Wrench brings its door-to-door auto repair service to greater LA
Got an oil leak but can’t make it to the repair shop?
No worries. Wrench can send a mechanic to your home, workplace or anywhere else that’s convenient. The Seattle-based company provides automotive house calls for both private vehicle owners and businesses with vehicle fleets. Wrench already unveiled its app-based service in Orange County, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Colorado and Texas and now it’s being expanded into the greater Los Angeles area.
Simple and efficient
From a consumer standpoint, the process couldn’t be easier.
Customers access the Wrench app and explain what they need done — or at least what they think they need done. Then they book a time and place and set an appointment. After the mechanic shows up and does the work, the billing is processed and they receive a service report.
“We handle 85 percent of the things you’d normally take your car in for,” said Ed Petersen, the company’s co-founder and CEO. “That could be everything from oils changes, brakes and tune-ups, to water pumps, fuel pumps and timing belts. We even replaced an axel in one customer’s
Lots of mechanics
Petersen says Wrench’s “drop the shop” service saves car owners downtime and typically shaves about 30 percent off what they’d pay at a dealership. He figures that will resonate with busy Angelinos. But in a region as big and diverse as the greater Los Angeles area, it’s going to take some manpower to make it happen.
“The greater L.A. area is really like several markets,” he said. “We’ll have to bring on at least 50 mechanics over the next few months.”
The company vets its mechanics carefully. They are Automotive Service Excellence-certified and nearly all of them work full-time for Wrench.
“We take a little while longer to find mechanics who are the right fit for us, but we have very low turnover,” Petersen said. “When you think about it, it’s a very skilled position. You can have wildly complicated things to deal with. We really have two customers — the person who owns the car and the person who takes care of the car.”
One customer’s experience
Mike Moran turned to Wrench when he needed the brakes repaired on his 2006 Volvo V70 station wagon.
“They were squeaking and grinding,” the 47-year-old San Clemente resident said. “I set up an appointment and the mechanic came out the next day. It was convenient and it only took about an hour and a half.”
The Wrench mechanic replaced his front rotors and brake pads for around $400. And the best part? Moran never had to leave home.
“It was great because when you go to a repair shop you’re pretty much guaranteed it will be a full day, no matter what,” he said. “With this service, I didn’t have to have my wife pick me up or call an Uber.”
Price breakouts
Prices for mechanical work vary depending on the make and year of the car, but Wrench provided some examples:
- 2000 Nissan Frontier: Ignition switch replacement — $430
- 2007 Chevy Silverado: A/C recharge — $144
- 2011 Acura TSX Base: Alternator replacement — $485
- 2011 Chrysler Town & Country Limited: Front and rear brake pads and rotors — $591
- 2015 Hyundai Santa a Limited: Front and rear brake pads — $305
- 1988 Ford Econoline 350: Water pump and timing belt replacement — $518
Petersen, a Whittier college grad and Seattle native, co-founded Wrench in 2015. The business received its initial funding from Madrona Venture Group, the same venture capital group that launched Amazon.
Petersen is no stranger to startups. He also founded Intelius, Talentwise, Union-Street.com, LocalMobile and Pantheon. But he figures Wrench has tapped into an especially sweet spot.
“There’s a $70 billion car repair market that’s ripe for disruption and a customer base that seems to like our core benefits of savings, convenience and price certainty,” he said. “We just need tp make sure we provide a high-quality experience for our customers. We want to wow them.”
Source: – https://www.dailynews.com/
