Amboy Auto Repair will formally open for business on April 13.

Owner Mike Hambley, who owned Ashton Auto Repair, is looking forward to that day. But a Sunday in late August is the day he’s really, really looking forward to.

“I’m part of the Depot Days Car Show committee, so being able to have my cars parked out in front of my building here in Amboy is going to be really, really neat, ” Hambley said.

For Hambley, purchasing the former Becker Auto Body building at 33 Southeast Ave. in Amboy is like coming home.

Hambley is a Sterling High School graduate and worked for Gerdes Automotive in Amboy for 24 years. Eight and a half years ago, he decided to start his own auto repair business and bought a shop in Ashton. The demand for repair and towing services surprised him.

“I thought I could be a one-man show over there. I knew the second week in that I wasn’t going to be able to keep up. That’s a good problem to have,” he said.

When Hambley found out that Joe Dewey, who owned and operated Becker Auto Body in Amboy, had decided to sell the business, all the pieces quickly came together.

“He said he was going to get out of it. At first, I didn’t think a lot about it, but then I thought it would be kind of nice to go back to Amboy, our hometown, really,” he said.

Hambley’s two auto technicians and Ginger Daniels, his administrative assistant, all live closer to Amboy. The Amboy shop is larger and would allow for all of Hambley’s repair operations to be under one roof. But there still was regret at leaving the Ashton location.

“Ashton has been terrific to us. This is just a bigger opportunity and a bigger building, everything is under one roof here, and we have a little bit bigger office,” he said.

Hambley bought the building a month ago and has been busy making some changes to the 5,600-square-foot space.

“We have two new hoists, a new tire machine and an alignment rack,” he said.

The one thing that didn’t change is the desk in the front office. The unique desk is the front end of an older-model Lincoln Continental, complete with working parking lights.

“This was Dennis Becker’s desk. I remember seeing him sitting at this desk, working on paperwork, when I drove by. I was lucky to have this be able to stay. It’s a big part of this building to me because it’s part of Dennis’s legacy and his memory,” Hambley said.

In Amboy, Hambley will continue to offer the same services he had in Ashton, from towing to oil changes, tire service and sales, alignments and balancing, to larger jobs.

“I already have a transmission to do as soon as we get moved over here, and I’ve got a motor job to do as soon as we get over here, so we’ve got a lot to do as soon as we open,” he said.

Hambley said the demand for services from hometown auto repair shops continues to increase, despite an increase in computer technology in vehicles.

“Everybody is going to need brakes, and they are going to need tires, and they are going to need the little things. You just keep going and going forward,” he said.

Hambley and his technicians keep up to date on that technology.

“The technology is in everything, and it’s changing all the time. That is the biggest thing we have to keep up with,” he said.

The shop will be open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 11, Hambley will have an open house to welcome the community. The open house includes lunch, prizes and cash giveaways.

He’ll also be getting his three show cars ready for August.

“I like anything that’s GM. I have a 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge, a 1969 Pontiac Firebird and a 1978 Pontiac Trans Am. I’ve brought one of my cars to the car show before, but this will be the first time that I can have all three of my cars here in the show, in front of my shop,” he said.