Mobile auto repair in Kansas City, Kansas, done at your house

These are the repairs Josh does at people's homes, and each one has its own page with the symptoms, what he checks and what the job involves.

• Brakes. Pads and rotors, and the squeals, grinding and shaking that come with worn ones.
• Alternators and starters. Clicks, slow cranks, a battery light and a car that dies on the road.
• Gaskets and leaks. Oil and coolant seeping from valve cover, oil pan, intake and head gaskets.
• Timing belts and timing chains. The parts that keep the top and bottom of the engine moving in step.
• Camshafts. Ticking, rough running and the codes that point up into the top of the engine.
• Engine replacement. For an engine that has seized, knocked itself apart or cooked itself past saving.
• Radiators and radiator hoses. Leaks, a sweet smell and a gauge that climbs in traffic.
• Serpentine belts, pulleys and tensioners. Squeals, chirps and a belt that is cracked or chewed up.

You don't need to know the name of the part. Most people call or text because of a sound, a smell, a light on the dash or a feeling through the pedal or the wheel. Those clues usually point toward one system, and that is where Josh starts looking.

• A squeal or a grind when you stop is usually the brakes.
• A click and no crank, or a battery light while you drive, means checking the starter, the battery and the alternator.
• A squeal from the front of the engine on a cold start, or when you turn the wheel hard, is often the serpentine belt or a pulley.
• A sweet smell, a green, orange or pink puddle, or a gauge creeping up points to the cooling system, often a radiator or a hose.
• Brown or black drops under the engine, or a burning oil smell after a drive, usually means a gasket is leaking.
• A rattle for a few seconds after a cold start, or a steady tick from the top of the engine, points toward the timing chain or the camshaft area.

Swapping parts until the problem goes away is the expensive way to fix a car. A new battery does nothing for an alternator that has quit charging. New pads do nothing for a caliper that is stuck. A new belt squeals again in a week if the tensioner behind it is worn out. So Josh tests and looks first, and the money goes to the part that actually failed.

Depending on the problem, that can mean reading the codes, checking the charging system with the engine running, tracing a leak up to where it starts instead of where it drips, or hearing the noise for himself. The engine diagnostics page covers the check engine light side of it.

Once Josh knows what it is, you get a clear quote. That is his word for it. It says what is wrong, what he will replace and what it costs, and it comes before any work starts. If you want to sleep on it, sleep on it.

If you say go, he does the repair at your house. For most jobs the car never leaves your driveway, and you never sit in a waiting room. When he is done he tells you what he did and anything else he noticed that you should keep an eye on.

The seasons here wear on cars in a few predictable ways. Summer heat and humidity, with the air conditioning running all day, push the cooling system hard. That is when an old radiator starts to seep and a soft hose finally splits. Heat also bakes rubber belts and wears down batteries, and the damage often shows up later, on the first cold morning.

Winter brings the other half. Cold makes a weak battery or a worn starter struggle to turn the engine over. Belts and hoses stiffen and crack. And road salt on I-70, I-435 and the main roads eats at brake parts and makes caliper hardware stick.

Brakes, belts, alternators and radiators fit a driveway easily. Timing work and some gaskets take longer and need careful setup, and engine replacement is the biggest job on the list. Some of that work can need the car up on a lift. Josh will tell you how your job would go up front instead of starting something that can't be finished at your house.

The same goes for a repair that costs more than an older car is worth to you. He gives you the number and what he found, and you make the call.