Graham Willis will hand over the keys to Wagga Brake & Steering Specialists tomorrow, marking the end of an era in the city's tight-knit automotive industry.
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Mr Willis has made the difficult decision to retire after 40 years in the motor industry, 33 of which were spent at the helm of his family-operated business where his wife Jenny, son Steele and father Clive all worked.
The specialist is well-known among loyal customers for his mastery of the "lost art" of wheel alignment, but he got his start at Barton & Ceely Motors as a young apprentice in 1979.
"I had a next door neighbour who was a year older than me and he bought this old ute and we spent years doing that vehicle up as little kids," he said.
"That was the first time I sorta thought 'Gee, this is not bad'. So I ended up buying an old ute myself and pulled it to pieces and put it back together. And that's how it sort of started."
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Mr Willis will leave his business in the capable hands of mechanic Scott Rohrich to spend more time on his farm at Collingullie, but it will be a bittersweet goodbye.
"Certainly the best part is the people that you meet. And I've got a great lot of friends that drop by the shop all the time to have a yarn," he said.
"And it's always good to catch up with the customers. It's even more special for me these days, since I've been farming, to get the farmers in."
Mechanic Peter Price said Mr Willis would be sadly missed by everyone from regular drivers to vintage car and motorsport enthusiasts.
"I don't think there's anything he can't do. And I mean that from the heart," he said.