Norm’s Used Auto opens in Fort Fairfield
Staff Writer
FORT FAIRFIELD – Norm Soucy hopes to fill a void in Fort Fairfield by offering a place where people can buy affordable used vehicles.
Norm’s Used Auto officially opened May 7 at 359 Main St., located on the corner of Route 1A and Main Street.
NORM’S USED AUTO officially opened May 7 at 359 Main St. in Fort Fairfield. Owner Norm Soucy buys the vehicles from dealers and at auctions, repairs and inspects them, and then sells them from his lot, which is the only car lot presently in Fort Fairfield. Attending a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony were, from left: Tony Levesque, Fort Fairfield’s community development director; Leslie Soucy, Norm’s wife; Soucy, Karen Peers Grass, president of the Fort Fairfield Chamber of Commerce; and Sue LeVasseur, chair of the Fort Fairfield Town Council.
“All I actually want to do is try to sell vehicles and work on my own,” said Soucy, who’s been working on vehicles since high school. “I buy vehicles from dealers and go to auctions in Hermon and Framingham, Mass., then I get them inspected. I’ll take off Thursday night, be at the auction Friday morning, and then get back here Friday night. I get trucks to bring them up. It makes for a long day, but you do what you’ve gotta do.
“Right now I’ve got vehicles that are inexpensive. They’d make good second vehicles for families or would be good for school kids who are now driving,” he said. “The price range is pretty good; some of them are less than $3,000, but they’re decent vehicles.”
Vehicles that aren’t any good, Soucy said, are sold wholesale.
Soucy, who has been in business since 2002, had been located at Colby Siding in Woodland but decided to move to Fort Fairfield.
“This building was available. The bank had it, I put a bid on it and I got it,” he said. “It’s a great location. I figured I’d try to make a go of it. I’m the only car lot in Fort Fairfield. I’m trying to put something here that they don’t have. Eventually I’d like to buy some 2005 and 2006 vehicles; that way I’ll have a variety for everyone.
“I don’t want to do mechanic work,” said Soucy, noting that he will, however, do service work such as oil changes. “There are five other people in this community who do it and I don’t want to cut into their clientele. They need to eat, too. I’ll find something else to do before I go into fixing cars.”
Norm’s Used Auto presently has about 12 vehicles “ready to go.”
“I’ve probably got another 10 that need some work and can then be inspected and ready to go,” said Soucy. “I’ve got some out back. When I sell one, I’ll bring another one in and put the money into that. I turn over inventory that way.”
Soucy also works at the Maine Military Authority in Limestone.
“I’ll be going back there May 16,” he said. “Until then, I’m open from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-noon Saturday. I’m hoping to get the business to the point where I don’t have to work at Maine Military Authority anymore.”
Soucy’s wife, Leslie, also helps at the dealership.
“She washes the vehicles and helps detail them,” he said. “She works at DFAS and comes here after work and helps on Saturdays.”
Regular business hours at Norm’s Used Auto are 3:30-8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-noon Saturday. For more information, call Soucy at 551-3092.
NORM SOUCY, owner of Norm’s Used Auto in Fort Fairfield, checks the oil in one of the pickup trucks he has on his 359 Main St. lot. Soucy hopes to fill a void in Fort Fairfield by offering a place where people can buy affordable used vehicles. Norm’s Used Auto presently has about 12 vehicles “ready to go.”
