Mobile mechanic in Kansas City, Kansas

Engine Doctor is based out on the west side of Kansas City, Kansas, in the Piper area of Wyandotte County. This is Josh's home base, so it is the part of the metro he knows best.

That helps on a mobile repair. Josh isn't crossing the metro or the state line to reach you. He is already on the Kansas side, near I-435 and Leavenworth Road, with I-70 a short hop south.

The west side is the newer end of the city. Leavenworth Road runs east and west across the north part of it, past Wyandotte County Lake Park at North 91st Street and on past Piper High School toward Basehor. Off it you find newer subdivisions mixed in with houses on bigger lots and long driveways, some of them gravel.

South of there is Village West, near where I-435 meets I-70. Kansas Speedway, Children's Mercy Park and Tanger Kansas City at Legends are all in that stretch. On race weekends and match nights, Village West Parkway and Speedway Boulevard fill up, so if you live close by, keep that in mind when you pick a time with Josh.

Go east and the city gets older. Closer to the Kansas River and the Missouri River, the houses are older, the streets are tighter and a lot of them are hilly. More cars on that side live on the street or on a sloped driveway. Kaw Point Park on Fairfax Trafficway marks the spot where the two rivers meet, and Pierson Park sits on South 55th Street.

For driveway work, the spot matters. A car on a steep street is harder to jack up safely than one on flat concrete. Tell Josh where the car sits when you text. If the spot is a problem, he will say so before he heads over.

A lot of driving in Kansas City, Kansas, mixes highway and town: I-70, I-435 and the Kansas Turnpike at speed, then stop and go on the local roads. Brakes take the stop and go, and commuter miles add up fast on the oil.

But the weather is the bigger deal. July is hot and humid, and that is when a tired radiator, a soft hose or old coolant tends to give out. January brings cold starts, ice and salt, which are hard on brake parts, belts and hoses. Then spring opens potholes on the older streets. When one of these shows up, don't sit on it:

• Grinding when you brake: stop driving the car and call Josh
• The temperature gauge climbing: pull over, shut it off and never open a hot radiator cap
• A flashing check engine light: ease off and get it looked at right away
• A squeal from under the hood on a cold morning: the serpentine belt or a pulley wants a look

These are the jobs Josh lists. Most get done right at your house, and if yours is one of the few big engine jobs that need a shop and a lift, Josh says so when he quotes it.

• Brakes: pads, rotors, squeals and grinding
• Engine diagnostic for check engine lights
• Alternators and starters
• Serpentine belts, pulleys and tensioners
• Radiators, radiator hoses and coolant flushes
• Gaskets and the leaks that come from them
• Timing belts, timing chains and camshafts
• Engine replacement
• Oil changes, engine air filters, transmission fluid and power steering fluid

Call or text (913) 256-5056. Say you are in Kansas City, Kansas, and roughly where, like out by Piper, near Village West or closer in by the river. Add the year, make and model and what the car is doing, and send a video if it makes a noise. Josh gives you a clear quote, you pick a time and he comes to you.