How to become a self-employed mobile mechanic in the UK

Qualifications a mobile mechanic needs

An NVQ Level 3 in light vehicle maintenance and repair is the standard qualification for a mobile mechanic. IMI and City & Guilds Level 3 diplomas are common equivalents.

Air conditioning work has a legal requirement. Anyone recovering refrigerant from a vehicle air conditioning system must hold a refrigerant handling qualification. The IMI and City & Guilds both offer one.

Experience matters as much as the certificate. You work alone at the customer's home with no workshop foreman to ask. Spend several years in a garage before going mobile.

Registering as self-employed with HMRC

Register for Self Assessment with HMRC once you start trading. The deadline is 5 October after the end of the tax year in which you started. Registration gives you a Unique Taxpayer Reference for your tax returns.

You pay Income Tax and Class 4 National Insurance on your profit through the annual return. Keep records of your income, parts, fuel, tools and insurance from day one. Those costs reduce the profit you pay tax on.

HMRC explains the process on its Self Assessment registration page.

Insurance for a mobile mechanic

A mobile mechanic needs at least two policies. A third becomes necessary when you drive customers' cars.

Public liability insurance

Covers injury to people and damage to property at the customer's home. Customers and subcontracting firms ask to see it.

Business van insurance

Covers the van while you use it for work. A social and commuting policy does not cover driving between jobs.

Motor trade insurance

Covers you to drive a customer's car on the road. A test drive after a repair needs this cover.

Tool insurance is optional. It covers theft of tools from the van.

The van and tool kit

The van is your workshop. It needs to carry everything for a full day of jobs without a trip back to base.

• Hand tools

  Socket sets, spanners, a torque wrench and a breaker bar.

• Lifting

  A trolley jack, axle stands, wheel chocks and a ground sheet.

• Diagnostics

  A scanner that reads live data across engine, ABS and airbag systems.

• Electrical

  A multimeter, a battery tester and a jump pack.

• Fluids

  An oil drainer, sealed waste containers and a brake bleeding kit.

• Site kit

  Work lights, spill kit, PPE and wing covers to protect paintwork.

Waste oil and old parts

Used engine oil counts as hazardous waste. You cannot pour it away or put it in household bins. Carry it from the job in sealed containers and take it to a licensed waste site.

A mobile mechanic who moves waste from customers' homes must register as a waste carrier. In England you register with the Environment Agency through the waste carrier registration service.

Used oil filters and lead-acid batteries are also hazardous waste. Fill in a hazardous waste consignment note every time you move a load.

Finding customers

Customers are the slowest part to build. A new mobile mechanic usually needs a website, a Google Business Profile and reviews before the phone rings every day.

Subcontract work skips that wait. A firm with existing demand passes booked jobs to you for a share of the labour.

We work this way in Reading and Berkshire. Car owners contact us most days and you keep 70% of the labour on every job. See our mobile mechanic jobs in Reading and apply in two minutes.