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DriveSimpleAuto Group

About DriveSimple

A fourteen-car lot that grew into eighteen bays

DriveSimple opened in 2011 on Hadley Road with fourteen used cars, one landline and two members of the Whitfield family taking turns on the lot. The Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram franchise came five years later, and with it a training calendar, a parts obligation and a fair amount of humility about what we did not yet know.

Moving to 375 Metuchen Road in 2019 is what actually changed the business. Eighteen bays meant we could recondition and repair everything ourselves instead of farming it out, and room for close to two hundred vehicles meant a customer could compare three trims in the same afternoon. Two years later we posted one price on every car, took the add-on packs out of the deals and rebuilt the pay plan so nobody was paid to defend a number. That is the part people write reviews about.

Browse 181 vehiclesContact the dealership

The short version

One address, three departments
375 Metuchen Road, South Plainfield, NJ 07080
Family owned since 2011
Ninety-six people, most of them from within ten miles of the store.
4.8 out of 5 across 2,417 reviews
Collected on Google, Cars.com and DealerRater.
Years in business, every one of them in South Plainfield
15
Vehicles delivered since 2011
38,412
Service bays, six of them running Express all day
18
Technicians, nine of them Chrysler Master certified
24
Average rating across 2,417 verified reviews
4.8

Figures as of this month. Inventory counts come straight from the lot: 70 new, 38 certified and 73 used vehicles are on the ground right now.

How we got here

Fifteen years, six decisions that mattered

No acquisition story, no investment group. Each of these was a small bet made with money the business had already earned.

  1. 2011

    Fourteen cars on Hadley Road

    Two Whitfields, a converted filling station and fourteen used vehicles bought at the Manheim sale in Bordentown. The whole operation ran off one landline and a card table.

  2. 2014

    The first two lifts

    Reconditioning had been going out to a shop in Piscataway. Bringing it in-house meant we finally controlled what left the lot, and it turned into a service department almost by accident.

  3. 2016

    Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram

    The franchise arrived with a training calendar, a parts obligation and a very different set of expectations. Four technicians went factory-certified that first year.

  4. 2019

    The move to Metuchen Road

    Eighteen bays, a covered service drive, room for close to two hundred vehicles and, for the first time, a showroom you would sit down in. It is the year the business stopped being a lot and started being a dealership.

  5. 2021

    One price, posted

    We stripped the add-on packs out of every deal, published a single price per vehicle and rebuilt the pay plan so nobody was paid to defend it. Volume dipped for a quarter and then went up and stayed up.

  6. 2026

    Where things stand

    Ninety-six people, eighteen bays, twenty-four technicians and an inventory that turns about every 41 days. The card table is in Dana's office.

Our promise

Six commitments, written down so you can hold us to them

Every one of these costs us something. That is rather the point — a promise you can keep without effort is not worth printing.

See the posted prices
  • 01

    One price, and everybody gets it

    The number on the listing is the number on the buyer's order. It does not move because you paid cash, because you financed, or because you walked in on the last day of the month. Our people are paid a salary plus a volume bonus, so nobody on the floor earns more by holding gross on you.

    Same price online, on the window and on the paperwork.

  • 02

    No add-on packs

    No nitrogen in the tires, no VIN etch, no paint sealant, no theft-recovery subscription pre-loaded onto every car on the lot. If you want an accessory or a service contract, ask for it and we will price it. Nothing gets added to a deal you did not ask for.

    $0 in mandatory dealer add-ons.

  • 03

    The trade number is the trade number

    The appraisal we hand you is a firm offer, good for seven days or 500 miles, and it does not change if you decide to buy nothing. We will not quietly move it to fund a discount somewhere else in the deal, and we will show you the auction comparables the number came from.

    Firm for 7 days or 500 miles, buy or not.

  • 04

    Seven days to change your mind

    Drive it for seven days or 400 miles, whichever comes first. If it is not the right vehicle, bring it back with the title work untouched and pick something else from the lot. Any price difference is settled at the same posted prices. There is no restocking fee.

    7 days or 400 miles, exchange for anything on the lot.

  • 05

    A loaner when the work runs long

    Any repair we expect to keep overnight comes with a vehicle, booked at the same time as the appointment rather than argued about at the counter. Warranty, recall and customer-pay work all qualify. If the loaner fleet is out, we cover a rental or run the shuttle to your door.

    Booked with the appointment, not at the counter.

  • 06

    No doc-fee surprises

    Our documentary fee is $347. It is printed on every window sticker, quoted on the phone before you drive over, and included in the out-the-door number we email you. It pays for title and registration work, and it is the only fee we add to a retail sale beyond state tax and DMV charges.

    $347, disclosed before you arrive.

The people

Who you will actually be dealing with

Eight of the ninety-six. Average tenure across the management team is ten years, which in this industry is close to a geological age.

  • Dana Whitfield

    General Manager

    Leadership15 years here

    Grew up washing cars on the Hadley Road lot and still walks the front line every morning before the doors open.

  • Marcus Oyelaran

    Sales Manager

    Sales9 years here

    Keeps a running list of every vehicle a customer asked for and we did not have, and buys against it at auction on Tuesdays.

