In this
day and age we’re bombarded with infinite choices every day. Who would have
thought that one day we’d have a choice in how to have our car fixed or
serviced, other than taking it to the garage?
Well,
with mobile mechanics rising in numbers, should we be considering this decision
more carefully?
We’ve
done some digging into what a mobile mechanic really is and the differences
between mobile and garage.
What
is a mobile mechanic?
A
mobile mechanic is exactly what it says in the name, a qualified mechanic who
can carry out a service, repair and MOT in any location. Whilst they can visit
your home and place of work, there are safety circumstances that prevent them
from attending to your vehicle on the side of the road. There are vehicle
breakdown companies, such as the AA, for these situations.
Mobile
mechanic vs car garages
Advantages
of a mobile mechanic
- Flexible.
Mobile mechanics are good in the sense that they can work around your day.
Therefore, if you’re at work all day, you could arrange for a mobile mechanic
to meet at your driveway after work or in the car park on your lunch break,
whichever is most convenient for you.
- More
affordable. To answer the common question of who is cheaper, a mobile mechanic
or a car garage, it’s often the former option that wins this battle. Due to
them being mobile, unlike a garage, a mobile mechanic has less overheads. No
business premises to pay for, no one other than their own wages to cover, and
only enough tools for them to use. Drastically so, their prices incline to be
more affordable than a car garage.
Disadvantages
of a mobile mechanic
- Limited.
Compared to a garage, a mobile mechanic tends to be limited in: the variety of
tools they carry, the amount of in-depth knowledge they acquire, and the
availability they have to offer day-to-day. With this in mind, be prepared that
your question could go unanswered or it may not be possible to fix your issue
when they arrive.
- Slower.
If you booked your car in to be looked at on your lunch break, you may want to
opt for a longer lunch break that day. In the world of automobiles, we all know
how unpredictable they can be. If something that wasn’t accounted for –
because, at the end of the day, we’re not all car experts – arises, the job
could take much longer than expected.
Advantages
of a car garage
- Specialist
knowledge. The wide pool of mechanics working within a garage enables the
garage itself to offer specialist services. Whether that’s for a specific make
of car, a certain part of the vehicle’s anatomy, or in carrying out a certain
service or test. One way or another, if you have a particular niche that needs
looking into, it may be in your best interests to choose a garage that specialises
in this to fix it first time round.
- Guarantee
being seen. With more mechanics readily available, there is more capacity to
fill within a garage. On average, a garage can service and fix four times the
number of vehicles that a mobile mechanic could in a day. Considering this, if
your car requires being seen immediately, we strongly suggest you try booking
it into a garage for next day and, in some cases, same day service.
- Reputation.
The scale and presence of a garage does call for it to have a squeaky-clean
reputation amongst the local community to encourage customers to return. Taking
this into account, you’d hope to find a garage more trustworthy if they’re
highly reputable, a key factor when entrusting your car into someone else’s
hands.
Disadvantages
of a car garage
- More
expensive. Rightly so, a garage is more expensive than a mobile mechanic but
when you reflect on the extra overheads they have, it’s completely
understandable why they charge more for their services. Nonetheless, if you’re
only looking for a quick service, it’d be futile to not do some research into
mobile mechanics in your area.
- Set
location. In terms of convenience, if you’re not a fan of the local garage, the
time taken to look for a garage that you do trust and travel there whenever
your car has a niggle, could have been saved by booking a mobile mechanic. This
all depends on what the issue with your car is, a mobile mechanic could look at
it to diagnose the problem before advising you to take it to a garage.
For
many car owners, a mobile mechanic is purely a convenience choice. If you’re
looking for specialist knowledge and equipment to provide you with peace of
mind that your car is being well-looked after, booking into a garage may be
best suited to you.
If you’d like to book your car in with Swiftfit, call us on 01603 700128 today.
