AAA Mid-Atlantic has invested $2.6 million to open a new car care, insurance and travel center at 707 East Gay St. in West Chester.

The 8,626 square-foot center will open Sept. 2.  The old AAA retail center at 844 Paoli Pike closed Aug. 29.  AAA says the new store will have room for 16 new car care and retail workers.

AAA’s comprehensive car care, insurance and travel centers (CCITs) offer AAA members the usual travel and insurance benefits along with car repair, maintenance and diagnostics – all at one location.

“The recession has led to many people keeping their vehicles longer, thus making vehicle maintenance more critical than ever,” said Ed Tobler, senior managing director of AAA Mid-Atlantic.

“These challenging fiscal times have also caused many dealerships to close.  With so many automotive service shops disappearing, AAA Mid-Atlantic wants to ensure that reliable and trustworthy repair services are available to motorists.”

The CCIT will also offer driver license renewal, vehicle registrations, address and license plate changes, and license and registration cards and stickers.  The center will be open Saturdays and Sundays.

“This is an excellent service to members and non-members, where they can conveniently have their cards repaired, plan a vacation and even have titling work done for their car,” said Lynn S. Miller, senior vice president of AAA Mid-Atlantic.

A grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting is set for Monday, Oct. 27.

Auto appointments may be made here.

AAA is a 110-year-old organization that provides emergency roadside assistance to more than 51 members nationwide.  The AAA Mid-Atlantic organization serves nearly 700,000 members in the five-county Philadelphia region.