Today we’d like to introduce you to Damon Sesto.
Damon, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I always liked the smell, sound of an engine, didn’t matter what it was, as a kid my dream was to be able to drive and have control of this awesome machine, so I grew up getting as close as I can to any internal combustion engine, I would mow the neighbor’s lawn for free because they had a rider. My first car was a VW Bug, had no brakes cost me 50 bucks, I couldn’t afford a mechanic so I learned the hard way trial and error, pretty soon that error became success, fast forward several years now working full time as a BMW mechanic I was 28 years old and just got married, I always had a passion for my VW /Audi family and actually had a side business after hours working on them, just couldn’t do BMW, OK no biggie, I was soon thought as a side mechanic and actually could fix them, sooner or later I was making more money on the side as I was working 40 hours a week for someone else( yes eat, breath, cars) all of a sudden my wife Kerrie was pregnant and we had a baby girl Nina, she was just a few months old, wife was on maternity leave from her teacher job. I looked into my sock drawer one day and found my sales tax exempt certificate that was five years old, I turned to her and said “when am I ever going to start this business dream of mine” she told me I can do it, so new child just months old, loving wife (good job) and her and I both quite our jobs, and I started officially German AutoSport, this was fourteen years ago, I now have a loving 11 yr. old son Nolan, and Nina 14, we haven’t looked back since, I specialize in the European market, can work on anything though, but that’s where my passion is, Audi, BMW and VW I have two full time techs (plus me) and a full time service writer, I take pride in the work we do, everyday our day changes and it makes life challenging at times, but I wouldn’t trade this in for anything in the world, I love a challenge that car that has been to five shops and nobody can fix it, I like that challenge, (if you’re in the business, sometimes torture) but it’s a love for the automobile, and the smell, sound of an internal combustion engine that will forever drive me to be a better mechanic, boss and husband.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Sure there were some uphill battles, scraping change on the floor of Chevy truck to get gas, the attendant says “really 75 cents of gas” yep it’s all I got, it’ll get me home, then there’s the good tech, bad tech but you weed through them. If you can do the job right the first time, word of mouth travels.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the German AutoSport story. Tell us more about the business.
What sets us apart is, we take pride in our work, if the job isn’t done or not correct come five o’clock we stay and make it right, we specialize in repair of all kinds, also performance too, during my BMW years I did several track day’s a year and built several race cars, I was once, on a popular BMW race team in the North East and have seen most of the race tracks in North America, it was pretty cool, but it soon got too busy every three weeks leaving for 4 days and I just had my son in 2006, and most of all honest, look were all human, If I or my tech happen to brake something accidently on your vehicle we will tell you up front, and be honest, sometimes rent you a car, but most often it’s just being honest with your customers, your employees, and do the right thing, and you go home never looking over your shoulder. A good customer once told me, “Damon, don’t sweat it, cars can be fixed, people can’t” and when it gets tough I still to this day go to that quote, and it settles anybody down. We always try to do the best we can, and be honest the whole way through.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Ha, you’ll always have that, I’m not sure I believe in good luck or bad, it’s been up down, but mostly up, being a small business owner it’s all over the place, just fix car’s the first time, I guess than good luck will follow.
My father told me once, “Never promise somebody something you can’t deliver” I still think of this when I’m stuck, and then call a friend for advice, 🙂 look where not perfect, and talking to another qualified tech helps work out your thoughts.
Contact Info:
- Address: German AutoSport
18 Chestnut St
Amesbury MA 01913 - Website: www.germanautosport.com
- Phone: 978-388-1288
- Email: damon@germanautosport.com
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
