AFTER 120 years in business and thousands of successful repairs the end of an era is approaching for JH Howkins' garage.

Brothers Alan and Paul Howkins will lock up their toolboxes for the final time at the end of October as the family's connection with the business comes to a close.

But it will not be the end of the road for repairs – the premises in Ferry Hinksey Road, West Oxford, is being taken over and a garage will continue to operate from the same site.

The name of the buyer has not been revealed.

Alan, 70, said: "It really is the end of an era for us.

"The family name has been on this site since my great-grandfather moved to a house nearby in Hill View Road in 1898 – that's a connection going back about 120 years.

"When he was in charge there was a stable in the corner for the horses which pulled the coal carts – that's how the business started out – transporting coal that came in on the barges."

Father-of-two Alan, who lives with wife Trish in Abingdon, said his father John Henry launched the garage repair aspect of the business in the late 1950s.

Alan joined the family firm in 1971 after completing an apprenticeship fixing milk floats at the Co-op in Osney Mead, and Paul, 65, from Headington, started a year later.

Their brother Philip also worked at the garage before he died aged 50 in 2008.

Alan said: "I have worked here for 46 years and Paul has worked here for 45 years.

"We usually get here at about 7.30am and the business over the years has always been very busy – we could easily look at 10 different vehicles a day.

"Drivers have found it a convenient spot to drop off their cars before they head into work in Oxford.

"We are pleased for our customers that the business is being taken over – a lot of people have come in to say how sorry they are that we are going."

While mechanic Peter Knight, 60, is also retiring, mechanic John Edwards is staying on to work for the new owners.

Alan, who has been in charge since his father died in 1992, added: "We have worked on so many different cars over the years – we have covered the whole spectrum from Reliant Robins to Rolls-Royces.

"Trish has been asking me for a while when I would retire and now it's finally happening."

The garage boss has no plans to splash out on a flash motor when he retires and will stick to his trusty Audi A3.

He added: "Back in the 1970s I had a red TVR Tuscan, which could really shift, but it was never quite the same after I crashed it on the A34 at Botley and in the end I had to sell it to put a deposit on a house."

Mr Howkins and his team are now winding down their daily schedule and expect the new business to be launched in the middle of October.

A keen chef, he plans to spend more time in front of an oven than behind the wheel.

Paul, who is married to Linda, added: "I don't think we will spend too much time thinking about fixing cars when we leave – after all these years it's time to do something different."