Father and son team Ryan Walls and David Hudson, from left, are the owners of Eagle Imports.Ryan Walls and David Hudson, father-son co-owners of Eagle Imports, are driving and flying the best cars they can find in the $8,000-$12,000 price range into Signal Mountain.
Opened March 1, the small dealership offers 12-15 autos at a time.
“What we have we want to be cherry-picked and very good quality,” said Walls, who looks all over the Southeast to get the best vehicles he can find. “I would rather have a smaller quantity and higher quality.”
“I would be proud to drive any car on the lot,” Hudson added.
Eagle Imports is focused mainly on imports but does sell some domestic vehicles as well. The dealership does not sell salvaged cars and Walls said he goes over the top checking out each vehicle he buys.
“Signal Mountain residents want quality, and that’s what we’re going to deliver,” he said. “Quality is the No. 1 thing.”
If his dealership lacks a car a customer is looking for, Walls said he takes detailed notes of what the customer wants and tries to find it.
“Some people like to hunt for fish and deer, I like to hunt for cars,” he said. “We’re not in this to get rich. We just want a nice, local, family-owned dealership.”
A former sales manager at Cornerstone Auto Brokers and founder of Car Finders magazine, he decided to team up with his father to open up Eagle Imports at his mother Wanda’s suggestion over dinner one night.
“Before we paid the tab at the restaurant, we decided ‘Let’s do it,'” said Walls, who has a lot of experience dealing directly with dealer operators and has lots of friends and contacts in the auto sales business.
The 30-year Signal Mountain resident said he wanted to open the shop on the mountain because the area lacked a dealership, there is plenty of traffic on Taft Highway and it is close to home. He and his father chose the name Eagle Imports and the business’s colors based on the local high school team.
One aspect that sets the business apart from other dealerships is there is no pressure to buy, said Walls.
“We want the cars to sell themselves,” he said. “I want to treat people the way I want to be treated.”
Eagle Imports offers financing and a service contract that has been rated a “best buy” by Motor Trend Magazine.
“Our main priority is to establish a good reputation,” said Hudson.