Chris Gaunce, the owner of Central Maine Motors Auto Group, stands last Monday at Central Maine Ford at 801 Kennedy Memorial Drive in Oakland. Gaunce has bought the dealership formerly known as Ray Haskell Ford. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Central Maine Motors Auto Group, based in Waterville, has bought Ray Haskell Ford in neighboring Oakland.

Now named Central Maine Ford, the newly acquired dealership brings to 250 the number of employees across the Central Maine Auto dealerships, according to owner Chris Gaunce.

“A lot of the staff has elected to stay, so we’re very pleased,” Gaunce said Monday of the Ford dealership.

The asset purchase sale occurred Friday, according to Gaunce, who was speaking from the Oakland dealership, where new computer and telephone systems were being set up and cleaning was in progress.

Work was also being done on new signs, he said.

Ray Haskell had owned the Ford dealership at 801 Kennedy Memorial Drive for the past 20 years, after buying it from Charlie Shuman, according to Gaunce. Before that, it was owned by Dave Gould, who had it for a couple of years after buying it from Pullen Ford, which was in business for more than 50 years.

The Ford dealership joins other Central Maine Motors properties located less than a mile away, on Kennedy Memorial Drive and Airport Road in Waterville. They include Chevrolet and Toyota dealerships, a maintenance building, a full-service body shop, an appearance reconditioning building, a technology training center and a used car location.

Central Maine also owns a Chrysler dealership on Kennedy Memorial Drive, across the street from Shaw’s Plaza.

Gaunce said Haskell did a great job over the past 20 years, and supported the community through his work. The two had conversations over the years about Gaunce’s buying the dealership when Haskell was ready, Gaunce said.

“We worked together for probably eight months, nailing things down and making sure that Ray had the comfort and security of knowing that the people he was going to be leaving behind would be taken care of,” Gaunce said.

Gaunce’s grandfather, Charlie, and two partners, started Central Maine Motors in 1935, and he bought the partners out. Chris Gaunce’s father, also Charlie, joined the dealership in 1960, and Chris Gaunce joined in 1997. Chris Gaunce and his wife, Linanne, have two sons, Charlie and Daniel.

Chris Gaunce said Central Maine Motors wants to take the work the Ford dealership has done over the years and give it all the support necessary to remain a leader in sales and service.

“We’re very excited about this,” he said.

Earlier this year, Chris and Linanne Gaunce received the 2023 Distinguished Community Service Award from the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce. The couple were honored at the chamber’s 61st annual award ceremony in April.