SIDNEY — When Glen E. “Whit” Whitaker places the key in the front door of Whitaker & Sons Inc. Buick Chevrolet dealership at 5 p.m. today, chances are good there will be a tear in his eye as he locks it for the last time. The final day of business comes two years short of a century of car deals with residents from four counties.

A devastating flood in June 2006 and a disastrous August fire earlier this year that destroyed the entire parts and service portion of the business and all the dealership’s storage were the final straws, he said. “Triple Cities residents have always been good to the Whitaker family,” Whitaker said. “Most people would be surprised at the number of regular customers I count from the Binghamton and Southern Tier area.

I just hope they don’t drive up here in the spring to get their automobiles serviced and find out we aren’t here.” The sales portion of the dealership, at 18-20 Main St., has been sold to Rite Aid, Whitaker said. An amicable agreement has been reached with General Motors to handle car warranties at other locations, he said.

Whitaker, 57, is the fourth generation involved with the dealership and is marking 37 years of selling automobiles to residents in Broome, Chenango, Delaware and Otsego counties. He joined his father, Glen E. Whitaker Sr., in 1970 and took over the business when his father died in 1994. The dealership is one of the oldest in the country, he said. The business developed from a livery stable founded in Unadilla in 1909 by George E. Whitaker. George E. and Glen S.