How a refugee went from living in his Toyota to amassing a high-end car collection

Nashville, Tennessee-area businessman Sammy Poori has amassed a multi-million-dollar car collection full of all the big names: Porsche, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Pagani and Ferrari.

His story started, however, with a 1989 Toyota — that he lived in.

When Poori and his wife, Ana, roll up to an event in their canary yellow Bugatti sports car, it might be easy to jump to conclusions or make assumptions about their past. But after spending time with the Pooris and their children, Arteen, 14 and Hujin, 21, we can tell you that most of those assumptions would be wrong.

Sammy and Ana both came to America in the late '90s as refugees from Iran. They were both resettled in Nashville but wouldn't meet each other for two years. Their stories are similar in that they both sought asylum from Iran, but Ana would come through Pakistan with her family. Sammy came via Turkey. At 21, he was all alone, broke and didn't speak any English.

The church that sponsored Poori helped him find a job as a janitor at a Nashville hospital.

"I worked enough to save about $1,000 and bought a car and ended up living in it," Poori said. "It was a 1989 Toyota Camry. I parked at Wal-Mart, which was the only place at the time that was open 24 hours. I parked where employees parked, so I could sleep safely. I went to a gym to take a shower and clean up and go to work."

Later, he would work at Burger King, where he became a chef manager, and then a company that made food products for Shoney's and Captain D's. He would end up managing the night shift because his English wasn't good, and there weren't any inspectors overnight.

The next job was working at Subway in a gas station, which would also offer him a job, so he took it. He worked two jobs while Ana worked with him at Subway and attended school. There would be a short stint as a pizza deliverer, some time at the Nike store and a book company that was part of the Ingram company.

The two worked, honed their English and saved their money.

A wife, a baby and a tow truck

The couple met through Ana's brother in May 2000. It was May 19, to be exact. Sammy remembers it to the day. The two would get engaged on June 26, just five weeks later. They wed on Aug. 26 and will celebrate their 23rd wedding anniversary this year.

"Our first date out was at the Opry Mall," Ana remembers. "We both told each other we were in love at the same time. I told my mom. She was so surprised. We don’t know him or his family. He’s Kurdish. I’m Persian. We can marry whoever we want, but in his family, it could have been a problem, but thank God it was not."

With their first baby on the way, Poori knew it was time to quit working for other people and start working for himself. The couple bought a "junk tow truck," partnered with Ana's brother and started Poori's first company. He went to car dealerships asking for jobs working 14-to-15-hour shifts. He remembers leaving at 2:30 each morning and wouldn't come home until he'd moved 10 cars.

Several business deals later, Poori started BBB Auto Sales in 2005. The success of that business led to diversification into commercial real estate. Now, Poori says he spends 60% of his time on real estate and 40% on the car business.

Hard, honest work pays off

Steve Uebelhor, one of the founders of Pinnacle Bank and current executive vice president of ServisFirst Bank, was approached by a friend 20 years ago who asked him for a favor.

"This friend came to me and said, 'I’d like for you to finance this lot.' It was just a lot," Uebelhor said. "He had a friend who was going to put a car dealership there, and he said, 'he’s going to be successful. Right now he’s just starting, and I’m asking you to do this.'"

Uebelhor financed the lot for what would become the home of BBB Automotive.

What has transpired since then is a thriving business and a lasting friendship.

"I got to know Sammy over time," Uebelhor said. "He was a phenomenal customer. He is one of the most honest people you would want to do business with. He’s one of my closest clients and friends. I’ve done business for 48 years. That’s not given. That’s earned."

Dreams do come true

Poori has always loved cars. "I don't do drugs, I don't gamble, I don't do anything," he said. "My only hobby is cars."

His current collection dates back to 2007, when he saw a silver and red 2005 Mercedes SLR McLaren at a car dealership and fell in love with it. He said just for motivation, he'd go look at the car and say, "One day, I am going to own one. I guess that was my dream car. That's what really got me going."

His first hobby car purchase was a Mercedes SL55 AMG 2-door convertible that he bought used from an auto auction. And just this month, he found and purchased that 2005 Mercedes SLR.

"I am a goal-driven guy, so I tried to work my way up from that first car," he said. "I had certain numbers I had to hit in my business before I could go get a $100,000 car. I hit that number and bought an Aston Martin DB9."

Crazy thing is, his wife Ana enjoys the car collection as much as he does.

"Eleven years ago, we had a house in Brentwood that we bought for $350,000, and at the time, my car collection was over $2 million. My wife is a big supporter. She gets it. For everything I’ve done in the past 20 years, she’s always been a support. She actually pushes me in a very positive way."

He said aside from being fun and a motivator for him personally, he considers his car collection a lucrative investment.

"A lot of my cars have a better return on investment than my real estate or my business. I don't think I have a car in my entire collection I have ever lost money on," he said.

After finally being able to add that SLR, he says his new dream car is the Pagani Zonda.

"I have set some goals in my life, and when I achieve those, I will buy that car. It’s been my dream car for years, but every year the price has gone up. When it was first my dream car, it was $2 million. Today, it’s a $10 million car. It may be a dream for the rest of my life."

'Never give up. Never quit'

The magnitude of a Sunday drive with his family in one of his 20-something head-turner cars isn't lost on Poori, who admits he is living an American dream.

"A guy like me who came from nothing and was able to create this on his own, I think it definitely should be a motivation to a lot of people and kids out there who think this can’t be done," he said. "The biggest thing for me was never give up. Never quit. Keep working. Be driven. Write down all your goals. I write down everything I want to do, and I work very hard.

"I don’t just buy a car because. This way, when I look at this car, this is because I did this deal or accomplished that goal, and that’s something I’m very proud of."

More good news: 80-year-old graduates from college 50 years after her academic career was derailed

Melonee Hurt covers growth and development (and cars!) at The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network— Tennessee. Reach Melonee at mhurt@tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville-area refugee grew a car collection from Toyota to Pagani