A History of Service Excellence

People discovered the fertile farmland in Peoria as early as 1890. The people who settled in this area consisted of hard working individuals who believed in an honest day’s work and always lent a helping hand to their neighbor. Joe Wilhelm kept farmers’ machinery up and running—often accepting crates of vegetables as payment.

Wilhelm Automotive was established in 1928 and is the oldest business in Peoria and is the oldest family-owned automotive repair service in the state of Arizona. The company has been going strong through two family ownerships and it has no intention of slowing down in the future.

Through its first 50 years of existence, Wilhelm catered to the needs of its local farming community. Peoria was a small farming town and Wilhelm was the tallest building around. People came from many of the neighboring communities to do business with Joe Wilhelm, the owner and founder of the company. Wilhelm soon became the largest distributor and seller of tractor tires in the valley.
Three generations

The philosophy that Joe Wilhelm established was very simple – perform quality service, do everything you can to accommodate your customers and always give back to your community.



Interested in learning more about “the good old days”? Visit these very interesting websites:
The Arizona Historical Society
Arizona Humanities Council
Route 66
Desert Foothills Scenic Drive