Fixed Ops Journal – February 2016 - (Page 12)
FIXED OPS JOURNAL
"
"A [dealership-provided]
shuttle service just isn't
enough to meet the demand
for convenience anymore."
THILO KOSLOWSKI, Gartner Inc.
Domestic bliss, as envisioned by the YourMechanic.com home page.
Competition in the palm
of your customers' hands
■ Uber-style mechanics make house calls in 22 states and D.C.
NORA NAUGHTON
foj@autonews.com
D
ealership service departments
have long competed against the
independent mechanic or shop
down the street.
Now they have to compete against the mobile mechanic driving up the street.
In the style of Uber, a Silicon Valley company called YourMechanic.com enables
consumers to use their phones to bring car
repairs to their doorstep.
YourMechanic's mission is simple: establish transparency and build trust in automotive service, CEO Art Agrawal said.
"If you don't know anything about cars, the
[repair] experience is very black box," he
said. "We wanted to solve this problem of little to no transparency when getting your car
repaired."
The mobile mechanics concept is common. Independent providers all over the
U.S. offer their services through companies
such as Craigslist and Angie's List. Agrawal's
innovation is providing consumers with a
one-stop-shop experience.
Consumers requesting service give YourMechanic information about the vehicle,
including the year, make
and model, and what appears to be wrong. Based on
CEO Art Agrawal:
"Thousands of
repairs" can be
made outside
of a shop.
PAGE 12
FEBRUARY 2016
that information, YourMechanic gives the
customer a list of the parts, services and
costs needed to repair the vehicle. YourMechanic operates in 32 markets and 22 states.
"We only move to a city when the demand
presents itself," Agrawal said. "We're working
on getting our name out there nationwide,
and people are seeing us and asking for us."
Paying for convenience
Convenience is the most important feature
that mobile mechanic operations such as
YourMechanic offer, said Mark Seng, an IHS
Automotive analyst.
"As we've seen from companies like Uber,
customers will pay a premium for convenience," he said. "I don't see how the idea of
mobile mechanics could fail to catch on."
The mobile mechanic business faces growing pains, but "they'll figure that stuff out,"
Seng predicted.
"The demand is already there, and will
probably only continue to grow," he said.
"The rising age of cars on the road means
people will need to do more routine maintenance, and they'll want to save both time
SEE MOBILE, PAGE 15
http://www.YourMechanic.com
http://www.YourMechanic.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fixed Ops Journal – February 2016
Editor’s Letter: Welcome to Fixed Ops Journal
Service Counter: Tracking fixed-ops numbers
Legal Lane: Court cases that affect you
Mobile mechanics: Do shop-free technicians threaten your business?
Mark Smith: A fixed-ops-focused dealer aims to change the industry
Adding capacity: Sales spur FCA, Subaru dealerships’ fixed-ops growth
Richard Truett: Toolmaker targets new techs
Designed for service: A look at a Minnesota dealership’s makeover
Weekend work: Service extends to Saturday, even Sunday
Tech exodus: How outdated policies worsen the tech shortage
Before Xtime: The origins of widely used scheduling software
Older parts: Toyota, Ford respond to older cars on the road
5 minutes with: Ford’s Toney, Toyota’s Laukes
Shop Talk: One question, multiple service directors
Fixed in Time: A look at service of yesteryear
Fixed Ops Journal – February 2016
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