The kind of convenience that made Uber a hit on the road spreading to all kinds of on-demand services: deliveries, dry cleaning and even doctors can be summoned with just a few taps on your smartphone.
For Daniel Apicella, a business owner and father of three, these new apps can be a helpful way to save time. He used YourMechanic to bring an oil change right to his doorstep.
“We have a network of mechanics that come to your home or office to service your car,” said Art Agrawal, CEO of YourMechanic.
Users fill in their car information, location and services requested to receive an instant quote.
"We give you a fixed upfront price and the price doesn’t change on you," said Agrawal.
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It's just as convenient for the mechanic, Ruben Marin, who books appointments around his normal 9-to-5 job. They offer more than 150 services that can be done in the customer's driveway. Any service from oil changes to new brake pads, “as long as we don’t have to lift the car or drop a motor,” says Marin.
It can cost more for that convenience, but customers like Apicella say it is worth it: "They came to me! I didn't have to spend any fuel or any time.”
Now Daniel Apicella's car is running as smoothly as Ruben's repair jobs. The mechanic says he has at least one job a day already booked through the rest of the month.