Ray Hobbs Garage

Ray Hobbs Garage is a family owned business, purchased in 2019 by Marc Boucher and his wife, Tera, who also works in the business. Their son, Eric, now works in the business with the hope of one day taking over operations. Long time excellent mechanics, Gary & Gord, round out the core group and a new apprentice has just been hired.

The Ray Hobbs name & excellence in service has been around for more than 70 years, starting out in a garage in 1955 in Columbus after his previous shop in Manchester burned down. Marc & Tera are the fourth owners and continue that tradition of “customer first.”

What you don’t know, is that for 15+ years, prior to owning the shop, Marc was a commuter, but not just any commuter. His commute took him from his home in Oshawa to the far reaches of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Marc cut his teeth as a heavy equipment mechanic on those mammoth mining machines while Tera stayed home and raised the family. A typical shift was 3 weeks on, 3 weeks off.

Marc’s obtained 3 different licenses; Automotive, Truck & Coach and Heavy Equipment so Ray Hobbs Garage can handle whatever you want to send their way! When they bought the business, Tera & Marc made a concious decision to keep the Ray Hobbs name, long respected in the community. Marc says” customers care more about fair work at fair prices than the name on the door.”

When asked what he liked best about the business, Marc replied without hesitation, “The people and the amazing customers they have.” Mark attributes his success to learning from the mistakes of previous employers—specifically, how not to treat customers and employees. He gives full credit to his mechanics, who he refers to as “family.” In fact, Gary has been there since he was 15 yrs. old. You’ll have to make an appointment and meet him to guess his age, now!

Drawing from over 30 years of experience, including a long stint as a fly-in/fly-out mechanic in northern mines, he has built his business philosophy on prioritizing both customer satisfaction and employee recognition. By learning from the negative examples of past employers, he has cultivated a family-like team culture and a strong customer-first reputation, which has led to significant business success and community trust, all while retaining the iconic “Ray Hobbs” brand name.