Gazsi offers antiques and used vehicles on Earl L. Core Road
It was just something Michael Gazsi wanted to do.
The veteran Morgantown car salesman was fast approaching 60, and it was time to be his own boss, he said.
“I was running out of time,” he said.
So with an investment of $10,000 and an idea of what he wanted, Gazsi opened Gazsi Motors Pre-owned Auto Sales at 3772 Earl L. Core Road, formerly Zoey’s Hot Spot, in August.
But Gazsi Motors is not your typical used car lot. Sure, there are cars for sale that are parked in front of the one-floor, nondescript building. But inside is a whole other story.
To make his business stand out from other pre-owned car lots, Gazsi also sells antiques. Inside the former restaurant building, there are old circus posters, three airline passenger seats with controls on the arms, a 1932 Blackjack table seized in a gambling raid, a 1953 vending machine that still works, and an alligator head.
“I’ve sold 10 cars since I’ve opened,” said Gazsi, who spends seven days a week at his business.
In about a month, the business will offer title work too for car buyers. His office manager, Ashley Hawkins, is a Notary Public.
“The paperwork is in with the state,” she said.
Gazsi also offers financing for car buyers, especially for those people who are looking to purchase their first vehicle.
“If you don’t have a car, then you can’t get to a job,” he said. “I’ve been broke before. I know what it feels like.”
Many of the antiques he offers are purchased at auctions or off the internet. Gazsi said he often sells them through Facebook Marketplace. That is how he ended up selling a taxidermy bear to a woman in Australia.
“I do it to generate cash flow,” he said.
Gazsi said the woman called from Australia,and they agreed on a price. She then sent someone from Tennessee to Morgantown to pick up the bear, as well as an antique arcade game.
“Now, I need to find another bear,” he joked.
Perhaps appropriate for this time of year, he recently sold a working hearse with a Halloween skull sitting on the passenger seat.
Other unique items he has inside his store include a 1969 pinball machine, two Pittsburgh Steelers helmet chairs, a machine to fill helium balloons, and gumball machines.
The trick to selling vehicles and antiques is patience, said Gazsi.
“And always be willing to negotiate.”
Tweet @41Suzanne
