Steven Tammen

Verified

Short version: I liked my experience, and would use this service again. But I think this service might be expensive compared to other options due to how it does things, so if that's important to you, maybe look elsewhere. Long version: I had an issue with one of the car battery terminals that bricked my car. (The bit crimped on to the wire sheared off the terminal somehow = battery was completely disconnected from the wire). I didn't want to pay to tow it since it seemed like a simple-ish fix, but also didn't want to do the work myself because Not My Thing. (Believe me). Enter the idea of mobile mechanics. I had a question about what action/category to select when setting up an appointment, so I called the contact/support number from the website. Got connected in a few seconds, spoke with someone, and they had me send a picture via email. I waited a bit, and then I called back. They then verified which thing I should select when setting up the appointment. Fast forward to the next day (doesn't seem like same-day was an option, but next-day was good enough for me), and I got an automated text a bit before the mechanic showed up, and then also when he arrived. When the mechanic came, we talked for a bit, and he did the thing. In chatting with him, I learned a bit more about how the platform works. Seems like mechanics in an area can use the app to pick up work, kind of like Uber drivers can take rides, I guess (?). Or something like that. So it scales. At any rate, he did the work, we took before/after pictures, made sure everything was good (turned on the car), and then that was that. After he submitted the work package thing on the platform's mechanic app and drove off, I got a phone call from the office people within like 2 minutes asking how things went and if I had any feedback/concerns. I was impressed with the automated systems for booking, updating you when the mechanic is about to arrive/has arrived, and submitting evidence of the completion of the work via the platform's mechanic app (e.g., the before/after photos show up on the automated receipt). I like that this is a well-designed platform, not just a one-man show sort of thing. It led to a very convenient user experience. It made my software-developer brain happy. The customer service was also good (like the call to confirm things went well, and them helping me with my initial question). I didn't get routed around phone menus or have to sit on hold. Only downside is the price. It seems to be fixed (rather than depending on what parts the mechanic actually buys/how long things actually take). So there was a parts charge and a labor charge, and those were fixed/static. Pros: you know how much it will cost upfront. That's pretty useful. Cons: for my particular situation, this was probably like $70 more expensive than it needed to be, because of the inflexibility of this setup. So you might end up overcharged for things. Google-fu told me the specific thing I was paying for was probably $10 for parts and 20 minutes of labor or so. I still paid more than $150 for it. (But hey, I didn't have to do it myself, so no chance of me messing it up. Which was sort of the whole point). Even so, I'd probably still use this service again. I just think this is probably not the cheapest option, if that is something important to you.