Garage

Problem Statement  

How might we make it a smoother and easier experience for car owners when dealing with mechanics?

Problem Background  

For most younger car owners, when dealing with mechanics the probability of having a bad experience with mechanics is extremely high. 

User Pain Points

From phone interviews with younger car owners, it was discovered the two main pain points when dealing with mechanics was

• Finding quality car mechanics
• Verifying quotes given transparently
• Thoroughly concluding a job given

Feedback

Research showed that car owners mostly found mechanics through referrals gotten from friends and connections through personal friend circles or social media circles eg. Instagram. Furthermore, when dealing with some mechanics there was little transparency with the quotes given. Car owners were unable to verify what seemed to be a fair price for the work being done, allowing for room to be cheated. Also, some problems were encountered and quoted long into the job or weren’t given attention at all. This often left the car owners paying for half work done on their vehicles.

Landing on the Solution

Based on our target user pain points, it was clear that a platform that enabled car owners to find and book quality mechanics with verified competency in the type of vehicle the car owner utilised was the preferred solution. Also, enabling car owners to easily verify or compare quotes from the general market of qualified mechanics to see if they are being billed the effective range for the type of work being done on the car.

Explanation of Solution

After explaining the solution to potential users we found out that most young people have little knowledge of the full work down on their cars, especially any work being done on the engines. This further helped assert the need for a qualified third party able to verify the work the cars are doing as they should prevent owners from being billed for work neglected and to ensure that the work on the vehicle are thoroughly done as agreed upon before returning to car owner.

Future Steps

Whilst finding and booking mechanics is only the beginning, it would further benefit car owners if Garage was a top-down platform that allowed car owners to completely manage all aspects of their vehicles. This includes being able to register and track work being done on each vehicle they possess, being able to register documentation and perform or get reminders of regular documentation renewals required, and being able to even find and get insurance through the platform based on the data provided.