A Ruhenstroth resident with a lifetime of experience in the garage has finally opened his own garage off Service Drive in Gardnerville.
Gesselman's Garage specializes in transmissions for cars and trucks but also offers light general repair.
"I take pride in my work," said Wayne Gesselman, 54, who opened the business with wife Nancy more than a year ago. "I do repairs as if I were going to have to drive the vehicle myself, and of course I wouldn't want it to break down."
At age 16, Gesselman started out in a transmission shop in Southern California, which he later purchased. In 1995, after 14 years of running the small business, he moved north to Gardnerville where he first found work at Carson Valley Dodge, followed by a 13-year stint at CV Transmissions in Gardnerville.
"It's nice to be my own boss again and call the shots," Gesselman said. "Business has been better than expected, and I appreciate the community for that."
In general, Gesselman said, people have been spending less on repairs in the down economy. With that in mind, he said his first priority is to keep a vehicle running.
"I'm not going to recommend repairs that are unnecessary," he said. "Right now, people don't have the money to fix everything."
"He's got a wife, a mother, and a grandmother, and he wouldn't want anyone to take advantage of them," added Nancy Gesselman.
For now, Wayne Gesselman is a one-man show, working overtime if needed.
"I had four employees in my shop in California," he said. "If things pick up, I'll have no choice but to expand, but the economy is still not wonderful by any means."
Like many shop owners, Gesselman is a car enthusiast. But lately, he said, he's been so busy in the garage that his enthusiasm has lost some of its drive.
"We got a '69 Camaro he can't get to," his wife gently reminded him with a smile. "He's been too busy to work on it."
What the couple is most enthused about is not a car. Hanging in the front office of the garage is a photograph of granddaughter Independence Gesselman, 6, racing her quad.
"She counts on Papa to keep that quad running," said Nancy Gesselman, a proud grandparent.
Located at 1219-B Service Drive, Gardnerville, Gesselman's Garage is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information, call 783-1925.
