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Launch HN: Fiix (YC W17) – Same-Day Auto Repair at Your Home

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Re: Launch HN: Fiix (YC W17) – Same-Day Auto Repair at Your Home

#61

Post by emodendroket »

dbg31415 wrote: post #60

It just seems really ghetto to have someone come to my house to do the work. Trying to get a sense for who would use this... I already have a mechanic I trust, he's less than 5 minutes away from my house... and I can just drop my car off and pick it up when I'm done. Do a lot of other people not have preferred mechanics already? Also doing car repair in the driveway or on the street -- in many neighborhoods this woul…

> Edit: Looked at the site... wiper replacement and battery replacement were some services offered. Yup... got it, I'm not the target audience for this.

I feel like even the least car-savvy person on Earth can figure out how to change their own windshield wipers.

Re: Launch HN: Fiix (YC W17) – Same-Day Auto Repair at Your Home

#62

Post by emodendroket »

mtreis86 wrote: post #45

What have the legalities been like for you to do this in Canada? As a mechanic in the USA (ASE a decade ago) I was told multiple times that repairs cannot be at a customer's residence due to both EPA regulations on fluid contamination and various local or state zoning ordinances.

Well I guess the Silicon Valley way is to start a company that flagrantly violates the law and then lobby until it's made legal.

Re: Launch HN: Fiix (YC W17) – Same-Day Auto Repair at Your Home

#64

Post by wapz »

emodendroket wrote: post #61
dbg31415 wrote: post #60

It just seems really ghetto to have someone come to my house to do the work. Trying to get a sense for who would use this... I already have a mechanic I trust, he's less than 5 minutes away from my house... and I can just drop my car off and pick it up when I'm done. Do a lot of other people not have preferred mechanics already? Also doing car repair in the driveway or on the street -- in many neighborhoods this woul…

> Edit: Looked at the site... wiper replacement and battery replacement were some services offered. Yup... got it, I'm not the target audience for this. I feel like even the least car-savvy person on Earth can figure out how to change their own windshield wipers.

I'm hoping that mos people who pay for windshield wiper replacements get it bundled. Let's say they don't want to leave their house to get an oil change (and are too lazy to do it themselves). They go to the site and request an oil change. Then they remember their wipers are going bad and don't want to pick them up or order them online. So they just pay the extra $5-$20 or whatever the company charges to have the mechanic replace it for them.

Re: Launch HN: Fiix (YC W17) – Same-Day Auto Repair at Your Home

#65

Post by ams6110 »

warcher wrote: post #9

I love this idea, but it's also some super hood shit. This is absolutely a done thing in lower income areas-- "shade tree mechanics" is the term of art I know. I would imagine the biggest issue would be ensuring a feeling of reliability and professionalism to a sort of sketchy proposition. (A random stranger coming to your house to work on your car.) Plus, as a practicing shade tree mechanic when I was young and brok…

Some higher-class neighborhoods even have covnants and restrictions that prohibit car repair in the driveway, among other things.

Re: Launch HN: Fiix (YC W17) – Same-Day Auto Repair at Your Home

#66

Post by emodendroket »

wapz wrote: post #64
emodendroket wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Edit: Looked at the site... wiper replacement and battery replacement were some services offered. Yup... got it, I'm not the target audience for this. I feel like even the least car-savvy person on Earth can figure out how to change their own windshield wipers.

I'm hoping that mos people who pay for windshield wiper replacements get it bundled. Let's say they don't want to leave their house to get an oil change (and are too lazy to do it themselves). They go to the site and request an oil change. Then they remember their wipers are going bad and don't want to pick them up or order them online. So they just pay the extra $5-$20 or whatever the company charges to have the mec…

I guess that makes sense. I think I bought them from a mechanic once, when I was getting the state test and they said the ones I had wouldn't pass.

Re: Launch HN: Fiix (YC W17) – Same-Day Auto Repair at Your Home

#67

Post by nstart »

warcher wrote: post #58
redstallion wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a reason why people have pointed out the flaws of this model for a while now: https://www.quora.com/How-is-YourMechanic-doing-lately/answe... 'But the flaw is this: "All you need to provide is a driveway or parking space where the mechanic can work" I feel any decent mechanic will not work under these conditions. It is unreasonable to think good quality work can be done without a properly outfitted shop.'

They do limit the jobs they're willing to take on, and you'd be amazed at the work you can do with a good set of socket wrenches, a nice hydraulic jack, and maybe one of those ODB2 readers to talk to the computer. I think if they got into professionally evaluating used cars alone it'd be a pretty useful service. Buying a used car, boom, send out a mechanic before you hand over the cash. Does seem like it'd wind up be…

> They do limit the jobs they're willing to take on, and you'd be amazed at the work you can do with a good set of socket wrenches, a nice hydraulic jack, and maybe one of those ODB2 readers to talk to the computer.

Second this. In Sri Lanka, quite a few of us depend on some mechanics we know to come home to do repairs for us. My car's been saved quite a bit this way (one particular time was when the coolant stopped flowing through the radiator due to a jammed thermo). Quite often the work involved taking out most of the pieces sitting under the hood.

The most difficult part was the reliability of bringing the mechanic down. So it's pretty cool to see this service here. I'd gladly pay for something like it in SL.

Re: Launch HN: Fiix (YC W17) – Same-Day Auto Repair at Your Home

#68

Post by nstart »

khallil wrote: post #29
Judgmentality wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once your customers build a relationship with one of your mechanics, what's to stop them from contacting them directly? I know Homejoy had this problem where customers would just contact cleaners directly to avoid the service fee. Or are your mechanics employees instead of contract workers?

So far we have seen no signs of leakage, and we've been monitoring it closely. A few reasons why leakage doesn't happen: - Unlike cleaning, this isn't a weekly service, so the incentive is less. - When our mechanics communicate with customers it gets routed through a Fiix phone number and/or 'business cards' with direct links to re-book them - Mechanics have also expressed that they don't want customers having their…

> Because we do a high volume of repairs, we can get better parts costs than mechanics could on their own

That's a massive plus point for all parties involved. Congrats on nailing that aspect

Re: Launch HN: Fiix (YC W17) – Same-Day Auto Repair at Your Home

#69

Post by dbg31415 »

emodendroket wrote: post #66
wapz wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm hoping that mos people who pay for windshield wiper replacements get it bundled. Let's say they don't want to leave their house to get an oil change (and are too lazy to do it themselves). They go to the site and request an oil change. Then they remember their wipers are going bad and don't want to pick them up or order them online. So they just pay the extra $5-$20 or whatever the company charges to have the mec…

I guess that makes sense. I think I bought them from a mechanic once, when I was getting the state test and they said the ones I had wouldn't pass.

So yeah I think my biggest concern about this... I have a mechanic. But even if I didn't... I would want a mechanic. I don't want some random guy showing up each time. This isn't like Uber, it's more like a dentist... I guess some people probably don't request the same hygienist each time... but I some jobs I want done by someone I have a relationship with. I want to deal with the same person on a regular basis, know he does a good job, trust him, and not leave it to chance each time I need my car serviced. Maybe it's different for people in bigger cities...
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