Fairfax repairs that happen where the truck stopped.
From American Canyon, south on 37 then 101. Most of what we answer in Fairfax is on or near Highway 101, Sir Francis Drake Blvd. With commuter corridor to the bridge around town, the same handful of failures come up again and again. One call and Patrick is on the road.
- South on 37 then 101
- Open 24 hours, seven days
- No hourly minimum
- Cars, trucks, farm and heavy equipment
The honest answer about how quickly we reach Fairfax is geography: south on 37 then 101. The route in is Highway 101, so an arrival window we give you over the phone is a real one rather than a number meant to keep you holding. What we get called to here follows from what the town is: commuter corridor to the bridge, marine and boatyard work. It also means we know where in Fairfax a vehicle can safely be worked on and where it cannot, which matters more than people expect. We would rather arrive with the part than book a second trip, so we ask what the vehicle is doing before we load up for Fairfax.
How we reach Fairfax
Ask where Fairfax breakdowns happen and the answer is mostly Highway 101, which is also the road we arrive on.
We also work Sir Francis Drake Blvd and Highway 1 regularly, and we pick between them by time of day rather than distance.
A shoulder is a bad place to do anything slowly, so the first thing we sort out on arrival is whether the vehicle can be made safe where it is or needs to move first.
The work behind the breakdowns
Fairfax runs on commuter corridor to the bridge. That shapes the call list more than anything else.
Add marine and boatyard work to that and you get vehicles that work hard on a schedule somebody else set, which is exactly the situation where a breakdown costs more than the repair.
That is why we ask what the vehicle does for a living before we set off, because a truck that runs loaded every day fails differently from one that sits five days a week.
The regular spots
What we get called out for in Fairfax
This is the work that actually comes in from Fairfax, in rough order of how often the phone rings for it.
Commute-hour breakdowns
Vehicles that fail on the way to work, where the priority is getting the driver moving rather than a perfect repair at the roadside. In Fairfax these come in off Highway 101 more than anywhere else.
Boat trailers and launch-ramp trouble
Trailer bearings and brakes that have been in salt water, plus the tow vehicles that pull them. It is a steady share of what Fairfax calls about.
Batteries that died overnight
A vehicle that turned over fine yesterday and does nothing today is usually the battery or a corroded terminal, and both get handled at the roadside. With commuter corridor to the bridge in the mix, this one repeats more here than it should.
Flat and shredded tires
Changed on the spot where there is a usable spare, and where there is not we can talk through the next step before anybody calls for a tow. We carry the parts for it because Fairfax asks often enough.
No-starts with no obvious cause
Starter, alternator, fuel delivery or something electrical. We test rather than guess, which is what stops you paying for the wrong part. We carry the parts for it because Fairfax asks often enough.
Booked work, not just breakdowns
Most people find us at the worst moment, but a fair amount of Fairfax work is booked rather than urgent.
Oil and filter services, brakes, batteries before they die, inspections, and the small faults that are cheap now and expensive later. Done at your house or your yard, at a time that does not cost you a day.
The call is free
A fair number of Fairfax calls open with somebody saying they are not sure this counts as a real problem.
The call costs nothing. If it is something you can safely drive on, we will tell you that and you can get on with your day. If it is not, you have found out before it became a tow and a much larger repair.
The machines nobody else will drive out to
Trailers and tow vehicles is where a mobile mechanic earns the description, because moving it to a workshop is the expensive part.
In practice that means boat trailers, bearings and the trucks that pull them, diagnosed where the machine is standing rather than after somebody has paid to move it.Which in this area means boat trailers, bearings and the trucks that pull them, and the awkward part is almost never the repair itself but getting a working mechanic to where the machine actually is.
The Fairfax map
Other towns on the same run
Fairfax is not an island. These are the towns we reach on the same kind of notice.
Distance on a map and time on the road are different things around here. Every town page says which one applies, and what Highway 101 is doing at the hour you call.
There is also the rest of Marin County and the full service area.
What Fairfax callers ask
Short answers. The phone is faster if yours is not here.
How quickly can you get to Fairfax?
It depends on the hour, and we will tell you honestly. South on 37 then 101. That window is what we plan around, not a promise made to end the call.
Do you charge a minimum to come out to Fairfax?
No. There is no hourly minimum and no call-out block to pay for. You pay for the work that gets done, and you hear the price before we start. Plenty of outfits bill an hour whether the job takes ten minutes or fifty, and that practice is most of why people put off calling until a small fault has become a tow.
What hours do you answer?
Day and night, all week. A breakdown does not check the time first, so neither do we.
Can you work on commuter equipment?
Yes, and it is a large part of the work here. Commuter corridor to the bridge means machinery that cannot easily be moved, which is the case a mobile mechanic exists for.
Do I need to get the vehicle somewhere first?
No, and it is worth saying plainly because people assume otherwise: the van carries the work to the vehicle, not the other way round.
Is a weekend call to Fairfax priced differently?
There is no night surcharge. A two in the morning call is billed like any other, which is the only arrangement that makes sense when the whole promise is that somebody picks up.
What if the vehicle needs a workshop after all?
Occasionally. When a Fairfax job needs a lift or a press we say so rather than burning your afternoon proving it, and you keep the diagnosis either way.
Stopped in Fairfax? Call.
The phone goes straight to the mechanic, whatever time it is. Tell us where in Fairfax you are parked and what the vehicle is doing, and you will have a price and an arrival window before we hang up.