This Startup Is Revamping Car Services Space

 Who doesn’t want to own a car? The thought of being able to go for a long drive at one’s whim or go office with their colleagues, beating everyday blues is unquestionable. However, the amount of money one has to shell for maintaining a car even after spending lakhs to buy new/reused wheels only quashes one’s dream of owning a car. Servicing a car is considered one of the major expenses a car owner has to bear, which rightly syncs with a popular Bengali say - Gadi kena mane hathi posha - (Buying a car is like feeding an elephant). 

Pitstop

Even if you keep aside the cost incurred for maintaining a vehicle, the struggle to find a high tech service centre or get your car checked by experts is another woe of car owners. To address this issue, Mihir Mohan founded Pitstop in 2015.

In an interaction with Entrepreneur India, Mohan shares how he is trying his part to organize this highly under stressed and unorganized sector. 

Mundane Fret To Startup

Mohan, who graduated from IIT Kanpur and worked for 13 years mastering different roles in various companies, observed carefully the plight of car owners. In his own words, “A common experience that all car owners face is we give our car for service and when we are in the middle of work the mechanic calls and says some part is damaged and needs replacement. We ask for the quote and try to bargain. Finally, we give in and say go ahead.” 

However, when the owner visits the service centre to collect their car is handed a bloated bill which he fails to comprehend. Helpless, the owner ends up paying the bill and prays that he never visits the same garage. 

“When I saw a void in the expectations vs reality scenario, I realised that like every industry with a high level of unorganised sector play, the car service, repair and maintenance industry too needs a fresh outlook. And that’s how Pitstop was born, in June 2015,” he added.

What Is Pitstop Doing? 

Bengaluru-based Pitstop aims to address the massive gap in the four-wheel service industry where around 8500 branded and authorized service centers exist to cater millions of cars. Pitstop works with existing local multi-brand workshops by reskilling, training, and giving access to state-of-the-art equipment and OEM spares. Pitstop aims to bring transparency, accountability, and convenience. Currently, Pitstop service is available in 15 Indian cities including Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, NCR, Pune, Kolkata, Agra and Patna. Pitstop has a mobile application which the car owners can simply install in their smartphone devices and book an appointment in a high-tech garage nearby.