Austin Mobile Mechanic

Ken is great~ he was very professional and knowledgeable. I was a little judgmental at first (I have never used a mobile mechanic before). I was stuck at the Palmer Events center garage on a Sunday. He was upfront and to the point. His pricing is fair. I appreciate his service. I think, his mind and heart is in the right place. He solved the puzzle of my car being stalled.

DO NOT USE THEM!!! Unless you’re desperate and have money to waste. I called today, and while it didn’t take him long to get to me, I asked him over the phone how much it would cost for him to just show up and tell me what’s wrong with my car. He told me that they wouldn’t charge me until they knew what was wrong with my car. For one, this guy looked very sketchy, and I felt uncomfortable around him. He came and talked on the phone half the time and fooled around with some tools and said I needed a new radiator. He was literally was with me for 20 minutes even though it only took him 1 second to see the hole in my radiator. Then he went on to tell me that it was going to cost me $ 100 just for him to show up and look at the car. This immediately alarmed me because I already asked him if it would cost for him to come out and see me because I was downtown and he was literally around the corner when I called. I had no problem paying $ 20-​$ 50 because I knew he needed gas, etc, but $ 100?! That did not even include the overpriced fees it would take to work on the car. I’m sure he was trying to take advantage of me because I am a woman. Luckily, I work for lawyers and they came out and talked to him and paid him $ 35 dollars to get off the property before he would be towed. Total scam artist. Beware.

Let me start by saying I feel ken honestly had best intentions and had a desire to do a good job.
However my experience with Ken was like a slow motion train wreck. Over a 3 day process trying to get my car worked on only to be interrupted by one excuse after another.
I’m not going into great detail here but on the day I thought finally were going to get this done a sudden fear took over. Do I really want this guy working on my car? As I watched from afar I realized I did not. luckily he hit a wall and couldn’t do the job on site.
He suggested bringing it to the shop but I took it as a way out. He offered a great deal and if he completed the job it would have saved me about $ 200 today but possibly more down the road.
I think Ken is an excellent choice for very minor needs like changing a tire that isif time is no concern
Edit:
In reference to Ken’s response. This was a mobile service I watched him from my house window and eventually he suggested taking it to a shop after he could not fix the problem. I’m pretty sure I got the company right but it was over a year ago. Also the shop is mentioned by another Unilocaler as well and the name of the person is the same as the owner who replied.

First met Ken when I had a dead battery in my new/​used mini cooper. he came and replaced the battery. it went dead again, faulty battery. he came back, took out the defective battery, returned with a new one and replaced it. i asked him what i owed him and he said nothing, bad battery. no charge.
fast forward, my power steering pump goes out on my car, yes, my mini was in storage for a few years and i let someone top off my power steering fluid with what turned out to be the wrong kind, minis are special that way. ken comes to my house, had to take the car to his shop but instead of buying a new power steering pump for $ 1200+ he took my old one apart, replaced the brushes and voila! power steering works fine. I cannot recommend him highly enough. repairing my power steering pump and replacing brake pads $ 860. cost with new parts $ 1200 not including the brake pads. won’t even mention the time my car got a vapor lock and wouldn’t start and i’m texting him pictures of my engine so he can help me solve the problem when i was in Georgetown on a Sunday morning. again, no charge.

called this mobile mechanic because my water pump went out on my truck. i was told he’d put me on the morning schedule the next day. at noon i hadn’t heard from him so i sent him a text asking if i was still on the morning schedule. he replied that he got tied up and would be heading my way in an hour or so. i get a text about one hour later stating there was an electrical problem at his shop and all the mobile mechanics are being called back in, so he couldn’t take care of me today. here’s my first problem: is there noone at the shop who can handle an electrical problem? all they have to do is call an electrician. why would they choose to pull in all the mobile mechanics making money for the business. i was hoping to save money by not having to call a wrecker to tow my truck in to my usual mechanic. i asked this mobile mechanic how much it would cost me to replace the water pump. he stated $ 400.00. now that seemed a very high price for a water pump. so i called my mechanic and he stated it would be $ 265.00 to replace my water pump. the wrecker cost me $ 55.00 so the toal to have my mechanic do it was $ 320.00 this includes the wrecker fee. so needless to say i canceled the mobile mechanic… all of a sudden i get a text from the mobile mechanic stating that if my truck was a v-​8 it would only be $ 300 total to replace the water pump. since a v-​8 is easier to work on than a v-​6… this brings me to my second problem with this guy. he never once asked me if my truck was a v-​6 or a v-​8 before quoting me a $ 400 price. then after i cancel my call with him all of a suuden i get a $ 300 price. the first thing my mechanic asked me when i called him was what my vehicle was and what was the engine size before he quoted me a price.
my truck was towed to my mechanic, he fixed my truck in a timely manner and it cost me exactly what he quoted me. $ 265.00 in todays economy and especially with all the competition in austin i would think this mobile mechanic would be a little more business like and not lose customers by canceling calls due to a shop problem that could have been handled by other employees and not quoting a customer a price without even asking what the vehicle is: his web-​site claims he’s cheaper than dealerships and chain garages. very doubtful. his quote $ 400. my mechanic $ 265 you do the math. if i had agreed to his $ 400 quote believe me thats what i would have had to pay. he would have never got there and said «oh its a v-​8, its only $ 300. he only lowered his price when i canceled the call. if he had been timely and his prices honest, i would have given him another job. my froend was having a water pump problem as well. so he actually lost two customers plus word of mouth. i’d steer clear of this guy…