Trent Hargrave and Joe Weinrich took over the ownership of Riverside Dodge in September of 2015.

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‘Young Guns’ drive success at Riverside Dodge

Sep 27, 2017 | 12:00 AM

Riverside Dodge Chrysler Jeep isn’t your typical car dealership. There is a buzz in the environment; cool music playing in the lobby of the service department; and customers and sales associates happily moving about their day in a relaxed and carefree environment.

“We bring a different viewpoint to the industry,” said Trent Hargrave, co-owner of Riverside Dodge. “The car business has always been kind of dry and uniform…so we’re trying to do things differently and change the ownership experience, one fair deal at a time.”

Hargrave and co-owner Joe Weinrich took over the ownership of Riverside Dodge after the dealerships previous owner, Hargrave’s father, Joe, entered provincial politics.

“He [Joe] is focussed on his political career which gave us an opportunity to take over something great and add a fresh perspective to it,” said Weinrich.

That ‘fresh perspective’ comes from a team of young and talented workers. Most of the staff and managers are under 40 years of age. In fact, the average staff age is 32 years old.

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“In our dealership, 40 percent of staff are women which is unusual in the car business. Some of these women are in positions of influence. Also, 25 percent of our employees identify as being Indigenous. We believe in diversity and know that’s where our strength lies,” said Hargrave.

Weinrich said the service and auto parts department also boasts senior technicians with 30 years of experience and one of the few practised transmission experts in the region.

“We also have some new up-and-comers. We are literally watching them transition from first year technicians all the way up to journeymen. We have an amazing talent pool,” said Weinrich.

Having such a young crew does come with some challenges. Hargrave said they don’t always ‘get it right’ -but they are ok with that.

“We embrace the fact that we’re not perfect,” he explained. “Even with our used cars, we have a 30-day ‘Oops’ guarantee where if you notice something wrong with your vehicle within the first 30 days we will fix it…no questions asked,” Hargrave said.

The dealership specializes in new and used cars and has auto financing experts available to help find a car loan or RAM, Dodge, Jeep or Chrysler lease. Their customer base extends to Saskatoon, Nipawin, Shellbrook, Melfort and North Battleford areas but Hargrave and Weinrich both say they are PA boys first and foremost.

“Joe volunteers with Habitat for Humanity and the Rotary club. We both help fundraise in the community. You’ll see us at hockey games in town with our kids…or at local restaurants. We are not absentee owners,” said Hargrave.

A talented staff, full of energy and success. It’s no wonder the crew at Riverside Dodge has been dubbed ‘The Young Guns.’

Browse their online inventory or stop in to the dealership located at 160 38th St. East, Prince Albert.