A
fter 16 years in a wheelchair, Mark Winchell knows
exactly what he needs in a new car: a sliding rear door,
hand controls, and enough space behind the driver\u2019s
seat for his full-size wheelchair. In September, when he began
looking to replace his full-size van, he found exactly what he
needed in the MAZDA5\u2014thanks to the helpful team at Ira
Mazda in Danvers, MA.
\u201c The whole dealership was very professional,\u201d said
Winchell. \u201c They gave me all the time I needed to practice get-
ting in and getting out of the car, and they put no pressure on
me to buy. This car is just great; it gives me much better gas
mileage than my van, and is much lower to the ground\u2014
which makes it easier for loading and unloading my wheel-
chair. The dealership even kicked in $500 toward the hand
controls I needed. It definitely gives me everything I need.\u201d
Here, Ira Mazda Sales Consultant Bill Ianelli shares his recol-
lections of what turned out to be a unique and very rewarding
sales experience for both the customer and dealership.\u25a0
M AZDA5
and Ira M azda
prove the
perfect fit for
a very special
customer.
With the help of a great sales and service
team at Ira Mazda, Mark Winchell found just
what he needed in the MAZDA5.
Ihadtheplea
sureofgreet
ingMarkWinc
hellasheent
eredtheIraM
azdashow-
roomonaquie
t,midweekaf
ternoon.Iwa
tchedhimexi
thisvanande
nterthebuil
d-
ing,handlin
gbothsetsof
doorswithea
seandconfid
ence.Iwasim
pressedwith
thismanbefo
reIeventalk
edwithhim.I
introducedm
yself,welco
medhimtothe
dealership,
andshookave
rylarge,pow
erfulhand.H
einformedme
ofhisintere
stin
theMAZDA5an
dthathehadd
onehishomew
orkontheMaz
daWebsite.
Markhadcome
totakemeasu
rements,pra
cticegettin
ginandoutof
the
MAZDA5,andt
akeatestdri
ve.Hetoldme
hewastiredo
fhisoldvana
ndwant-
edsomething
thatprovide
dbettergasm
ileageandha
ndlingwitho
utgivingupt
he
powerorspac
eheneededfo
rpassengers
,storage,an
dhisdog,Puc
k.Oh,bythe
way,healson
eededavehic
lethatwould
accommodate
hiswheelcha
ir.
Igottoworko
nthemeasure
ments,while
Markpractic
edenteringa
ndexitingth
e
MAZDA5frome
verydoor.We
gottoknowea
chotherandw
orkedasatea
mto
solvesomeof
theissueshe
wouldencoun
teronadaily
basis.Wehad
averypro-
ductivethre
e-hourexplo
rationofthe
MAZDA5andho
witwouldsat
isfyMark\u2019s
needs.Ialso
tookhimfora
rideanddemo
nstratedthe
car\u2019shandli
ngcharacter
is-
tics.Markwa
sthoroughly
impressedwi
ththeride,v
isibility,h
andling,and
power,as
wellasthein
teriorspace
andversatil
ityofseatin
garrangemen
ts.Thelasti
ssue
wehadtoreso
lvewasthewh
eelchair.Wo
ulditfitand
wouldMarkbe
abletolifti
t
inwhilehewa
sinthedrive
r\u2019sseat?
EarlDodge,o
urSeniorTec
hnician,rem
ovedtheseco
nd-rowseata
ndslidetrac
k
in10minutes
.Ithenasked
Marktodohis
thing.Markq
uicklymaneu
veredhimsel
f
intothedriv
er\u2019sseatand
sethiswheel
chairbeside
theslidingd
oor.Hethenr
epo-
sitionedhim
selfsohecou
ldreachbehi
ndtheseatan
dthroughthe
slidingdoor
and
grabhiswhee
lchair.Afew
secondslate
r,thewheelc
hairwassecu
relypositio
ned
wherethesea
thadbeenand
Markclosedt
hedoorbyhoo
kingthedoor
latchwith
acustom-mad
ehandleheha
dmadefromab
roomstick.M
arklookedat
me,smiled,
andsaid,\u201cLo
okslikeweha
veawinner!\u201d
Allthatrema
inedwastoha
vethehandco
ntrolsinsta
lled,andMar
kwouldbe
readytogo.M
arktookdeli
veryofhisne
wMAZDA5afew
dayslateran
dwasvery
pleasedwith
howhewastre
atedandhowh
isneedshadb
eensatisfie
d.Iwasproud
tohavemetMa
rkandworkwi
thsomeonewh
oconfidentl
ychallenges
adversityan
d
triumphsona
regularbasi
s.
BillIanelli
SalesConsul
tant
IraMazda,Da
nvers,MA
Ira Mazda\u2019s Sales Consultant Bill Ianelli (left) and Senior Technician Earl Dodge (right)
worked closely with Mark Winchell (center) to make sure the MAZDA5was a perfect fit.
PhotosbyMic
helleCarr
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