Best of the Gold Coast 2018: the top 10 mechanics as voted by you

START your engines, Gold Coast — we can reveal the top 10 mechanics as voted by you for Best of the Gold Coast 2018. Will Tristan Hourigan take out the title for the fourth year running? There may be a new winner in town …

Who will be crowned the Gold Coast best mechanic of 2018? Read on to find out. Picture Mike Batterham

VOTERS took to the driving seat and let us know which mechanics hit the ground running every time.

After counting the tally, we can now announce the winner of the 2018 Best of the Gold Coast: Mechanic. Will it be Tristan Hourigan for the fourth time in a row? Read on to find out.

10. Adam Marazes

Mad Monkey Mechanical

5/16 O’Shea Dr, Nerang

Adam from Mad Monkey Mechanical relies solely on word of mouth to keep his books filled, and it’s an approach that’s paying off. Adam says he offers clients top quality service at low prices.

“We try to offer an affordable service — we basically use top quality products at a cheaper rate, and our labour rate is quite suffice.”

Adam says he can work on a range of motor vehicles, from mining trucks to boats and auto-electrical. “Anything with a motor — you name it, I’ve worked on it.”

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9. Daniel Topfer

DL Mechanical

2/2 Precision Dr, Molendinar

Daniel decided to open his own business in 2007 after working in dealerships started posing moral dilemmas.

“I just wanted to give a better service than what I was giving working in dealerships,” he said. “When I was working for a dealership you’d pay $400 for something that wasn’t worth that much. I wanted to give more to the customers, and now I’m able to have my family and wife working in the office.”

Daniel says he has customers that travel from as far as Ipswich to have their car serviced and repaired.

8. Tom Marsh

Varsity Lakes Mechanical

8 John Duncan Ct, Varsity Lakes

Tom Marsh, pictured with his wife and children, believes in a family friendly approach to his business Varsity Lakes Mechanical.

Tom believes his family-friendly approach to business is what attracts customers and keeps them on the books.

“My wife Bec runs the office, she’s here every day,” Tom says. “(We’re) really family-oriented — I like seeing the kids here. It’s a bit more of a comfortable workshop.”

Varsity Lakes Mechanical has been open for seven years, attracting more than 90 five star ratings on mechanic review website Auto Guru.

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7. Alex Brophy

AB Precision Mobile Mechanical

Coomera

Alex Brophy says he’s passionate about what he does and wakes up looking forward to going to work every day.

“I think if you’ve got a passion for something, you get pretty good at it too,” he says.

Alex says he was lucky to hit the nail on the head of what he wanted to do in life when he enrolled in a pre-vocational course as a teenager.

“I really enjoyed doing it and that was it,” he says. Alex started his mobile mechanical business a year ago after six years in workshops and has been flat out ever since.

“I think the most important thing is to do the right thing by people,” he says. “It’s not hard to be decent. Let’s face it, there are a lot of people out there who’re making me look good.”

6. Josh Billiet

Black Label Automotive

8/8-10 O’Shea Dr, Nerang

The humble Josh took out last year’s Gold FM’s Best Mechanic Award and is stoked to be recognised again by Gold Coast Bulletin readers.

“It’s great news,” he says. “We don’t advertise so it’s good to see our customers are happy with us.”

Josh has been working as a mechanic on the Gold Coast for 18 years before striking out on his own with Black Label Automotive two years ago.

“It’s been going really well,” he says. “There’s a lot of people who’ve followed me around the Gold Coast over the years. We try to look after people, keep everybody happy and give them the best price that we can. Bend over backwards for them I suppose.”

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5. Steve Ackfer

Motive Mechanical

3 Kamholtz Ct, Molendinar

Steve Ackfer says there’s no feeling like taking a conked-out car and getting it to work again.

“It’s the achievement of fixing something — fixing something that no one can,” Steve says.

Customer service is paramount to Steve, and having a logbook of clients that have stayed on since he opened his business eight years ago is testament to this.

“Customer satisfaction is our number one goal … To not take anyone for granted. We do take customer satisfaction extremely seriously. We know people by name.”

4. Brent Webber

Burleigh’s Mobile Mechanic

Burleigh Heads

Brent Webber — Burleigh's Mobile Mechanic. Picture Mike Batterham

Brent Webber says it’s all about keeping communication lines open with his customers in his repair business that comes to you.

“Communication is a pretty big thing. If there’s other work that’s needed we can explain it to them (customers), educate them on what’s going on with their car and how much it’ll cost to fix it.”

Brent was working in the mines as a mechanic when he thought of starting the business that’s all about convenience.

“The customer’s able to continue doing their day, it doesn’t interrupt work or whatever they need to do.”

3. Celso Pires

Ntech Mekanix

3/18 Mountain View Ave, Miami

Mechanic Celso Pires is new to the Best of the Gold Coast vote, taking over the Ntech business last year after his boss passed away.

He’s since made an impression on the community, fixing cars at reasonable prices.

“I’ve owned the shop for about one year. My boss passed away … He was the best mechanic I ever met in my life,” Celso says.

“We have a very small workshop. People are surprised by how much we can do — we do pretty much everything. At this time of the year, everyone’s complaining it’s quiet, there’s no business. I’m doing very well. They (customers) seem to like me very much.”

2. Tristan Hourigan

Automotive Satisfaction

2/152 Siganto Dr, Helensvale

Tristan Hourigan from Automotive Satisfaction.

Tristan Hourigan is a local legend in the automotive industry, taking out the Gold Coast Bulletin top mechanic vote for the past three years.

While he was just pipped at the post for first place this year, Tristan said his approach to business is consistent and honest.

“It’s just treating the customers as you’d expect anywhere else — with professionalism, not overcharging, getting the work done right the first time, quality of work, quality of parts, to get the car back to them as soon as possible,” Tristan said.

“Everyday’s a challenge, you get a variety of jobs.”

1. Trent Godfrey

Gold Coast Service Centre

6/1-3 Nesbit St, Southport

Trent Godfrey, owner of Gold Coast service centre in Southport, has been voted as the best mechanic of 2018 by our readers. Picture Mike Batterham

Winning the vote by miles, Trent’s gentle touch on cars clearly resonates with his customers. Trent has been a finalist in our top mechanic poll in previous years, but this year is the first time he’s taken out top spot.

“I’m a terrible business man,” he laughs. “I’m good with people, and I’m good with cars. I think customers like the vibe … They feel comfortable.

“People are very thankful, and feel like they’re looked after. We try to make the boys presentable in the workshop. It’s busy at times, but we try to keep it clean and tidy.”

Trent Godfrey is known as the ‘gentle mechanic’, preferring to keep his workshop and staff presentable and maintaining an approachable personality. Picture Mike Batterham

Trent opened the Gold Coast Service Centre eight years ago after realising he had his own strong customer base.

“Friends and family were asking me to fix their cars all the time, it was just a natural progression,” he said.