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BRONX TIMES R 48 EPORTER, JUNE 4-10, 2021 BTR
BY JASON COHEN
At 8-years-old Diah Eljamal began
going to work with his dad in
the summer at a car dealership in
Parkchester. He was fascinated and
fell in love with automobiles.
Now, a decade later, the Yonkers
resident sells 80 cars a month and is
hoping to open his own place soon.
While he sleeps and goes to school in
Westchester, the majority of his time
is spent in the Boogie Down.
“Honestly I love working in the
Bronx,” he said. “If I had to choose
where to live I would move to the
Bronx.”
His dad, Majed, who has been in
the business for more than two decades,
originally had a mechanic
shop on 1800 E Tremont Ave. between
Beach and Taylor. It was there
where Eljamal learned many things
about cars, including how to fix, diagnose
and price them.
Eljamal told the Bronx Times that
as a child he looked up to his dad. He
watched not only how he worked on
the cars, but more importantly, how
he dealt with people.
However, as a kid he did not fully
grasp what his dad was trying to do
for him.
“I used to get mad because my
friends would go out and I was stuck
with him,” he explained.
A few years ago they sold the shop
and opened Car Plug of NY at 1225 E.
233rd St. in Wakefield. It was here
where Eljamal has found his footing.
At first he would just take pictures,
wash cars and tag along with
his dad. Eventually it was time to
sink or swim and sell on his own.
“I would be too scared to talk to
people,” he recalled.
So, he made notes and soon made
his first sale. Since then it has been
smooth sailing. Eljamal has formed
relationships, gotten referrals and
fell in love with the Wakefield community.
The teen noted that many customers
are shocked when they find out
he’s just 18. In fact, he knows more
people in the Bronx than his hometown
of Yonkers.
Once he turned 16 Eljamal went
worked there every day after school.
He wanted to be successful like his
dad and make people happy.
“When I turned 16 I had found my
talent of selling vehicles and took
this talent to my full potential ever
since,” he said.
According to Eljamal, he is not in
Bronx car salesman Diah Eljamal.
Photo by Jason Cohen
the business of ripping people off. He
is there to serve their needs. None of
his cars are over $10,000 nor does he
finance.
Because of this and the reputation
he has established, the youngster
gets numerous calls every day
about cars.
“Sometimes we only make $500
on a car, but the most important
thing is to make customers happy,”
he commented.
While this past year was tough
on millions of people, including Eljamal,
who lost his grandparents to
COVID-19, it was actually a blessing
in disguise for him.
He had more time to work and the
shop was quite busy.
They were typically selling at a
small scale until last year when the
company put Eljamal’s phone number
on the lots wall. This tripled
their sales within a couple months
and it got to a point where they
would run out of cars to sell.
With aspirations of going to college
for business and opening his
own shop, Eljamal sees a bright future
for himself. His dad taught him
he can do whatever he wants in life
as long as he puts the work in.
“Give a man a fish and you feed
him for a day; teach a man to fish
and you feed him for a lifetime,” he
stated. “Instead of my father giving
me money, he would teach me how to
make money. I would take those lessons
and use them into my daily life
with selling his cars.”
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