Maintaining a car can be a huge hassle.
From taking your vehicle to your local auto repair shop to keeping an eye out for potential scams, the car repair and upkeep process is rarely simple, even when it can and should be.
YourMechanic is putting transparency and convenience back into vehicle maintenance by bringing auto services — all with upfront pricing — straight to you.
Sometimes referred to as the Uber for auto repair, YourMechanic is an online platform that helps car owners cut costs and save time.
Just by jumping on its site, you can connect with mobile mechanics that can help with just about any need.
Since its 2012 launch by co-founders Art Agrawal and Dongyi Liao, YourMechanic has expanded from Mountain View, California, to thousands of United States cities, securing millions of dollars in funding and showing just how much its business model is changing the customer experience.
If you want to take the stress out of your car maintenance, keep reading to learn about how YourMechanic works and how you can book your first service.
Jump to:
- What Is YourMechanic?
- How Does YourMechanic Work?
- What Repair Services Does YourMechanic Offer?
- Which Vehicles Does YourMechanic Repair?
- Where Is YourMechanic Available?
- How Much Does YourMechanic Cost?
- How to Book Your First YourMechanic Service
- Frequently Asked Questions
Table Of Contents
What Is YourMechanic?
YourMechanic is a mobile car repair and maintenance company that allows you to book more than 500 types of auto services, which are performed where it’s most convenient for you.
It’s a flexible service that helps you complete your routine oil changes, tire rotations, and more when it works best for you — even on evenings and weekends.
YourMechanic can even help with diagnoses and complex repairs when your check engine light turns on or your car breaks down at your home or office.
When you book a repair or maintenance service on the platform, you’ll always be matched with a technician you can trust.
Before you commit to the appointment, you can know exactly what experience your mechanic has and check real customer reviews.
Plus, mechanics are always fully certified, background checked, and insured.
Every service you complete is backed by a 12-month or 12,000-mile warranty as well as $1 million in liability insurance.
Though YourMechanic can’t necessarily help you when you’re stuck on the side of the road — technicians aren’t always available for same-day services — the platform helps you prevent breakdowns while you’re on the road in the first place.
Once you’re a member, YourMechanic helps you keep your vehicle maintenance log up-to-date and never miss a necessary service.
How Does YourMechanic Work?
YourMechanic services are incredibly easy to book online.
To use the service, it takes just three steps:
- Get a quote — If you know what’s wrong, then you can explain it. If you’re not sure, then you can ask for the mechanic to perform a diagnostic on your car to figure it out. Once you’ve agreed on the services to be performed, you’ll get an upfront quote.
- Book your appointment — Assuming you’re satisfied with the quote you receive, you’ll then provide your mechanic with your preferred meeting location and time.
- Sit back and relax while the mechanic fixes your car — All you have to do now is meet the mechanic where you specified and let them fix your vehicle. Payment occurs entirely within the YourMechanic app, and you won’t be charged until you’re satisfied with the completed work.
Just by inputting your car details and service needs on the company’s website, you can get an instant quote (or a quote within one day for select services).
This quote will include a price breakdown that includes the price of each part and service.
As soon as you get your quote, you can book your service or do some research before coming back to book.
You can book YourMechanic services for any day of the week, usually between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. daily.
Availability may vary by city since mechanics set their own hours.
New customers are always matched to a mechanic, though after your first service, you can choose a technician you’ve previously worked with.
At the time of your appointment, just make sure you’re parked in a parking space, driveway, or garage at the address you provide.
Your technician will show up at your requested time, and you won’t be billed until they’ve completed the service.
If you ever need customer support in the process, YourMechanic makes it easy to reach out via phone call.
Dial 1(844) 219-3953 from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST on weekdays or 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. PST on weekends.
You can also contact YourMechanic via email at [email protected].
What Repair Services Does YourMechanic Offer?
If your local repair shop can do it, odds are someone from YourMechanic can do it as well.
They offer over 500 different repair services, all from the comfort of your own home.
