McFarland’s Mobile Mechanics

I wanted to give a shot to this company. First time using a mobile car mechanic. I got to meet Trevor today. He is a diesel mechanic. Trevor is a professional, honest and just a very kind, nice person. He was very helpful, explaining everything, answering all my questions. The most important for me as a customer he is honest and he knows what he is doing. Thank you very much for having such good employees. Strongly recommend to anybody to give this company a chance.

They sure know how to identify a problem and fox it, however they are terrible about communicating what the cost is going to be until after they’ve done with work. Management in the office is also a scramble, and making a simple payment was problematic and unprofessional.

They continue to repair our cars in a timely manner and they actually make sure they run afterwards. We even call them back sometimes to have them check on it again as a check up and it is very ideal.
If you are looking for a fast and excellent and well recommended mechanic, this is it!

I had a Starter go bad in a Chevy S-​10, not a big issue. So I went to the auto parts shop and got a new one and called Mcfarland Mobile. They sent a guy out that day prompt and professional.
The Mcfarland Mobile Mechanic told me of some things I was already aware of. Leaking rear main and front main seals. It took him forever to get the starter out. I would say around 45 mins. After he got the starter out it was about 20 mins later he knocked on my door to tell me he had completed the job. (I periodically would check up on him to see if he needed anything.)
About 3 weeks later: My truck failed to start. I went down, raised up my truck and gave the starter 3 light pounds with a hammer thinking I got a bad starter. The truck fired up. I took my truck to my normal shop. They told me all I needed to do was tighten and replace a nut for the starter power wire. I called Mcfarland and told him about the issue. Kevin told me to send the invoice and he would issue out a check for the shop fee of $ 49.98. (No check ever came!)
(Note) This shop did not check the work of the installation of the starter. They simply saw a lose wire and reconnected it. The starter was not removed or reinstalled, as shown by the $ 50 price the shop charged me.
3.5 months later my starter failed again. I paid for my truck to be towed home thinking if you want a job done right do it yourself. I raised the truck up and found that the starter was hanging there with one bolt that was about a .25-​inch lose. The other starter bolt was missing. Also the starter had broken itself off from the positive wire terminal. I personally pulled the starter out.
I went and got the starter tested at Auto Zone. Passed 3 times in a row. I also purchased all the new copper wire terminals and starter bolts.
I called Mcfarland Mobile and talked to Kevin again. He said he would work with me to make me happy. They sent a guy out again, prompt and professional. This guy seemed to me like he really knew what he was doing. This guy spent over an hour installing the starter. (note: The starter was already out.) I was thinking what is taking him so long? The other guy did it in 20 minutes. Guess how much it cost me… You guessed it FULL price.
UPDATE
Kevin contacted me, and we came to the conclusion a refund of $ 75 was fair. I will probably use McFarland Mobile service again.

I couldn’t be happier with the service provided by McFarland’s! I called on a Sunday afternoon after giving up on a project I had started due to a couple broken studs I couldn’t remove from a cylinder head while replacing an exhaust manifold. I left a message not expecting to get a response until sometime Monday. I was pleasantly surprised when Kevin (the owner) called me back at ~7pm Sunday evening. I explained my situation and was told he could have someone at my home on Mon afternoon.
The mechanic, Chris, called within the promised time window and met me at my home 30 mins later. He explained a bit of his background and it was obvious Kevin had assigned him the job based on previous experience. Within a couple of hours he had removed both broken and seized studs. He also completed the project for me by installing a new exhaust manifold and buttoning up the job. I had discussed this job with my Ford dealer and was told this could cost anywhere from $ 1K-​$ 2K to complete the job. Chris’ knowledge of what was required and his ability saved me hundreds of $$$‘s.
Pros:
Responsiveness (inquiry call returned within a reasonable time, especially for a Sunday)
Timeliness — Mechanic called within the promised time window and was promptly on site
Professional and Courteous
Reasonable rates
Cons:
Not much to say here…
I will highly recommend McFarland’s Mobile Mechanics!

The first part of the month my mother’s pick-​up truck was not working properly. My mother (in her 80’s) is stubborn and kept driving her truck even though the rest of the family expressed concerns. Finally, we convinced her to park the truck and have someone look at it. She contacted Kevin who was able to make the house call a few days later. She had a 2pm appointment which ended up with an arrival a little after 7pm. Kevin worked well after 10pm to get my mother’s transportation reliable again. Our family appreciates the competent work, at a fair price and dedication to get the job done. We do recognize «stuff happens’ that diverts from original plans. However, if arrival was on time and job completed at a decent hour – I would have given a solid 5+ stars. Kudos Kevin, great job and thanks for helping my mother at her time of need.

Love this company. After spending about $ 2K at our regular mechanic for several trips over over a year and a half to fix a recurrent coolant leak on my husband’s car, he took the advice of an neighbor and called, and they fixed it first try for about a third of what our mechanic quoted him. When my truck acted up a couple weeks ago and my quote for my repair was $ 392, and their quote was $ 304, I decided to give them a try. They ended up getting my SUV up and running better than it has since I bought it 8 years ago for a whopping $ 65, even though their mechanic drove to our house and did a full test of my battery, alternator, and starter. I wish I could give them a higher raiting.

