What we handle

Everything we take off your plate.

You tell us what your car is doing. We manage the shop, audit the quote, handle the driving, and protect your wallet. Here is the full menu, what booking asks for, and exactly what you can see while we have the car.

Diagnostics

Check engine and warning lights, brake squeaks and grinding, suspension noises, steering pull, electrical faults, and anything that "feels different." Describe the symptom; the shop finds the cause; you get it in plain language with a quote before any repair.

Diagnostic fee quoted first

Routine maintenance

Full synthetic oil changes, engine and cabin air filters, spark plugs, wiper blades, battery tests, and fluid services: coolant, transmission, brake, and power steering. Done on the manufacturer's schedule, not the shop's.

Shop price, no markup

Mechanical & wear repairs

Brake pads and rotors, calipers, batteries, alternators and starters, serpentine belts and tensioners, radiator hoses, thermostats, water pumps, and whatever a diagnosis turns up.

Approved line by line

Tires & alignment

Mounting and balancing, rotation, flat repair, TPMS sensors, and computerized alignments. Bring your own tires or have the shop source them; either way you see the price before anything is ordered.

Shop price, no markup

State inspection & reinspection

The annual Virginia safety inspection at a licensed station. The $20 state fee passes through at cost, every failed item is cited against the published standard, and if you approve a fix the station repairs and reinspects in the same visit. Virginia vehicle inspection service.

$20 state fee at cost

Something else?

Open recalls at a dealer, a pre-purchase inspection, a second opinion on a quote you already have, or a repair at a shop you already trust. If it involves handing your car to a shop, ask us.

hello@brakespoon.com

Booking takes about two minutes.

On the web today, with the mobile app on the way.

What we ask for

Your name, address, and a phone we can text
Your car: year, make, model, and plate, and where it's parked
What it needs, in your own words
How to get the keys: hand-off or lockbox
A card for the visit fee

Shop work is never charged up front. It's quoted after the shop has looked at the car, and billed only for the lines you approve.

What you see, the whole time

Photos of the car at pickup and at return
A live map while it's with your driver
The shop's findings, itemized and translated, with approve and decline on each line
Every receipt at the shop's exact price, state fees included
A service history that builds visit over visit

What passes through at cost

The visit fee is ours. Everything below is someone else's price, and we pass it through exactly as billed.

Item	Cost	Notes
Virginia state safety inspection fee	$20	Capped by Va. Code § 46.2-1167; required every 12 months
Reinspection at the same station within 15 days	Up to $1	Set by 19VAC30-70-60; usually done in the same visit as the repair
Emissions inspection, Northern Virginia only	Up to $28	Every 2 years; we're not live in those localities yet
Parts and labor you approve	Shop's price	Quoted before work starts, billed after
Diagnostic fee, when a shop charges one	Shop's price	Told to you up front; often credited against the repair

We take no commission from any shop, so the price you approve is the price the shop charges anyone. Your receipt shows it line for line.

Two minutes to book. Minutes of your day after that.

Tell us what the car needs and we take it from there.

Service my car