KENTWOOD -- Joe Licari was 9 years old and beneath the belly of an Alfa Romeo Giulietta when he changed out his first transmission.

Almost 50 years later, the Sicilian still is dealing with cars.

And soon, his business will be bigger than ever.

The addition of a 3,500-square-foot showroom is under way at Prestige Imports, 2919 29th St. SE.

"The transmission was heavier than me," recalled Licari, 56, owner of the auto sales and service center he built in 1985.

About seven years before Prestige moved into its current 11,000-square-foot facility, Licari opened his repair shop for foreign cars on South Division Avenue. It was the same location where he started working after arriving in Grand Rapids as a teenager in 1967.

His father was a builder bummed out by a tough economy back home, and had immigrated a year earlier. He worked as a restaurant dishwasher to raise enough money for the rest of the family to follow.

Licari quickly put his childhood experience to work at a local import dealer, where on his first day he was handed a water bucket and sponge.

"I looked at him and said, 'I'm not a car-wash person. I'm a technician,' " he said.

Not long after, Licari was a business owner.

Now his son, Phil Licari, has come out of auto management school to join him. His daughter, Jean, works in marketing for the business.

They all hope the expansion will position Prestige for future growth.

The current showroom has space to display one vehicle.

The addition will provide enough room to showcase up to 10 vehicles, as well as more amenities for customers awaiting service jobs.

"Not only is there going to be a display area, but the traffic flow will be more convenient for customers," said Phil Lucari, 27, whose childhood tinkering was confined to a go-kart engine.

Prestige now has 14 employees and sells about 150 used cars per year, mostly low-mileage, late-model Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes and Volvo models. About 70 percent of the business comes from repair work.

Even with the changes, Joe Licari said the heart of the business, which once sold a Jaguar over the phone to financial radio man Dave Ramsey, will stay the same.

"The business has been built on trust," he said. "My dad taught me one thing: Just treat people as you want to be treated and the rest will take care of itself.

"So far, it's been good advice."