I had a hard time with stars. The pros are big pros but the cons are big too. The pros make me want to give them 5 stars, but the cons make me want to give them 1. :/
CONS:
1) The mechanics are chronically several hours late without letting you know they are running behind or what is going on. The last 4 times, they have been 3+ hours late with no call. I always have to call the office and go back and forth 2 or 3 times to find out when the mechanic might show up. Today the mechanic was 7 hours late. He was supposed to be here between 10 and 11 am. I called at 12, then again at 2 and again at 3 when I was finally told he would be here within an hour or so. At 4 got a call from the mechanic saying he was still an hour away. He finally showed up just after 6.
2) The office people are terrible about returning calls or calling you back as promised. Such as, I will call you back in 5 min to let you know whats going on, but instead I called back 40 min later to ask if he had an answer for me. They don’t return calls and they don’t call back when they say they will. Serious lack of communication. This has been my experience for the last 2 + years. (I have been using McFarlands since 2011 ish)
3) The office and mechanics seem very unorganized. 3 times I have had mechanics show up not completely prepared and 2 times have had to let them leave without finishing the job and come back the next day, which means the wait game as to when they will actually show up all over again. This really tries my patience. They have also forgotten to hand over my receipt the last 3 times they were here. (which reminds me, I need to go ask for this one, he didn’t give it to me when I paid.) And when I called the office to ask for the receipts, they kept forgetting to email it to me and finally I gave up. I used to pay with cash, I now use a card so I have a bank record.
PROS:
1) They stand behind their work. They are fixing the major problem under warranty, even though they cant find the paperwork. Pretty stand up in my opinion.
2) Overall they are good and well informed mechanics. They call each other and get any information they need. The job is done right, and they will fix it if its not.
3) Unlike some big chains or typical mechanic shops, I have never had the office or mechanics trying to squeeze un-​nessassary work and money out of me.
4) Most of their mechanics are quite nice, comfortable to talk with and allow me to ask questions about what they are doing when they are here. They don’t seem to get bothered by much and just do their work without disrupting what you have going on at home. Also any mechanic I have had out here is more than happy to tell me exactly what they are doing, where they are at with the work and even answer off topic mechanical questions about your car. Big plus for me. I like to know whats happening to my car and if I should be thinking about getting anything else fixed.
5) Though the mechanics are chronically, un-​bearabley late and don’t communicate so you know they wont be on time, the mechanic did stay and work late into the night to finish the job. The mechanic was 7 hours late today, and it took about 4 calls to get him here, but, its 11:30 pm and he is still out there. Since it was supposed to be done yesterday. Of course I’m tired as hell and have to get up at 5:30 am and really want to go to bed. So a bit of a con, but glad it will be done tonight, or at this point technically Tuesday morning.
In the end, would I recommend them?. I would for the work but would also say that you have to be a super patient and relaxed person who has no give a damn about time or nothing else to do. Dealing with the chronic late and even pushing me off for an extra day or so, (yea that’s happened a couple of times. Sucks to expect your car to be fixed Tuesday to find out they aren’t really coming til Friday) is exceptionally difficult for me. I also have a hard time with the lack of communication. At the same time, they do a really good job, just late. They are honest and stand behind their work. That tips the scale for me just enough to keep using them. They seem like a bunch of nice guys who are good mechanics, just unprofessional and unorganized.

Called McFarland’s because I like the idea of them coming to me and I had a car that was on its last legs after ten years of service.
Kevin came out and was knowledgeable, friendly and very detailed in his explanation of the multiple issues with my car.
Report Card:
Repair A
Service B
Price B
High quality work for a fair price given the door to door service. Please note that I have not had an experience with a mechanic in the last five years that I would give a C grade. These guys are running a solid business and I would recommend that you give them a try as I surely will the next time I have a car issue.

I have used McFarland’s service 3 times in the past month and am totally impressed and satisfied. They are on time, they show up at your home/​work and are pros. Pricing is good, quality is great and couldn’t be more convenient. I’m sold.

What a fantastic business model! My car quit on me on Sunday and they were out here first thing this morning to get things moving with the diagnostics.
I am a single mom, on a single moms budget and had no money to have the car towed, and then serviced. The timely repairs and honesty were so appreciated. I could tell my mechanic was being honest and upfront and really enjoys his line of work. I am about to relocate to southern California and really appreciated that he was thorough and attentive to detail during the service. Gives me a great piece of mind that I won’t be broken down on the side of I-​5 in a month!
Thank you so much for the fantastic experience!

