A note on credentials, why I went mobile, and exactly what I will and won't take on in your driveway.
I'm Hank Brouwer. I started as a tire-and-lube kid at a Goodyear in Aurora at 19, did six years there, then moved to a Subaru dealer where I spent another nine. Got my full ASE Master cert in 2011 and the L1 Advanced Diag in 2014. Worked the Subaru shop for three more years after that, then bounced through two independent shops to broaden into other makes — Toyota, Honda, BMW, Audi.
The reason I went mobile in 2023 wasn't the romance of the open road. It was simpler than that: I was tired of telling customers a $400 job was going to cost them $850 because the shop needed to clear $X/hour from the bay. I'd run the numbers myself and know the part costs $90, the labor's an hour, and the bill should be $260 — not $850.
So I bought an F-250, kitted it out with a real shop's worth of tools, took out the right insurance, and started taking on the work that doesn't actually need a lift and a bay. Three years later it's the easiest decision I ever made. The work I love (diagnostics, brakes, electrical) gets done at honest prices. The work that genuinely needs a shop (transmissions, body work, alignments) I refer out — to two great Denver shops I trust completely.
Owner-operated, ASE Master + L1, EPA-cert for AC, $1.5M liability and garagekeeper insurance. The estimate I send you is the price you pay. That's it.
Not a contractor pickup with a tool box. A purpose-built mobile mechanic rig: scan tools, mobile lift, fluid containment, the works.
Autel MaxiSys Ultra (covers 99% of vehicles 1996+, including BMW/Mercedes/VW coding), Snap-on TRITON-D9, oscilloscope, smoke machine, fuel pressure gauges.
QuickJack 5000-lb portable lift for jobs that need ground clearance. Two HD floor jacks, racing-spec stands, wheel chocks. Same setup as a shop, just cleaner.
Onboard 7000W generator, 60-gal compressor with full impact gun set (1/4 to 1"), torque wrenches calibrated quarterly. Run anything a shop runs.
If your car needs a real shop, I'll tell you. Engine internals, transmission rebuild, body work, alignment — those need a bay, not a driveway. I'll point you to a good shop instead of taking your money to do it badly.
The estimate I send you is the price you pay. If something unexpected comes up mid-job (rare, but happens — seized bolt, hidden corrosion), I stop and call you before adding a dollar.
I don't sell you parts you don't need. If your brakes have 5mm of pad left, I'll tell you and book you back in 6 months. I'm not trying to clear a bay — I'm trying to keep customers for 10 years.