From the first moon landing to the emergence of the World Wide Web, Fabio Sabbioni has witnessed multiple historic events in the 97 years of his life. Most notably though, Fabio himself created history by becoming the oldest car mechanic (male) in 2022 and then renewing his own record in 2024.
Hailing from Arezzo — a historic town near Tuscany, Italy — Fabio could very well have chosen to live a laid-back retired life in a quaint Italian town. Instead, he spends his days fixing broken down cars and inspecting truck engines at his workshop.
In addition to running his garage Auto Garage Fabio Sabbioni, the seasoned mechanic also provides roadside assistance service. And he does not intend to stop doing what he loves anytime soon. “I’ll retire only if I have to,” Fabio says. “I’ll continue working till I can.”
Fabio tells us that he stumbled into this career when he came to Arezzo seeking a job in 1946, at the age of 19. Back then the Italian economy was struggling and experiencing high rates of unemployment, having barely recovered from the impacts of World War II. Fabio’s move also followed the death of his younger sister, who tragically passed away in 1944 in a British spitfire
At the time, two of Fabio’s friends — who later went on to establish a successful company in the home furniture sector — advised him to get a driver’s license to make the job search easier. Soon enough, Fabio attended driving school and started working in a mechanic shop. A little over a decade later in 1958, Fabio and a partner of his bought the mechanic shop he was working at.
When the Milan-Rome Highway was operational in 1965, Fabio saw an opportunity. That is when he expanded to offering roadside assistance, which stemmed from his love of travel. Advertisements
Fabio at around age 40
Magazine Quattroruote, an Italian automobile magazine, put Fabio’s services to test in 1986. Some team members from the publication pretended to have a breakdown 7 km away from Arezzo. When they managed to reach Fabio’s workshop, they received assistance that matched the owner’s excitement.
“[Fabio] is very good: he immediately identifies the failure and repairs it in a few minutes using the sparks of a spark plug to put the phase back in place,” a translated version of the magazine article reads. “Wish to have many like him!”
Fabio at age 94
Though Fabio is the oldest car mechanic (male), he opened his own workshop, Auto Garage Sabbioni Fabio, only in 1979. He says he would have never imagined working at the age of 97 but is proud to be doing what he loves and knows best.
“Fortunately, I look younger,” Fabio cheekily remarks. “When [customers] find out I’m close to 100 they are really astonished!”
Source: www.guinnessworldrecords.com
