Who actually
turns up
There is no office and no call centre. The person who answers the phone is one of the two people who will be stood next to your car, and they are the same two every time.
Ask us something
No obligation
It started with one van
Both of us came out of franchise dealers. The work was fine. What we could not live with was how it got sold.
You would book a car in for a service and it would come back with a red-amber-green sheet and four hundred pounds of advisories, half of which were a wear item photographed at a flattering angle. Nobody was lying exactly. Nobody was being straight either.
So the rule here is simple and it has not changed since the first van: you get told what is wrong, what is getting close, and what is fine, and the difference between those three is explained rather than colour-coded. If something can wait a year, we say it can wait a year.
We have deliberately stayed at two vans. Three would mean employing somebody we cannot stand next to, and the entire point was to stop handing cars to people we do not know.
Things we will not do
Add work you did not agree
Nothing goes on the invoice that was not quoted and accepted first. If we find something mid-job, we stop and ring you.
Sell a battery that is fine
Half the flat batteries we are called to are a charging fault or a parasitic drain. We test before we sell, every time.
Guess from the warning light
A code tells you where to look, not what is broken. Anything diagnosed off the dashboard alone is somebody else guessing with your money.
Take on a job that needs a ramp
Some work genuinely cannot be done safely on a driveway. We say so on the phone and point you somewhere that can.
Fit the cheapest part on the shelf
OE or OE-equivalent, named on your invoice. Budget brake pads are how a job comes back in eight months.
Send somebody you have not met
No subcontractors and no agency fitters. If neither of us can get to you that week, we tell you rather than farming it out.
The two of us
Dan Cardwell
Founder & technician
Twelve years in franchise workshops before the first van. Takes most of the diagnostic work and anything electrical that has beaten somebody else.
Ash Kirkland
Technician
Runs the second van and most of the servicing diary. Knows which Derby streets a long-wheelbase van cannot turn round in.
The vans
Signwritten, not unmarked
If somebody turns up in a plain car saying they are here for your service, they are not from us. Ours are liveried and we both carry ID.
What is on board
A mobile mechanic is only as good as the van. This is why most jobs finish first time instead of turning into a second visit.
Dealer-level diagnostics
Live data, actuation tests and module coding, not a twenty-pound code reader.
Battery and charging test
Proper load testing and a drain check before anybody is sold a battery.
Torque wrenches, calibrated
Wheel nuts and head bolts done to spec, with the figures recorded.
Common parts stocked
Filters, plugs, pads and discs for the cars this area actually drives.
Axle stands and ramps
Rated, inspected and used. Nothing is ever worked under on a jack alone.
Waste oil containment
Sealed drums and spill mats. Your drive looks the same as when we arrived.
Lighting and power
Inverter, work lights and a compressor, so dark and cold are not excuses.
Invoicing on the spot
Card payment, emailed invoice and the digital record stamped before we leave.
Where you will find us
The unit is a lock-up off Wyvern Way. It is where the vans load in the morning rather than somewhere to bring a car, so ring before turning up.
