A first-time owner recently acquired Ford and Chevrolet dealerships in Southern California and he has his wife to thank for it. It proves that it is never too late in a career to become a dealer principal.

“In 2023, I told my wife, ‘I’m going to retire,’” Ramon Gitesatani, the new dealer principal of Blythe Ford and Blythe Chevrolet, told WardsAuto in a Zoom call. Instead, his wife, Masouda Gitesatani, encouraged him to own a dealership and even set up a few key meetings which, years later, would turn the dream into reality.

He acquired the Ford and Chevrolet dealerships in early December from Chris Finn of Finn Automotive Group. The stores are located in Blythe, Calif., which has a population of about 18,000, according to the 2024 census.

“It’s an island in the middle of the desert,” Gitesatani said.

But Blythe is not as isolated as it might sound. The closest metropolitan area is Phoenix, 150 miles to the east. Los Angeles is 225 miles to the west.

“Remember, within three and a half hours of drive, you’ve got over 20% of the U.S. population,” he said.

The NAMAD boost

Gitesatani worked in dealerships for 34 years, most recently as general manager of Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Alfa Romeo and Acura, and stores in Southern California. He planned to retire, acquire some rental properties for passive income and kick back and relax.

His wife had other plans. She told him, “‘Actually, I made an appointment, you’re going to meet with some of the OEMs, and I think you should become a dealer,’” Gitesatani said.

Those meetings were in 2023 at the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers annual conference in Miami. There, Gitesatani met Ford and Chevrolet representatives, among others, and “that is how it all started,” he said.

He was approved for ownership by the manufacturers. Then, last year an acquaintance at Chevrolet called to tell Gitesatani there was a small dealership group for sale in a small town in California. ‘Was he interested?’ He was.

“Eventually we worked everything out, and here we are,” Gitesatani said.

Floating down the Colorado River

Both stores are underperforming, Gitesatani said. The former owner was an absentee owner, he said, visiting the stores only occasionally. “The town has huge potential,” Gitesatani said. He kept all the staff.

Boosting advertising will be one of Gitesatani's first moves. Initially he planned on leaning into digital advertising, but since he’s gotten to know the town more his plans have changed.

Blythe is located in the desert on the Colorado River and “tubing,” sitting in inner tubes and floating down the river for hours, is hugely popular, he said. When tubing, people aren’t looking at digital devices; they’re listening to the radio, especially a radio station out of Havasu, Ariz., Gitesatani said.

“So now, I’m shifting gears,” he said. “There’s going to be a big portion of the budget [that] will be on the radio.”

Neither dealership is image-compliant, but Ford and Chevrolet are not pushing him to build new facilities just yet, Gitesatani said.

“They want [the dealerships] to be image-compliant, but they’re not forcing any rules right now,” he said. “They understand the situation that Blythe is in, and the location.”

A one-man show

Two of the biggest challenges first-time owners generally encounter are obtaining financing and being approved by the manufacturer.

Gitesatani had those covered. He had already been vetted and approved by the manufacturers and used his own funds for the acquisition. “We had some capital; that made it easy for us,” Gitesatani said.

His biggest challenge was dealing with the different manufacturer demands, he said. There is a Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram store on the property, as well. Gitesatani is still in negotiations with Stellantis over some details related to that acquisition, he said.

“One of the biggest hurdles was the juggling of the three OEMs with three different [approaches] for rules and regulations,” Gitesatani said.

Getting everyone on the same page took a long time, especially as he worked on it alone, not wanting to get his family involved in case the deal fell through. “It was kind of a one-man show,” Gitesatani said.

Every transaction has challenges, but working with a first-time buyer often means the buyer needs extra explanation regarding the process and expectations, Rob Schlicht, regional director, Eastern USA at DSMA, an automotive M&A advisory firm, told WardsAuto in an email.  DSMA represented Chris Finn, the seller.

“Ramon and I have logged hundreds of hours working together to make sure he accomplished every task needed to close on both stores,” Schlicht said.

Ford and Chevrolet franchises are in big demand nationally, including California, Eric Levitt, DSMA vice president and partner for the central and western USA, said in an email. They were the No.1 and No.3 three brands the firm sold in North America in 2025.

“We are seeing an even bigger demand for these brands, especially in California,” he said.

Family business

Gitesatani’s family is deeply involved in the dealerships’ operations.

He will move to Blythe from San Diego for a time to put the stores “on the right track,” Gitesatani said. Then he, his daughter, son and daughter-in-law will split spending time at the stores.

Meanwhile, he credits his wife Masouda for the opportunity, saying in an email: “This whole adventure was her idea. I wanted to name the dealerships after her. But, she chose to name them Blythe.”

They are excited about growing the business, including more acquisitions when the Ford and Chevrolet stores are on firm footing, Gitesatani said. He figures they can attend the NADA Academy for more training.

“So, there’s a lot of goals,” Gitesatani said. “But right now, my focus is right here.”