And you thought that dentists, cops, and lawyers get a bad rap. Auto mechanics rank right up there as a negatively viewed occupation. Horror stories abound, like the leaking water pump gasket that cost thousands of dollars — and still wasn’t fixed. “There’s a low level of trust with mechanics, especially for women, who often feel taken advantage of,” said Rob Infantino, founder and chief executive of Openbay, a Cambridge startup using technology to demystify the auto repair process. Globe correspondent Cindy Atoji Keene spoke with Infantino about his repair booking service. “When you think of your neighborhood auto repair shop, most are relics of a bygone era. It’s a traditional industry that has yet to be disrupted by Internet and mobile. I think of myself as a technologist who is looking at inefficiencies in the process and using software to modernize the marketplace.“It’s time to take the guesswork out of car maintenance. The auto repair market is huge — about $200 billion in the US every year.

The idea for Openbay came to me when I brought my car to the garage for a simple wheel alignment that should have cost around $200. Instead, my “service adviser” came back with a 12-page estimate for “necessary” repairs. I saw a big red flag. I went home and searched online for a site where I could submit a service request, compare local mechanics’ prices, schedule service, and pay. But nothing like that existed, so I decided to create that product. “We have about 24,000 shops nationwide in the database, and more and more vehicle owners are signing up every day. You can submit a service request and receive an average of five mechanic quotes — and you can also find out the shop’s ratings, certifications, and even whether it has loaner cars or Wi-Fi. For me personally, Openbay is a reflection of my passion for cars. I drive — and often use Openbay for — my 2002 BMW M5. I find cars to be works of art.” Get Today’s Headlines from the Globe in your inbox:YourMechanic, a peer-to-peer car repair marketplace that enables mechanics to fix users’ cars at their home or office, launched at TechCrunch Disrupt SF today.

It claims it will lower costs 30-50% from shops and dealers, offering an “Uber-like experience” where the mechanic visits you to service your car. YourMechanic offers mechanic profiles, reviews from customers, a fair price calculator “to ensure that you are paying a fair price,” and online repair records. They will also offer maintenance notifications on smartphone apps and via email, so you don’t forget to change your oil. Dogs For Sale Spring Hill TnYour Mechanic says its instant pricing engine, which uses half a billion data points, is an industry first.Cheap Platform Beds With Mattress The company, which was in Y Combinator’s Winter 2012 class, has raised $1.8M in seed funding from Y Combinator, SV Angel, Yuri Milner, Andreessen Horowitz, Lerer Ventures, Launch Capital, Jeff Clavier, Crunchfund, Paige Craig, A-Grade Investments, Jawed Karim, Justin Waldron, Joshua Schachter and Kevin Freedman.Hungry Girl Weight Loss Success Stories

The company receives a transaction fee by selling parts. YourMechanic says the market for basic repair and maintenance for out of warranty, non-luxury cars is $120B per year. “Think about the cab market before Uber came,” co-founder Abhas Art Agrawal tells me. “The peer to peer movement is still early on.” Agrawal says they verify mechanics with background checks, verifying a mechanic’s certification and then interviewing them. The company currently has 10 mechanics in the Bay Area and Agrawal says they will open the service up for mechanics anywhere in the country in 6-8 months. Discussing the company’s research, Agrawal claims they found that most mechanics only make about $20/hour because they are only paid when they’re fixing a car. He explains that the difference between what we pay for a job at a shop and what the mechanic earns goes mostly to the shop’s owner. Agrawal had a mechanic on stage during his Disrupt presentation explaining how mechanics want to make the money themselves, rather than having the majority of the revenue go to shop owners.

He and his team are working to remove the shop owner from the equation. “Wouldn’t that be a complete game changer?” Q: Are you price competitive with Jiffy Lube? A: We don’t compete with Jiffy Lube. Oil change there is $20 they give you recycled oils. We buy you the premium one, we  come to you, it costs a little bit more [and] the people are nicer. Q: Is this mostly just oil changes? A: Oil changes is the least of what we do. Our job is basically to fix your car at lower cost and greater convenience. Update: Jeffrey Lack, Director of Marketing at Jiffy Lube International, has responded to this story with a statement regarding YourMechanic co-founder Art Agrawal’s comments at Disrupt: “Mr. Agrawal claimed that an oil change at Jiffy Lube generally costs $20 and that the service is performed using recycled oil.  This is simply not true. Recycled motor oil: Jiffy Lube service centers do not use recycled motor oil, and Jiffy Lube maintains strict policies and procedures to help ensure top-notch customer service.