  • Priya Raghunathan

    Finance Director

    Finance7 years here

    Will happily spend twenty minutes explaining why a 96-month term is a bad idea, complete with a hand-drawn amortization chart.

  • Tomas Bergeron

    Service Manager

    Service11 years here

    Came up through the bays as a diesel technician, which is why every estimate here gets read by someone who has done the job.

  • Wes Kaminski

    Lead Service Advisor

    Service6 years here

    Sends the inspection photos before the phone call, on the theory that nobody likes being told about a repair they cannot see.

  • Renée Alcantara

    Parts Manager

    Parts14 years here

    Runs a 9,400-line Mopar inventory from memory and has been known to drive a water pump to a customer in Edison after close.

  • Hollis Trainor

    Master Technician

    Service15 years here

    Chrysler Master certified with the high-voltage endorsement, and the person the other technicians call over when a fault will not repeat.

  • Junie Park

    Client Experience Lead

    Sales4 years here

    Answers the internet leads personally, in full sentences, usually with the out-the-door number already worked out.

Ask for anyone by name when you call (630) 207-3263. If the person you need is with a customer, the operator will tell you that instead of parking you in a queue.

In the neighborhood

We sell about nine cars a day to people who live within twelve miles

That is the whole argument for showing up locally. Roughly two thirds of what we deliver goes to Middlesex, Somerset and Union county addresses, and a good share of the rest is a repeat customer bringing back a relative. A dealership that treats the town as a lead source rather than a neighborhood does not get to do that twice.

We budget for this the way we budget for anything else, and we publish what it adds up to at the end of the year.

Propose a sponsorshipsales@drivesimplenj.com
  • Since 2013

    South Plainfield youth sports

    We sponsor eight teams across baseball, softball and soccer, and the parts department rebuilds the concession stand's chest freezer every spring whether it asks to be rebuilt or not.

  • Every October

    Wheels for Work

    Two reconditioned vehicles a year, retitled and handed to families placed by the Middlesex County workforce program. Full safety inspection, new tires, a year of oil changes and the first six months of insurance covered.

  • Twice a year

    Free brake and tire clinic

    A Saturday in March and one in October: pads measured, tread depth read, batteries load-tested, no charge and no repair order written unless you ask for one.

  • Ongoing

    Middlesex County Vocational apprenticeships

    Six paid apprentice seats in the shop each year, with tool allowances and paid time toward Mopar certification. Four of our current technicians came through the program.

Careers

Five seats open right now

Everything below is a real posting with a real pay range. We do not run permanent adverts to build a file of applicants, and we answer every application inside three business days, including the ones we pass on.

sales@drivesimplenj.com

  • Automotive Technician, Level B or above

    ServiceFull-time$34 – $46 flat rate, plus certification bonuses

    Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram diagnostics and repair in a shop that does not shotgun parts. We supply the scan tools, the special-tool library and the training hours. Diesel or high-voltage experience moves you to the top of the list.

    Apply for this role

  • Express Lane Technician

    ServiceFull-time$22 – $28 per hour, hourly not flat rate

    Oil, filters, rotations, batteries and the 27-point inspection, six bays running all day. This is the seat we hire out of most often — four of our current line technicians started here.

    Apply for this role

  • Service Advisor

    ServiceFull-time$62,000 – $88,000, salary plus CSI bonus

    Write the repair order, send the photos, make the call before the work happens. Advisors here are not paid on parts gross, so nobody has to sell a fluid flush to make a living.

    Apply for this role

  • Product Specialist

    SalesFull-time$52,000 – $95,000, salary plus unit bonus

    Know the lineup, take people on real test drives, and let a posted price do the negotiating. No holding gross, no four-square, no turning a customer over to three managers on the way out the door.

    Apply for this role

  • Parts Counter Associate

    PartsFull-time or part-time$21 – $27 per hour

    Retail and wholesale counter work, cataloging, receiving and two delivery runs a day to the independent shops between Edison and Bound Brook. Mopar catalog experience helps but is not required.

    Apply for this role

Why work here

The honest pitch: this is a busy store with a fixed schedule, decent equipment and a pay plan that does not depend on talking anyone into anything.

(630) 207-3263
  • Medical, dental and vision from day 31, with the dealership covering 80 percent of the employee premium.
  • Five paid days a year for factory training, plus tuition and testing fees for Mopar and ASE certification.
  • A $1,500 annual tool allowance for technicians and a matching program on major tool-box purchases.
  • Closed every Sunday, and the service drive closes at 6:00 PM on weekdays. Nobody here works a 70-hour week.
  • 401(k) with a 4 percent match that vests over two years, and paid time off that starts at two weeks.
  • Promotion from inside first: seven of our eleven managers started on the lot, the counter or the Express Lane.

Come see the place

The showroom is open six days a week

No appointment needed, no greeter with a clipboard. Walk the lot, drive whatever you like, and take the numbers home with you. 181 vehicles are on the ground today.

Browse the inventoryHours and directions
4.8

2,417 reviews across Google, Cars.com and DealerRater, including the ones where we got it wrong.

Read the reviews