Here are just a few of the services they can help with:
- Oil change
- Brake pad replacement
- Timing belt replacement
- Radiator replacement
- Spark plugs replacement
- Pre-purchase car inspection
- 75-point safety inspection
For a full list of services, visit the services page on YourMechanic.com.
Which Vehicles Does YourMechanic Repair?
If you’re going to hire a mechanic from an online service, you want to be sure that they can repair your particular vehicle.
Luckily, YourMechanic can repair almost any make and model of vehicle, both foreign and domestic.
Here are just a few of the different vehicle makes they can service:
- BMW
- Chevrolet
- Ford
- Honda
- Hyundai
- Kia
- Lexus
- Nissan
- Toyota
- Volkswagen
For a full list of vehicles that YourMechanic services, consult their official list.
Where Is YourMechanic Available?
Besides ensuring that YourMechanic can fix your specific vehicle, you also want to be sure that they’re available where you live.
The odds are good that their services are available in your location.
The company is in over 2,000 cities across the United States, and they continue to add new locations.
Here are just a few of the cities where YourMechanic is available:
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Chicago
- Denver
- Houston
- Los Angeles
- Philadelphia
- New York City
- San Francisco Bay Area
- Seattle
For a full list of cities where they operate, consult the cities page on their website.
How Much Does YourMechanic Cost?
One of the best parts of using YourMechanic is the average service is 30% cheaper than in-shop services.
Because the company is fully mobile — meaning it has no physical repair shops — it keeps its overhead costs low so they can offer some of the best prices in the industry.
Labor costs can vary greatly by city, ranging from $69.99-$109.99 per hour, but you’ll always see time estimates and rates in your upfront quote.
You’ll also see any extra fees for parts, diagnoses, and more.
A standard diagnosis costs $60-$90.
If preferred, you can provide your own parts to avoid a parts fee.
For instance, here’s a price quote for an oil and oil filter change on a 2012 Honda Civic:
According to YourMechanic, the total price for this service represents a 46% savings compared to what you’d pay to have the same work done at a dealer.
Of course, you should always do your own research to ensure that you’re getting a fair price.
But if you think about it, it makes sense that YourMechanic costs less than having work done at a dealer or other shop.
This is because the mechanic you hire through the company is an independent contractor.
You only pay for the parts, labor, and taxes; you don’t have to pay extra to cover all the overhead that a typical mechanic shop has (such as rent, benefits, utilities, and advertising).
As a result, you can save quite a bit of money.
Plus, YourMechanic takes pride in offering transparent pricing.
You don’t have to worry about taking your vehicle in for routine service and then finding out that the final bill will cost 10 times what you were expecting to pay.
If a diagnosis reveals more needs, your technician will always provide an itemized list of extra services that you can accept or decline.
If you don’t cancel within 24 hours, YourMechanic will charge a $29.99 fee, but you can use this fee to pay for your service if you rebook.
A credit card is required to pay for YourMechanic services.
How to Book Your First YourMechanic Service
When you need a car repair service, you can book your first YourMechanic service in no time.
To start, head to yourmechanic.com/book and enter your zip code.
Select your car make and model.
Then, choose your desired service or services.
If you need a repair but aren’t sure what’s wrong with your car, tap on the “Diagnostics & Inspections” tab to describe the symptoms.
As you add services to your cart, you can view your price estimates on the right side of your screen — tap “View price breakdown” for further details — and see how much you’re saving compared to dealership prices.
You may also see suggested or free services.
Once you’re done selecting services, choose your appointment time.
In the pop-up window, enter your email and tap “Save My Quote.”
Proceed to your dashboard to create your account by entering your name and preferred password.
This creates your YourMechanic account, which you can use to track your appointments and cars.
Once you’re in the dashboard, you can tap “Book This Quote” at the top of the screen.
You may need to re-select your appointment time, but then you should be able to proceed by entering your phone number, service address, and payment information.
Make sure to review details about the mechanic you’ve matched with on the right side under your pricing details.
