Your Mechanic (YC W12) Wins TC Disrupt • Hacker News Board

Re: Your Mechanic (YC W12) Wins TC Disrupt

#81

Post by qq66 » Fri, Sep 14, 2012, 12:42 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #24

nodesocket wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree, maybe I am just being a curmudgeon today, but the kind of companies that TechCrunch chooses for Disrupt as a general rule of thumb, don't excite me. It is a good idea though, peer-to-peer anything is the new hotness.

Peer-to-what-now? People in YourMechanic's market used to have to comb through useless Yelp ratings to find a place to take their cars to and leave them for a day or 3 to have basic repairs done. Now they can type some things into their Googles and have their cars fixed at home. As a card carrying member of the "160k miles, last 20k with the check-engine light on" club, this is the best thing ever and I can't wait fo…

I'm amazed at the number of people who drive 20,000 miles with the check-engine light on, despite being able to financially afford to keep their car in good working order.

Your car's maintenance can easily become a life or death issue if you lose engine power on the highway, or far worse, lose brakes or a wheel. You wouldn't go to Dr. Nick Riviera would you?

Re: Your Mechanic (YC W12) Wins TC Disrupt

#82

Post by brianbreslin » Mon, Sep 17, 2012, 1:06 AM UTC

rprasad wrote: post #75

wglb wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But isn't the master mechanic from GM the competition to this idea? Consider the "disrupt" part of the event.

Master mechanic = rockstar programmer. Backgyard mechanic = some guy who just modified the default theme on a WP blog and now thinks he's a programmer. The difference in skill level between a master mechanic and pretty much everyone else is the difference between a rockstar programmer...and every one else.

exactly how i thought of it.

Re: Your Mechanic (YC W12) Wins TC Disrupt

#83

Post by brianbreslin » Mon, Sep 17, 2012, 1:07 AM UTC

ramanujan wrote: post #65

brianbreslin wrote: post #57

I was talking about this idea with my friend who is a master mechanic for GM, and he didn't like the idea. His reasons were: - Working on someone's pavement outside is awful - Car falls off the lift hurts mechanic, its homeowner's fault - Oil and chemical disposal isn't accounted for - People usually don't properly diagnose their problem, so you wouldn't have most parts ready. - Most luxury dealerships will pickup an…

Yeah, it may be that your friend isn't properly thinking through why this will be such a big hit: it's fast and convenient for a large fraction of problems. Because the huge thing about car trouble is the logistical inconvenience of getting it fixed. I don't want to have to buy a luxury car just to get a long ride back and forth from the dealership; I want someone to come and fix my cheap car in the driveway on my sc…

at luxury dealers you don't even need to GO to the dealer, they come and pick up your car. they send a porter (who they pay minimum wage) to pick up your car and deliver you a loaner.

is this service actually going to let you comparison shop? a mobile mechanical lift seems super expensive for a regular joe mechanic.

Re: Your Mechanic (YC W12) Wins TC Disrupt

#84

Post by brianbreslin » Mon, Sep 17, 2012, 1:11 AM UTC

branchan wrote: post #70

wglb wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But isn't the master mechanic from GM the competition to this idea? Consider the "disrupt" part of the event.

No, I would like to think that a master mechanic's job might not be as simply as changing fluids, brake pads or diagnosing engine fault codes. Imagine doing engine repair or changing the clutch on your driveway without a lift? It would take many times as long for the mechanic to finish and he would rather just take 3 separate jobs in that same span of time. Yes, the idea of the startup has its merit, but like the win…

with lifts and the right equipment a master mechanic could change oil in 5 minutes. without it, 20-30minutes of lifting up cars and manually disposing of the waste.