pretty good a couple days lated when the news showed him shopping out in California with his girlfriend. It didn't look like he was limping too bad. It ain't the end of the world, we're used to it. I guess it's kind of like rooting for the Cubs (laughs).

Have any special plans yet for Valentines Day?
No, not really.

Will you go out on an actual “date”?
Oh, we might.

Can you tell us how and when you met?
Troy: Technically the first time we met was at my house, but she had a boyfriend at that time. And the next time we met, believe or not, was in a bank parking lot.

Is there anything else you'd like to add about your experience here?
Well we found your trucks on AutoTrader and we called up. I was originally thinking about buying a used truck, but we ended up with a new truck. We got along with your salesman (Al Kloft) so well that we didn't mind driving the three hours to get here. We're glad we found Runde's and very happy with our new truck.