Elliot Wheeler

I'm Elliot, and Your Local Mechanic is mine. I started it because I'd watched too many people walk away from big dealers and chain garages feeling like they'd been had: talked down to, sold work they didn't need, handed a bill with no explanation. I knew it didn't have to be that way.

I'm City & Guilds Level 3 qualified and I've been working on cars for over 15 years. Modern diagnostics is my thing, the computer side of today's vehicles, fault codes, hybrids, the electronics a lot of people find baffling and plenty of garages still treat as a dark art. I'd rather find the actual root of a problem than throw parts at it and hope.

What matters most to me, though, is being straight with you. I treat every car like it's my mum's. If something can wait, I'll tell you. If there's a cheaper way to do it properly, that's the way we'll do it. My name is on this business, so my reputation rides on every single job, and I'd sooner lose a sale than lose your trust.

You've probably seen me online. I post on Facebook and Instagram most weeks: real jobs, what we're working on, the odd thing that makes me laugh in the workshop. I follow creators like Yianni and Matt Armstrong because the trade moves fast and I like staying sharp at it. Keeping up with the modern side of cars is half the job these days.

When you call, you get me or my dad Keith. No call centre, no receptionist, no agency lad we've never met. Just the mechanic who'll actually do the work.