My car recently became inoperable due to what I eventually learned was an engine problem, and unfortunately it happened on a weekend, a time when most auto repair shops are mysteriously closed. I needed a quick fix to my seemingly quick and simple battery issue and called these guys to come look at my car and fix the problem and get me back on the road in a matter of minutes.
As it turned out, the problem wasn’t the battery at all, rather a multitude of engine problems and they charged me the flat fee they normally do on their diagnostic, and told me they would call me on Monday with a repair estimate (this was a Sunday). Well, Monday came and went, so I called them on Tuesday to see where they were on my estimate. The man on the phone told me he would «call me back personally» later that day. He never did, nor did he call me back Wednesday or Thursday, so I decided to look elsewhere after these guys took my money and figured my car was more trouble than it was worth to them. Now I’m out $ 150 and still need someone else to deal with my problem.

worked out great. They made easy work of something that I found very frustrating and hard. Thanks for the help.

Hey YO!!! Dustin and Rich are power house team players!!! I’ve not used any mechanics in Portland yet and they made me feel right at home (I know, I was at my house). I felt like I was at my mechanics back home in Durango, Colorado. Friendly, knowledgable and easy going. I hope I don’t need any more repairs for awhile but if I do! I will call McFarland’s again and request these two fine gentlemen! Also, real good pricing.

Rick came over to help me with an electrical problem on my dodge van and he was able to figure out what was wrong when 2 other companies couldn’t! He was on time and very professional. Prices were great and I’m going to start calling them for all my repairs

Rick is knowledgeable, professional, on time and did the job right. But not friendly at all. And by that I mean we exchanged no more than 10 sentences about the whole job.
I asked him several questions to put me at ease, It felt like I was interrogating him and after several attempts I realized I wasn’t going to get anywhere so I stopped the questioning and went inside.
Rick never told me if my A/​C system was leaking or not leaking, he never told me if he checked for leaks, he just vacuumed and refilled, that’s it. I never asked because by that time I was a little frustrated with his lack of communication and did not feel like going to war.
If you don’t care how things work, this is the perfect mechanic for you. But if you enjoy knowledge and how things work, make sure you avoid Rick for awhile. He needs some customer service training.
It’s not like I was asking about the whole car I was just asking about the specific subject he was working on. I feel like he did a great job mechanically, but I got shorted with the lack of communication. My wife got a weird vibe from him, but I just thought he was selfishly quiet.
Honestly, a little light up-​selling would not hurt, at least it’s communication. As a consumer I would rather have a little, honest up-​selling, than lack of communication. In fact when you up-​sell, you educate a customer on the possible issues with their vehicle which we would appreciate and you could possibly make more money with each stop. There is absolutely nothing wrong with up-​selling as long as it’s honest and not pushy. Don’t miss this opportunity McFarland’s, you don’t have to inspect the whole vehicle, but if something catches your eye, you hear or smell something, why not? it’s a win win.
Ratings decision:
Minus one star for not communicating critical information
Minus one star for letting refrigerant go into the environment.
I will call back again, but will make sure a little tiny bit of education is included. It’s not that hard to work and talk at the same time. It’s not like I was asking him to go out of his way or slow down.
Overall, the experience was positive, I got what I paid for and that’s all that matters, nowhere in the estimate did it say that the mechanic will talk or answer questions, that was just something I expected out of my own selfishness.
Having said all that, Rick is just one guy out of several mechanics they employ; he is a good mechanic and if you want someone to repair your vehicle quietly, he’s the man for the job.

First time using these guys and so glad I did. Jason called and gave me is estimated arrival time. Jason arrived on time and did his initial inspection and let me know what everything looked like and what needed attention. There was no pressure at all to get stuff done and I truly appreciate that from these guys. Truly happy we find this company and will be using them from now on.

They are really great at what they do. I feel like Kevin has good integrity and is a real straight shooter. He missed an appointment with me and to make up for it he showed up to my house personally, on a sunday, on the day of the superbowl to change my sensor. It was fixed in less than an hour for around 65 bucks.
I was so impressed by him and his team I called him 1^st thing when my window regulator broke and my car was stuck open.
He got on the job that night and was done within 24 hours.
I have always been afraid of the Upsell at mechanics. Leifs did good work for me but I always felt like they took every since chance at up-​selling me and every time I sent in it was 1000 a pop! I have warranty on my breaks but i am literally afraid to go there because of the usual up sell hard pressure tactics.
Kevin was not like that at all. He told about some things he would recommend but he educated me on why they were important and told me what kind of time frame I had to try and replace those parts.
He goes all over portland and has a good staff of Mobile Mechanics with fully stocked vans. It was pretty cool also, they were highly recommended by o’riellys auto parts and were able to get parts at hours when normal people could not.
I do recommend them and have to friends already.

These guys are so fantastic! They’ve fixed our Ford’s head gasket and one of the coils, and have rescued me when I was stranded with a shredded serpentine belt.
Kevin’s exact words to me were, «It will all be ok, we will be right there to help you! That is why we are here!»
Their prices are definitely fair, and I always know I can trust them.
I recommend them to everyone!

I cannot say enough about how wonderful the whole experience was. So courteous and knowledgable. Great turn around time because they came to my work!
Will be using them again for sure!