Something's wrong. Start here.
Find the symptom, understand what's likely causing it, and know before you call whether it needs someone to come to you, a truck, or a bay. No upsell. Half of these we'd rather fix roadside.
What's it doing?
Car Won't Start
Clicking, cranking without firing, or nothing at all. Each sound points somewhere different.
Often roadside, sometimes a tow.
Dead Battery
Dashboard dim, slow crank, or dead after sitting. Usually fixable where you stand.
Roadside.
Check Engine Light
Steady is a fault to investigate. Flashing means stop driving now: you are damaging the catalytic converter.
Shop, flashing means tow.
Car Overheating
Temperature gauge climbing or steam from the hood. Continuing to drive is what turns this into a head gasket.
Tow.
Shakes When Braking
Pulsing through the pedal or the wheel, typically warped rotors.
Shop.
Grinding Brakes
Metal on metal means the pad is gone and you are cutting into the rotor with every stop.
Shop, urgently.
Flat Tire
Sudden or slow. Whether we change it roadside depends entirely on the spare.
Roadside or tow.
Leaking Oil
Spots under the car or a burning smell. Colour and position narrow down the source.
Shop.
Car Stalled While Driving
Cutting out at speed or at lights. Treat it as unsafe until diagnosed.
Tow.
Three ways this ends.
Whatever the symptom, it resolves into one of these. We run all three, so nobody here has a reason to push you toward the expensive one.
Fixable where you are?
A jump start, a spare, a fuel drop, or a lockout. We come to you and you drive away.
Car can't be driven?
Overheating, post-collision, flashing check-engine, or dead after a jump. It leaves on a truck.
Needs a proper diagnosis?
Drivable but wrong. Bring it to 619 Coney Island Avenue and we'll find the actual fault.
The four mistakes that turn a repair into a replacement.
Driving on an Overheating Engine
“Just a few more blocks” is how a thermostat becomes a head gasket. Pull over and let it cool.
Starting a Flooded Car
Water in the cylinders does not compress. Cranking it bends rods. Never start a car that has sat in water.
Ignoring a Flashing Check-Engine Light
Steady means investigate. Flashing means a misfire dumping raw fuel into the catalytic converter. Stop now.
Driving on Metal-on-Metal Brakes
Once the pad is gone you are cutting the rotor with every stop, and stopping distance is already compromised.
Describe it to us.
The sound, when it happens, and what the dashboard is showing. That's usually enough for us to tell you which of the three you need.