After working at several dealerships – starting as a student at Alton High washing cars at the former Albrecht-Hamlin Chevrolet dealership in Wood River – and at an area auto service company, Tucker opened Tucker’s Automotive Repair and Tire at 124 Northport Drive.

“It’s a dream of mine,” he said, with a cancer attack motivating him to pursue his long-standing ambition of owning his own business after completing his treatment. His father, to whom he was close, had died of the same type of cancer. In their mutual love of motorsports, father and son had raced together as a team at the former Godfrey Speedway.

The 5,000 square foot office and 20,000 square foot service building that Tucker rents used to be a utility company. Last week he was busy completing work on the new excavation in preparation for the Riverbend Growth Association ribbon cutting on Thursday.

The office building sparkles, with a spacious reception area, all freshly painted, with new ceilings, floors and facades so that someone can easily mistake it for a new construction. He did most of the work himself, with the help of Welling Construction of Fosterburg.

Tucker also had the building rewired and the air conditioning replaced, all within 45 days.

The large service facility at the rear has 10 elevators and 22 stalls waiting for vehicles on which its seven employees will work.

“The goal here is to feel like you’re in a car dealership without the pressure and the high prices,” Tucker said. “We will perform all mechanical service for foreign or domestic cars, tires, oil changes, brakes, engines and alignments. We will work on lawn and garden tractors, cars, trucks and farm equipment. We have loan cars, nice new, clean loan cars. We really tried to create the atmosphere of the dealership. We wash all vehicles that pass through here.

“I want people to know this is a family business, I was born and raised in Godfrey and we are huge fans of Godfrey,” Tucker said. “I want people to feel like they own the place. You will see a smiley face when you enter. We know a lot of people in town having lived here all of our lives. Now I can go home and do this.

Tucker has been married for 24 years to his high school girlfriend, Beth, whom he met on a blind date.

He said his mechanics can quickly get any of the thousands of parts or tools. “Ninety-nine percent of repairs can be done on the same day,” he said, with NAPA Auto Parts offering a 2-year, 24,000-mile warranty honored at more than 5,000 locations.

Beyond car washing, Tucker worked for five years at the Lou Fusz Saturn Missouri dealership in the parts department, most notably as manager and manager of field operations, excluding car sales. He then worked for 10 years for the Zeiser Automotive Group in the St. Peters / Warrenton, Missouri area, followed by an automotive company in the Alton area.

“I’m not a mechanic, but I have the knowledge,” he said. “Customer service is my strong point. That’s all I did, I love it. I have been fortunate to have good employers and good employees.

Tucker said when he worked at Fusz he was cited as having the second highest customer service rating in the country.

Tucker’s Automotive hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. While Tucker appreciates customers making service appointments, this is not a requirement. The phone number is (618) 466-0546.

Contact Linda N. Weller at 618-208-6450 or on Twitter @Linda_Weller