Mobile mechanics

What to put in your job description

• The make, model, year and engine size, or the registration number.
• What is wrong: it won't start, a warning light, a noise, brakes, battery, or a service due.
• When it started, and whether the car can still be driven.
• Where the car is parked: a driveway, a garage, or the street.
• Whether you have parts already, or want the mechanic to supply them.

Don't put your name, phone number or address in the description: every trade who covers your area reads it. Your name, phone, email and address go only to the trades who take the job (3 at most).

Questions to ask before you hire

• Can you do this job at my home, or will the car need a garage?
• Is the price fixed, or by the hour? Is there a call-out charge?
• What parts will you use, and do they keep the maker's warranty?
• What cover do you give on the parts and the work if the fault comes back?
• Do you have motor trade insurance that covers my car while you work on it?

Registers and schemes to check

There is no legal register for mechanics. Some belong to the Institute of the Motor Industry's Professional Register, or to a scheme such as The Motor Ombudsman. An MOT can only be done at an approved MOT test centre, not on your driveway; you can look a car's MOT history up on GOV.UK. We don't check this for you yet.

What the job usually involves

• Servicing at your home or work: oil, filters, plugs and the checks in the maker's schedule.
• Brakes, batteries, starter motors, alternators, belts and many other parts that can be changed at the kerb.
• Reading fault codes when a warning light comes on.
• Help when the car won't start, and a tow to a garage if the job is too big to do on the spot.

How quotes and visits work

Many mobile mechanics give a price for parts and labour from the registration number and the fault. For a fault they can't name yet, ask for the price of finding it first. Larger jobs, such as a clutch or a gearbox, may need a garage with a lift.

Ask for a written quote (a fixed price) rather than an estimate (a guess that can change), and for what it includes. If you agree a job in your home, you usually have 14 days to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations; if you want work to start sooner, you may have to pay for what has been done.

Safety

• Keep children and pets away from the car while it is jacked up or the engine is running.
• If the car is on the street, ask where they will work so the road and the pavement stay clear.
• Don't drive a car with a brake or steering fault to a meeting point: say so, and they can come to you.

Insurance

Ask whether they have motor trade insurance that covers your car while they work on it and while they test drive it, and public liability insurance. Ask too what cover they give on the parts and the work if the same fault comes back.

Guides for homeowners

• How to compare quotes from local trades

We take jobs from anywhere in the UK: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Trades choose the postcode districts they cover.

Mobile mechanics by town and city

England

Scotland

Wales

Northern Ireland