Just want to sign up? Click here to book your first appointment and get $15 off with the code ‘RSG15‘.
Even though I’m a man and I’m supposed to know a lot about cars, I’ll be honest, I don’t know that much. Every time I take my SUV in for an oil change I always leave with a list of 10 things that are wrong with my car and I have no idea if they’re real problems or if I’m just getting taken for a ride.
I know most shops don’t make much off oil changes so they have to try and sell you on a lot of ancillary services. Well, that model might work for the auto shops but it really sucks for consumers. Just look at the Yelp ratings of places like Firestone, Jiffy Lube and Valvoline. They’re usually sub 4.0 for a reason and if they were an Uber driver, they would have gotten deactivated a long time ago 🙂
Finding A Convenient Mechanic
That doesn’t mean there aren’t a ton of honest hard working mechanics out there though. In my experience, there are a lot of great ones but they’re not always that easy to find. I have two big-chain shops right next to my house but they both try to sell me a ton of crap I don’t need whenever I go in for an oil change.
The guy that I like to use is about 25 minutes away from my house and while he does great work, it’s a huge hassle for me to go and see him. Luckily, I won’t have that problem anymore.
What is YourMechanic?
For those of you who haven’t heard of YourMechanic yet, they are a mobile mechanic service that sends a mechanic to your home or business. I used them for an oil change last weekend to try them out and I have to say I was very happy with the service I received.
I kind of think them as the ‘Uber’ of mechanic companies since they work in a very similar way. YourMechanic matches drivers in need of car maintenance with independent and expert mechanics in cities all across the US. The mechanics earn 2-3x as much as they would working in a shop, are free to set their own hours and all they have to worry about is showing up and doing a great job. Here’s a little more about what YourMechanic does:
- YourMechanic ensures that you are getting a fair price for the services you require by itemizing parts and labor costs in your quote
- Each mechanic is publicly rated by customers after each appointment similar to the way passengers rate drivers with rideshare apps
- You can conveniently book everything online and pay with your credit card
- Prices are almost always lower than they would be at a shop since there is much less overhead
- The mechanic will come to wherever you are! (This is the best part for me)
- There is a 12 month or 12,000 mile guarantee (whichever comes first)
The Perfect Partner
I’ve had a few companies approach me about partnering up with the site but none of them were a great fit. I’m glad I held out though because I really feel that YourMechanic is the perfect advertising partner for this site. They are a start-up based in Mountain View, California and since they’re built on a similar sharing economy model to TNC’s it really doesn’t get much better than that.
Their prices are very reasonable too. A regular oil change comes in around $40, while a synthetic oil change is just about $60.
Note: I receive a small commission for every person that books an appointment using my link so it really is a great way to support the site.
Want A Quote? Click here to get a free quote.
The Booking Process
YourMechanic is offered in major cities all across the country and is growing by the day. The easiest way to get a quote and book an appointment is to head to their website and select ‘Get A Quote‘. You enter in the type of car you have, the service you need, your contact info and from there, you’ll get real time pricing, availability and booking options right there on the screen.
Here’s a little video I made to help with the booking process:
The Oil Change Experience
My mechanic called me the day before to confirm the time and let me know that he would be there at 8:45 am sharp on Sunday morning. On Sunday, he arrived right on time and I went outside to meet him. David was an experienced mechanic (15 years) and he told me that he works full time at a big shop but did this in his spare time to earn a few extra bucks. Sound familiar?
The mechanics can’t do any work on the street so you need to make sure your car is parked in your driveway or in a parking lot. In this case, I had our car parked in the back in the alley and the neighbor’s car was gone so David had easy access to jack up the car and take care of the oil change. Here’s a picture of David in action (nice uniforms too by the way!):
The oil change also came with a free 90 point inspection and the overall process took right around an hour. I chatted with David for a while but all you really need to be there for is the beginning to hand him the keys and the end to e-sign the paperwork. Everything is logged online and the mechanic will even leave you cool voice memos and recommendations for whatever services you need.
I really like the fact that at the end of the appointment, David wasn’t trying to sell me on any of the services he recommended like they often do at a big chain auto body shop. He was very forthcoming with me and told me my brakes were getting low and I’d probably need new ones but I could definitely hold out until the next oil change.
Overall my experience was great and of course super convenient. While David was working, I made breakfast, took a shower and watched a little football. The synthetic oil change I got would have been $60 but with the $20 discount code, the price was only $40. When I called in to a few local shops, they all quoted me higher than that, ranging from $50-$85. So not only was YourMechanic cheaper but they were also more convenient and provided an overall much better level of service.
RSG Approval
I talked to David for a bit while he was working on my car to get a sense of what it was like for mechanics who work for YourMechanic and he had nothing but good things to say about the company. Since there’s no overhead and customers get parts at cost, you’re really only paying for the mechanic’s labor and they make a pretty good rate depending on experience.
One of the reasons why I love the shared economy and the companies built around it is because it eliminates a lot of waste. Why pay a premium to a shop who has to cover advertising, rent, profit to shareholders and executives, etc when you can go right to the source: the mechanic. I am happy to pay $40 or even more for an oil change if I know that a majority of the money is going to the mechanic working on my car. You want to pay for their expertise, not all that other fluff.
Help Support The Site
I’ve mentioned a few products in the past but this is really the first one that I’ll be promoting heavily going forward since I think it’s such a great fit for drivers. It’s always tough for site owners like me to remain unbiased when reviewing companies that are going to be paying me but I know that all of my readers are pretty smart. You guys would figure it out pretty quick if companies that I was recommending weren’t up to par. So you can rest assured that I will only ever recommend companies that I use myself and ones that I feel will really provide a ton of value to my readers.
Remember, all of my readers get $15 off their first service when they use the code RSG15
So if you‘re ready to give YourMechanic a shot and get your first oil change, you can go ahead and get a quote here. If you end up using YourMechanic, I’d love to hear your feedback and thank you for your support.
-The Rideshare Guy
