Longtime Moses Lake used car salesman sells business

Garbe Motors strove for integrity for 35 years

MOSES LAKE — A longtime Moses Lake businessman is selling his car lot after 35 years.

The number of cars out on the Garbe Motors, Inc., parking lot, located at 704 W. Third Ave., has dwindled quite a bit in the last few weeks — down to seven on Monday, and even less since then.

Owner Kerry Garbe made the decision to sell the business because of "over 35 years of 65-hour weeks," although that's about the only thing he's not going to miss, he says.

"And the opportunity arose," he said.

Garbe declined to reveal the identity of the person to whom he's selling the business, although he did reveal it is a local person and the business would remain a car lot, albeit under a different name.

Sale of the full-service facility is supposed to close May 25, which would be the operation's last day under Garbe. He plans on liquidating the remaining inventory.

"It's going to be difficult to walk away from this," Garbe said. "It's been my life for almost all my adult life."

He plans to find some kind of a job, although he doesn't quite know what that will be.

"I can't just totally retire and do nothing," he said. "Hopefully something will come along."

He plans to remain in the area.

Garbe arrived in Moses Lake in 1969, when he finished school, to be close to his parents, who had moved to town.

"Shortly after that, my father and I decided we wanted to establish a car business," Garbe recalled. "It took us until March of 1972 to get it all put together."

Garbe's father, Ruben, had been in the business in Yakima, and it was an industry Garbe himself found interesting.

"Meeting the people and being your own boss," he said. "Although sometimes being your own boss is your own worst enemy."

Garbe's father retired in 1980, and died in 2000.

"He'd continue to spend time down here until health problems," Garbe said.

Garbe extended thanks to his longtime employees, mechanic Joe Russell and part-time employee Jim Garrison, for their years of loyalty and friendship.

"Throughout all these years, we would strive to run this business with honesty and integrity, and I think we've done that," he said. "It's something I knew I would never get rich at, but I was able to make a living and raise a family and have fun doing it."

Saying goodbye to his customers is going to be the hardest part for Garbe.

"I am going to really miss the customers and all the friends who would stop by," he said. "Moses Lake has been a great place to live, work and raise a family, and I owe a lot to the community."