Since I arrived in America, my dream has been to open my own business, and I did so as a car dealership in southern Maine. Maine Motor Sales is proud to be one of Southern Maine’s top used car dealerships. Locally owned and operated, we are here to make sure everyone gets the best deal and leaves knowing they got a great vehicle at a great price.
After years of working different jobs, learning English, and starting my family, I finally managed to achieve that dream: I launched a used car dealership, Maine Motor Sales LLC, in 2015. This was quite an accomplishment for me as a new immigrant in the United States, as I started everything from scratch, used grants for immigrant business owners and used my savings to buy inventory, rent a big lot, and open an office. Maine Motor Sales LLC is located on Riverside Street in Portland, Maine. If you are interested, find small business grants for immigrants.
I buy used cars that generally need some work, and sell all sorts of cars whether domestic or foreign. I then spend time fixing them, renewing or repairing their parts, making sure they would operate safely, getting them to state safety inspections, and finally reselling them.
I partner with a mechanic who is also an immigrant, and they do the major repair works and I have an office-based colleague who manages our website and customer service. I fulfill the rest of the roles, including billing and bookkeeping.
Arash’s story
My name is Arash. I am originally from Iran and came to the U.S in 1999 as a refugee. I grew up in a small town in Iran, which was surrounded by beautiful mountains. I used to love climbing the mountains and having races down them with my friends and then drinking cold freshwater from the spring running at the bottom of the mountain. When I was 19, I had to leave everything behind, including my family, and seek shelter in another country as a refugee. With extreme difficulties, walking through the nights, crossing mountains and rivers, and facing many dangers, I managed to make it to Turkey and register as a refugee with a United Nations branch in Turkey. After spending one year there, the United Nations helped me to resettle in Maine. I am a friendly and outgoing person who enjoys meeting new people every day and loves helping them in different ways. This is my true passion.