New business to send auto mechanic to your home

A new business that sends vehicle mechanics to your door is coming to Saskatoon this fall.

InstaMek is an on-demand service that allows vehicle owners to request and schedule a meeting with a fully certified mobile mechanic.

According to the company, the repairs can take place at a customer's home or workplace and the service costs about 30 per cent less than the same work would at a shop.

InstaMek was started in Edmonton last January by two friends, Uzair Ahmed and Asem Alsaadi. The chemical engineers built a website that matches customers with certified mechanics.

"It gives the consumers a lower price because there's no overhead of a shop," Ahmed said. "It gives freedom to the mechanics to pick whatever job they want, when they want, how they want to work it."

InstaMek can do many common repair jobs involving brakes, alternators and suspensions. However, the company'smechanics will not do larger jobs involving transmissions orengine switches.

The company is currently working on a smartphone app. It has already expanded toCalgary, Lethbridge and Fort McMurray.

Ahmed said he plans to set up service in Saskatoon and Regina in about two months.

"We have mechanics lined up already," Ahmed said.