Jiffy Lube locations pour several types of premium motor oil, including high-quality brands like Pennzoil. Price: The 2,000+ Jiffy Lube service centers across North America are owned and operated by independent franchisees who set their own prices for services. Oil change prices vary by market and the type of motor oil used. Jiffy Lube recommends oil type based on vehicle manufacturer recommendations, but customers select the motor oil of their choice. The national average for a conventional oil change at Jiffy Lube is $37. To Mr. Agrawal’s point, YourMechanic can’t compete with Jiffy Lube/ASE certified Jiffy Lube technicians on price. It’s important to note that Jiffy Lube focuses on preventive maintenance, not repairs, which sound like the lion’s share of YourMechanic’s business.”$20 off over your first 2 services! $10 off 1st service + $10 off 2nd service.In 1981, Mark Carr was working as a graphic arts salesman for a photographic mural company. He had recently moved to Houston from upstate New York and was experiencing some success in his role.

Despite his success in the graphic arts industry, Mark felt discontent. He felt like he was built to be doing something different. One night, he prayed and asked God to provide him a business. The very next day, while Mark was attending a Sunday school function through his church, a gentleman from his class walked up to Mark and mentioned that he was an automotive technician and asked Mark if he would help him start an automotive repair shop. The two men did not know what to call this new venture, but they were encouraged by their Sunday school class to call it Christian Brothers Automotive, since they were two brothers in Christ. In August 1982, Mark Carr and his partner opened the first Christian Brothers Automotive repair facility in Mission Bend, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Customers appreciated that Mark did not have typical industry experience and could more closely relate to being a customer, but not everything was perfect at first. One day, a customer who attended Mark’s church came in to pick up his car and said, “you know, your shop is filthy, and it doesn’t smell great.”

After pouring so much time and effort into building up the store, that feedback was tough to swallow. Mark stepped outside, took a fresh look at the shop from a customer’s perspective, and realized his customer was right. Like most auto repair shops, it wasn’t a particularly pleasant place to be. It wasn’t really clean, and it smelled like you would expect a car repair shop to smell. He could see why a mother with kids would be uncomfortable and would not want to spend one minute longer than she had to in the shop. He went back to his office and began creating a list of reasons people dislike having cars repaired. The list quickly grew to 25 items — from filthy shops to more troubling issues with trust and honesty. In a moment of insight, he realized there was an opportunity to improve the overall experience. He set out making changes by painting, buying new furniture, improving the landscaping and rethinking how his shop treated or even thought of its customers.

The list became the backbone of how Christian Brothers Automotive operates, and it made a huge difference in how his store and every subsequent store operated. That’s why the lobby is beautiful, why Christian Brothers offers complimentary shuttle service to customers — and why the company and its franchisees approach people with compassion and try to do everything they can to make their customers’ lives a little better. “Let’s picture a single mom who has been divorced,” Mark says. “This is her first day at work in 13 years. She has two kids in the backseat, she’s late for work, it’s pouring rain, and the car breaks down. What do you do about that? You bring her inside, you treat her with kindness, you take her kids to daycare, you take her to work. Picture that woman having the worst day of her life, and let’s try to make it a little bit better. That’s the kind of compassion that we want to show people.” It’s a mission, and a way of doing business, that has resonated with customers and with other Christian business owners, and it has created a stir in the auto repair industry.

In 1996, a friend who saw the success of Mark’s first few stores approached him to help open an auto repair facility. Mark helped him locate and buy the property, hire the technicians and service manager, establish the vendor contacts, set up the parts department, select the equipment and inventory and guide him in the creation of accrual accounts for yearly expenses. When the new business was a year old, it had already surpassed Mark’s 12-year-old location in annual gross revenue. Mark observed that his friend’s business was outperforming his because of the fast-track training, robust systems and procedures and superior location. It was in this year, 1996, that Christian Brothers Automotive became a registered franchisor and began offering its Christian franchise to interested people throughout Texas. Many of Christian Brothers’ first franchisees originated through Mark’s Sunday school class at Spring Branch Bible Church. These families or relatives of these families franchised the original seven Christian Brothers locations in Houston, Austin and Dallas/Ft. Worth.

The Christian franchise then grew into Tennessee, Georgia and Oklahoma, and by the end of 2001 it had 17 locations. More friends, relatives and now customers were learning about the Christian Brothers Automotive brand and wanting to be a part of the franchise, and in the next six years the brand grew into Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi and Missouri and had a total of 50 locations. Christian Brothers Automotive celebrated 30 years in business in 2012 and opened up store No. 100. As of this year, the Christian franchise has grown to more than 150 store locations. The home office team now consists of more than 60 superbly qualified team members who care for and support our franchise family. And in the 30-plus years our company has been in business, not a single location has ever closed or failed; a testament to Mark’s list and to what “loving your neighbor as yourself” can really accomplish. This is unheard of in franchising. Download our Franchise Report to Learn More