Then, book your service.
Frequently Asked Questions
YourMechanic offers a flexible and transparent way to keep your vehicle in the best condition possible.
To learn more, read our answers to these common questions:
1. Is YourMechanic reliable?
If you’ve looked at third-party review sites, you may have found that YourMechanic’s customer experience received mixed reviews.
The biggest issues tend to be mechanics showing up late or taking longer than expected, so the company isn’t 100% reliable in that regard.
However, keep in mind YourMechanic requests that customers give technicians up to an hour to arrive, so some of these complaints may be unwarranted.
Additionally, the company maintains an A-rating from the Better Business Bureau, which indicates the company upholds good business practices and responds to most complaints.
We recommend reading reviews about the technician you’re matched with to consider their personal reliability.
2. Can I get an Uber or Lyft inspection through YourMechanic?
YourMechanic can perform the 19-point vehicle inspections required by Uber and Lyft, and it matches you with an ASE-certified mechanic if required in your market.
If you don’t want to head to your local mechanic, Uber Greenlight Hub, or Lyft Hub, YourMechanic is a great alternative.
3. Can I get YourMechanic discounts if I’m a rideshare driver?
While YourMechanic doesn’t currently offer special discounts for rideshare (or delivery) drivers, it does offer $10 promo codes for new users on a rolling basis as of January 2021.
This can be a great way for you to test the service so you can figure out if it’s a good fit for your on-the-job needs.
Once you’re an existing user, you can continue to earn $10 credits by referring friends with your referral link, which can be found in the “Gifts & Coupons” section of your dashboard.
You can also get a free 19-point vehicle inspection from YourMechanic if you rent your car out on Turo and live in the Los Angeles metro area.
However, you will need to bring your Uber or Lyft inspection form with you — along with your Turo inspection form — if you want it to count for your rideshare app.
4. How can I contact YourMechanic customer support?
If you ever have an issue or question related to YourMechanic, the company offers several ways for you to get help.
To start, you should consult their Frequently Asked Questions page, which contains answers to many common questions about using the service.
If this page doesn’t answer your question, then you can send a support email to [email protected].
You can also call 1-844-668-2785 any time Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST and Saturday to Sunday from 7 a.m to 4 p.m. PST.
5. Does YourMechanic offer a warranty or other guarantee?
Yes, they do.
YourMechanic has a 12-month, 12,000-mile warranty on all parts and labor from their mechanics.
If you experience an issue related to the work done during the first 12 months or first 12,000 miles of driving after the work, they will correct the problem free of charge.
Note that this warranty does have certain restrictions, including issues resulting from abnormal use (such as driving your car off-road or using it for street racing).
For a full explanation of how the warranty works, visit their official warranty page.
6. Can I pay for YourMechanic in cash?
You shouldn’t.
Paying in cash will likely void any warranties that YourMechanic provides.
To ensure that you receive all the benefits and protections that come with using the service, keep all payments within the YourMechanic app.
7. Does YourMechanic offer 24/7 service?
Not quite.
Mechanics from YourMechanic are available 7 days a week between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. (local time).
Considering that most mechanic shops aren’t even open this much, YourMechanic has quite impressive availability.
One thing that you can do 24/7, however, is book a repair through the website or app.
This way, you can get your vehicle fixed ASAP (and usually much quicker than if you took it to a repair shop).
8. How can I become a mechanic for YourMechanic?
Working for YourMechanic can offer you greater flexibility and a wider base of clients than you would get working at a traditional shop.
To find out more about working as an on-demand mechanic, consult our guide to working for YourMechanic.
We also recommend this guide to how much you can earn with YourMechanic if you’re trying to compare it to your current mechanic job.
Bring Auto Services to You
With YourMechanic, there’s no need to go out of your way to maintain or repair your car.
The company’s mobile mechanics make office and house calls, so you can get the services you need in a convenient location with no extra fees.
The online platform also ensures you get upfront quotes and total control over your bookings — the result is greater transparency and a better customer experience.
