Talk about a dollar and a dream.
Robert Bassam, founder and CEO of Easterns Automotive Group (17 locations, four in the Baltimore area) didn?t have much more in his pocket when he entered the car business in the late 1980s.
“My dad worked at Domino’s delivering pizzas and I was waiting tables,” Bassam said. “When I went with him to the Salvation Army to pick up a car he was buying there, I took my tip money and bought two cars. After I sold them, a light went off in my head.”
But Bassam chuckles at thinking of himself as anything like an overnight success. He worked in restaurants until 1990, juggling auto work on the side, until he broke in on the wholesale side of the car industry.
“I taught myself the business,” Bassam said. “I literally knocked on doors asking wholesalers to teach me the business.”
Of course, not everyone was receptive. Some viewed Bassam with skepticism, while others wouldn?t make time for him.
But Bassam built up the expertise he needed to enter the car business as a full-time wholesaler and soon developed the first Easterns dealership, in Arlington.
In 2001, the company developed a corporate structure for the 17 stores under its umbrella.
Today, when Bassam hires for any of his stores, he does not run employment advertisements. He said he needs to personally recruit employees to get the solid character and ambition he expects.
The company?s reputation, pay and working conditions entice many to join, said Vice President Nick Champeau, who worked with more than 350 dealerships through his position at Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association (WANADA)
“I think traditionally the dealership groups I worked with … didn?t give the second-chance market the due respect it deserves,” he said. “The reality is that something like 40 percent of the population has a credit challenge. The other reality is that there are top second-chance vehicles.”
The success of Easterns proves that quality used cars are in demand for people in all income brackets. The average car at Easterns is less than three years old and has fewer than 40,000 miles on it. The dealerships also offers a host of financing options.
“We give them a great experience,” Bassam said. “That?s what Easterns is all about.”
Contact info
Easterns Automotive Group
» www.easterns.com
Easterns of White Marsh
» 7910 Pulaski Highway, Rosedale
» 888-458-5413
Easterns of Glen Burnie
» 7118 N. Ritchie Highway, Glen Burnie
» 888-253-2481
Easterns of Crofton
» 696 Maryland Route 3 North, Gambrills
» 888-929-6999
Easterns Auto Outlet of Waldorf
» 4420 Crain Highway, White Plains
» 888-832-8289
