— Daily Freeman-Journal photo by Anne Blankenship A row of vehicles stand ready for test drives at Webster City Auto Center. Business is getting back to normal, according to Josh Woodward, general manager of the auto dealership.

Editor’s Note: The following article is part of a continuing

series on how Webster City area businesses are faring

during the COVID-19

pandemic

Josh Woodward, the general manager at Webster City Auto Center, is energetic and optimistic when it comes to the Chevy, Buick and GMC dealership on Second Street.

Did the coronavirus pandemic take a bite out of business? A small one, he admits, but day-by-day, things are steadily inching back toward normal.

“We slowed down a little bit, but nothing substantial,” Woodward said. “I think our business decreased about 20 percent over the last two months, but it’s getting back to normal. We’re still operating as normal and things are starting to move forward as they should.”

While prioritizing sanitation of vehicles before and after test drives, Webster City Auto Center is still catering to walk-in customers, as well as taking appointments on a daily basis.

“As a dealership, we sanitize prior to test drives and after services,” Woodward said. “(Customers) are still conscious to a degree with what’s going on and protecting themselves.”

With a healthy inventory of new and used vehicles, Webster City Auto Center is open Monday through Saturday for sales and service. And through the month of June, it will run a special that includes a complimentary oil change and 27-point inspection with a full replacement of either front or rear brake pads.

“Here at Webster City Auto Center, we are making the buying experience better with little to no negotiation and transparent pricing,” Woodward said. “All of our new and preowned inventory is priced to compete with larger markets.”

Woodward thinks that being in a smaller market has actually been advantageous for Webster City Auto Center since COVID-19 put a wrinkle in the lives of customers.

“I think more of the bigger dealerships are affected by it more,” he said. “For us, as long as we can sustain selling X-amount of used cars and we can mix in some deals on new vehicles, we’re going to be OK.”

To see Webster City Auto Center’s inventory of vehicles, visit its website at

www.webstercityautocenter.com. To make an appointment to test drive a vehicle, call (515) 337-2258, or to get your vehicle serviced, call (515) 393-6655.