{"id":5246,"date":"2015-12-09T17:52:44","date_gmt":"2015-12-09T22:52:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/yourmechanic-uber-for-auto-repair\/"},"modified":"2015-12-09T21:45:15","modified_gmt":"2015-12-10T02:45:15","slug":"yourmechanic-uber-for-auto-repair","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/yourmechanic-uber-for-auto-repair\/","title":{"rendered":"YourMechanic: Uber for Auto Repair"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The automotive repairs industry is massive but incredibly fragmented. In the US, there are over 250,000 maintenance services and auto repair businesses earning a combined $57B in revenue each year.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> From a consumer\u2019s perspective, the process of getting your car fixed is extremely painful&#8211; you often have to make do without your car for days (and arrange a ride to and from the repair shop), there are very few trusted chains, and prices are opaque and sometimes untrustworthy. The traditional value chain is tough for mechanics as well. They are responsible for purchasing their own tools (which can cost $16,000-20,000 altogether), and most of the margin on services is pocketed by repair shop owners rather than the mechanics doing the actual work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Enter YourMechanic, a website and mobile app for auto repair. You submit the make and model of your car, the reason for the service, and your contact info. YourMechanic provides you with a guaranteed upfront price quote for parts and services, at which point you can book an appointment for a mechanic to fix your car in your own garage or driveway. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6394\" src=\"https:\/\/i4tsk12in2b2y7uts14c528g-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/29wheels-web2-1446071160878-blog427-169x300.jpg\" alt=\"29wheels-web2-1446071160878-blog427\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/29wheels-web2-1446071160878-blog427-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/29wheels-web2-1446071160878-blog427-338x600.jpg 338w, https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/29wheels-web2-1446071160878-blog427.jpg 427w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 169px) 100vw, 169px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The value proposition to consumers is compelling and simple: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Quality<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">: YM works with over 1,000 certified mechanics who have have been screened extensively and have an average of 10 years of experience.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Trust is a huge part of the YM promise: they provide a 12-month or 12,000 mile guarantee (whichever comes first) for any service provided by their mechanics.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Convenience:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Mechanics come to you and are available from 7am to 9pm, 7 days a week. Scheduling and payment is done through the app. After the service is complete, YourMechanic provides you with a digital 50-point diagnostic report on your car and reminds you when you\u2019re due for maintenance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Consistency:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> YM mechanics wear YourMechanic uniforms and can provide up to 150 different services. Scrupulous customers can log on to YM\u2019s website to read dozens of reviews and even view profiles of individual mechanics. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Value: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">No more rip-offs or black-box quotes&#8211; YM pricing is transparent, fair, and persistent across customers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">YM also provides significant value to mechanics. Unlike traditional repair shops, where mechanics often work long hours (of which only a fraction are \u201cbillable\u201d), YM\u00a0allows mechanics to schedule and anticipate work.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> YM handles the burden of aggregating repair demand and gives mechanics much-needed flexibility, since all they need are their tools and a mobile phone to participate. Most importantly, YM lets mechanics keep 100% of the fees for services rendered, instead earning revenue from 20-30% commission on the auto parts necessary for repair.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">YourMechanic\u2019s business model and operating model are highly aligned. While the primary cost drivers for repair shops are equipment and labor, YM\u2019s main assets are its network of mechanics and its iOS mobile app.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Since YM does not operate physical retail locations and the majority of mechanics own their own tools, YM is able to address\u00a0large geographic markets with their distributed work force while maintaining extremely low overhead.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Their mechanics are independent contractors, so mechanics are only paid when YM converts a customer. YM\u2019s minimal operating costs also allow them to pay their mechanics 3-4x more than their competitors\u00a0while still passing along meaningful savings (up to 50%) to end-consumers.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This advantage helps YM\u00a0attract and retain high-quality mechanic talent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6392\" src=\"https:\/\/i4tsk12in2b2y7uts14c528g-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/30wheels-web-master675-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"30wheels-web-master675\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/30wheels-web-master675-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/30wheels-web-master675-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/30wheels-web-master675.jpg 675w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks to their low-cost structure and lightweight infrastructure, YourMechanic has been able to scale fast&#8211; their services are currently available in more than 300 cities.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Since demand is fairly constant across the US (the average automobile age is 11.5 years, and older vehicles require more repairs) all YM needs to do is aggregate enough supply (mechanics) to launch a new city.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> As a two-sided marketplace, YM benefits greatly from network effects: the more mechanics they have on the platform, the more valuable the app is to consumers, and vice versa. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">YourMechanic has raised over $1.8M so far in venture funding (with more to be announced soon) from top-tier investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, YCombinator, and Greylock Partners, so this is likely just the beginning of their success story.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> https:\/\/www.yourmechanic.com<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">http:\/\/clients1.ibisworld.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu\/reports\/us\/industry\/ataglance.aspx?entid=1689<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">http:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/economy\/2015\/05\/08\/3656610\/mechanics-wages<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/10\/30\/automobiles\/car-repairs-a-click-away-without-the-fuss-and-bother.html<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">http:\/\/betakit.com\/yourmechanic-raises-1-8m-launches-we-come-to-you-car-repair-marketplace<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The automotive repairs industry is massive but incredibly fragmented. In the US, there are over 250,000 maintenance services and auto repair businesses earning a combined $57B in revenue each year. From a consumer\u2019s perspective, the process of getting your car [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":638,"featured_media":5247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"class_list":["post-5246","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/the-tom-challenge-tom-winners-and-losers-assignment\/","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>YourMechanic: Uber for Auto Repair - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/yourmechanic-uber-for-auto-repair\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"YourMechanic: Uber for Auto Repair - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The automotive repairs industry is massive but incredibly fragmented. 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