FARMINGTON – Nickerson Auto Sales will close its doors Oct. 5, and work will begin for Eagle’s Sport Shop to move into the property on Farmington Falls Road, Nickerson co-owner Michael Moffett said Tuesday.

Eagle’s co-owner Gary York said his Wilton shop will relocate and open by mid-November.

Eagle’s signs were being erected on the building Tuesday and several boxes of snowmobiles have already been stacked in the yard.

“It’s a sad time with a lot of ingredients involved in our decision,” Moffett said. He and brother-in-law Winston Nickerson have been involved in the business more than 30 years, taking over from Winston “Bud” Nickerson, who started Nickerson Buick Olds in 1950. The business was first opened at Broadway and Front Streets, Kathy Moffett said.

After fire claimed the downtown dealership, her father built the present one next to his home and started there in 1966. She started working there in 1969, she said.

After 40 years of being a Buick-Oldsmobile dealer and then adding GMC in 1990, the franchises were taken over by Hight Chevrolet of Farmington in 2006, he said. From that time, it operated as Nickerson Auto Sales, offering used automobiles and car service.

In 2000, Moffett said, GM wanted just one dealership in Farmington and wanted either Nickerson to buy Hight or Hight to buy Nickerson. Nothing happened until last year when Hight decided to purchase the franchises.

Several dealerships have closed because of the equipment and training that is needed to keep operating, he said.

“We probably would have continued for another 10 years here,” Moffett said, “but we were approached by Eagle’s Sport Shop. It was a hard decision that still carries a lot of apprehension, but I believe when one door closes another opens.”

Nickerson has chosen retirement, and the Moffetts are planning to semiretire and continue operating their car wash on Route 2 in West Farmington, he said. Other options, including more time spent at their home on Deer Isle and lobstering, are being considered, she said.

Two mechanics are employed by the business. All tools, equipment and office furniture will be auctioned Oct. 23, he said.

Moffett, who left teaching in 1978, said his career at Nickerson’s has been successful and he was thankful for good customers and friendships that developed over the years. A lot of people have been stopping by to express their regret over the closure, he said.

Meanwhile, the site has potential for Eagle’s, York said. The large, flat parcel could handle a possible expansion without infringing on parking. It’s also accessible to snowmobile trails, he said.

York and partner Nate Noles, who lease property and wanted to own, closed the sale on Sept. 19 and plan to remove the offices and will make three of the four garage bays into showroom space. The fourth bay will be remodeled into a service area, he said.