This Côtes-d’Armor mechanic, the town’s first convenience store, is retiring

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On September 28, a farewell party in his honor took place at the Maroué village hall, in Lamballe-Armor. (Côtes-d’Armor). Clients and friends of Serge Nicolas would not have missed this opportunity for anything in the world.

“The invitations went out quite late, we were afraid of not having people,” explains Mélanie, her daughter. Finally, the room was full! “There was a continuous flow, from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m..”

All his life

In addition to his mechanical skills, it is his humanity and the care given to his customers that are truly recognized. “The garage is his whole life with, in addition, the notion of serving people,” says Mélanie. “We don’t leave anyone in the lurch,” is his adage.

At the dawn of a well-deserved break, the sixty-year-old remembers. Serge is from Saint-Méen-le-Grand, the region of Louison Bobet as he likes to mention. He grew up in a farming family with six brothers and sisters.

His passion for mechanics began at the age of 16. “I worked as soon as I had legs under my stomach. »

The first convenience store in Lamballe

After training in Loudéac and obtaining a CAP in mechanics, the young man worked as a worker in a garage in his hometown, before pursuing a diesel specialty. He meets his future partner during training. The latter wants to set up a repair company. For the two friends, Lamballe seemed to them to be a strategic location, “at the time, there was no convenience store and the closest was located in Saint-Brieuc. » DAL, Dépannage-Auto-Lamballais, was born in 1985, rue d’Armor.

A logical choice in the middle of everything.

In 1988, his partner left for other horizons. “I found myself doing mechanics and accounting. » The mechanic stops repairs to concentrate only on his garage and his loyal customers for three years.

A great success

After his teammate leaves, he is told that he will not succeed on his own. It was not knowing him well.

In 1988, Serge opened his own garage, rue des Gastadours. In 1990, the young boss moved to rue Mouexigné. The year 1998 marked the refurbishment of the workshop, where the entrepreneur hired his first employee, Karim. Then, in 2002, Stéphane joined the company. In 2013, he bought the adjoining house of his establishment and turned it into offices.

His daughter remembers that her father always worked. “He finished late during the week. Sunday was paperwork. And on Mondays, I accompanied him to car sales or to buy spare parts. » She gradually takes on responsibilities.

In 2017, the prefectures stopped dealing with registration documents. Serge Nicolas wants to offer this new service to his customers, Mélanie helps him. “One thing led to another and I helped him with the invoices and quotes. » Alexandre joins the technical team in 2023.

My father is calm but very stubborn.

“It can be a quality or a fault,” replies the father. “I started with nothing. » This specialist has done many car repairs, but does not have a favorite model. His first car was a Renault 16. Luxury brands did not attract him. However, he appreciates the performance of the cars.

Over 40 years, this mechanical professional has been able to follow the evolution of his work. “The good thing is the performances. On the other hand, the price of repairs and spare parts continues to increase. Before, we repaired. Now we are completely changing the room. »

In the 1990s, tools were put in place to report problems. “It’s not that simple. If there are anomalies, you must know how to interpret them. »

The future

Although he never had the opportunity to relax, the retiree sees himself in spring, peacefully sitting in an armchair fishing, or at the racetrack enjoying the horse races. For now, customers can be reassured, the garage is now in the hands of Lucie and Fabien, a dynamic couple.

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