FRED Garage, Yaounde (Dragage) | Mechanic and Parts

We expected more after watching reviews
We wait for a long time - about 5 hours for start communication ((
And also you need control and push everything.
Difficult work like check turbo they can’t do.

But you can take a night on territory. But it was a disco nearby on Friday - very noisy.

We repaired breaking system here and made welding work.
But not good that they find a problem not right at first. And miss a real problem.
So on my opinion it is not the best but quite good if you have a paicient and can control.

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So much has already been said about how great Didier and his guys are, but just wanted to add one more because he is that good! Not only was he able to quickly and efficiently do all the work we needed, but he was just such a pleasure to be around and was genuinely happy to have us as his guests there. The world needs more humans like Didier! ❤️🌍

As mentioned in other comments, at the end of a very long day of his guys working on all the projects, he told me to “pay what you can.” As an American, (and also as someone who has been traveling on the road for more than a year with requests for money almost everyday) this immediately felt strange, but Didier has a faith in humanity that things will all work out. He was telling me stories about some people who take advantage and don’t pay anything at all and just leave, but said that this is how he prefers to do it. I tried to be as generous as I could with our budget and I feel like we both walked away from the experience with smiles…a rarity for getting work done at a mechanic anywhere in the world!

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Didier and his wife have created a very special place where helping each other and fairness play a much bigger role than anything else - thank you guys, it was a pleasure spending time with you! You can use tools and have mechanics help you with your issues. We had the fuel filters of our Honda CRF300 Rally changed here.

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Lots of comments all ready but another added to the list, great hubb for overlanders and lots of assistance available. Very friendly and helpful guys!

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Having previously corresponded with Didier, we arrived in Yaounde with a few jobs to do on two of our cars.

Work started immediately.

Didier was always straightforward in respect of what needed doing - not adding unnecessary work, but also pointing out stuff we could choose to do or not do.

I'd certainly recommend the garage. As others have said, very overlander-friendly. And Didier's oversight was reassuring while work was being done.

We'll be back in under two years, and will choose Fred Garage for major service.

Thanks again.

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We came to Didier's workshop because we had a steering problem that was difficult to solve. Not only have we solved it but he has also taught us mechanics (we are ignorant). We have also been able to camp for free with access to a bathroom and shower. But what we value most is his honesty. It is our absolute top in Africa.

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Needed some sheared bolts removing from my frame after several falls on Banyo crossing. The guys are all very friendly, a lot of Motorcross bikes there.

Finally got them out, but you need to oversee a little, they're good, but sometimes lack some direction is what they're doing.

Good place to get some work done though and they'll try their best to source parts for you if they haven't got. They went and made new bolts for me.

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This morning I had a flat tire in my BMW GS 1200 .When I arrived at this site, Fredd helped me very kindly and solved my problem. He only asks for the will. The site is perfect, and I recommend it because Fredd is one of the people who helps you if you have any problem, be it a motorcycle or a car. Extremely friendly.

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Great overlander friendly place. Didier is super friendly and very welcoming to overlanders. I had many things fixed on my truck whilst waiting on my Congo visa. Several other overlanders were also here and it was nice to meet up.

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nice place, cyclist friendly, not much space for tents but you will find one or two spots.

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Just to say we agree with all said before. It’s an amazing place!

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amazing place, a hub for overlanders to carry out repairs, maintenance and prep work for your future travels. Extremely well stocked to suit a huge range of needs. You'll find very few places in Africa that can offer such a wide range of services. Camping with running water and toilet available too if you like. I just gave my bike a deep clean, stripped and greased suspension linkage, repacked wheel bearings, replaced brake pads and gave everything a good check over. If I'd needed anything else this would be the place to do it. Fred Garage is brilliant!

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Absolute legend Didier is! Arrived here at night with one wheel falling off and no fuel to find a friendly face who invited me immediately to pitch my tent and have a wash!

His men work the best I’ve seen for any garage in Africa so far and I’ve never seen a workshop down here so we’ll equipped. His men work slowly so make sure you get plenty of them on your car so enough is getting done while you apply for your visas. They are good but just keep an eye on them anyway just to make sure things are done correctly.

Didier works on a voluntary payment basis so offer what you feel is correct for your stay and his men’s time. Great guy and pleasant peaceful stay to get your vehicle back in shape!

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Didier and his team and family are indeed extremely welcoming and accommodating. We stayed 9 nights and did quite a few small and medium jobs on the car. You have use of the workshop and different skills in the team if you want it.

Although Didier operates a kind of honesty scheme for payment, consider the value of a safe, comfortable camping spot with water, power and access to a well equipped workshop and jet wash to wash the car in the city. We felt 4-6k per night for this is a good price and still great value for money for us.

We paid 190k in total for camping and the jobs we did which used around 60 man hours of his team and some parts and materials, Didier’s oversight and management (plus all the other running around the guys did for us like fixing iPhone screens, getting new batteries and fuses, organising other suppliers to come in and do stuff they couldn’t do or buy parts from the market for us etc). Again, we felt this was still amazing value for us and really the minimum that is fair to pay considering Didiers’ running costs and the fact that Cameroon is not cheap for consumables.

If you see something you like in the world, it’s important to value to and not abuse it. :)

It’s a wonderful environment that Didier and team offer to Overlanders (which they do not have to!) and an important stop-off, so let’s keep it going :)

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Best place in Yaoundé! Didier and his wife are the nicest people on earth. We didn’t have to do much work on our car but they were happy to host us anyways. If there’s anything you need, Didier will find a way to make it work - also non car related stuff. We really felt at home here :)

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Didier himself says they are not a garage, but a workshop and that’s resembles our experience. They are indeed very helpful and super friendly and have all kind of tools (and you are allowed to use them) but they are not experienced mechanics so watch hem closely. They can do some small maintenance, but don’t expect them to fix bigger issues with for example your engine.

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Great place! Didier is amazing, the first time we were there he made us a complete tour of the workshop, explained everything and invited us to use all what we need for the car repair/maintenance. He has a team of mechanics that can provide help or work on your car. And of course he has all the tools that we can dream of! we really recommend this place.

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The greatest mechanic experience since we left.
The owner and his wife are genuinely great people.
The mechanic team is so nice and looking after you.

We could stay a whole week in the garage waiting for our Congo and DRC visas, the garage location is ideal for those embassies.

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THE PLACE TO BE in Yaoundé ! We stayed there 10 days (slept on site with toilets and water access) waiting for our visas and at the same time doing mecanics on our Defender. Didier and his wife Manali are REALLY friendly and helpull for all what you need in Yaoundé. The garage has a lots of place and tools. You can do your own mechanic repairs and ask for some help of the team if you need it. At the end, you give what you want

The neighbourhood is really nice : copy place, couture, local restaurants, fruits & vegetablea small market, crêpes, ...

Travelburners TIPS :
If you want to discover the Camer Cuisine in Yaoundé (like a gourmet trip) you can WhatsApp Jordan, a really friendly local guide from the Gourmet Discovery Agency +237 98642748 - we had a great experience with him, went to eat in différents places the REAL Camer food (no touristic places ;)

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We went to Didier's garage for a minor reparation (welding on the exhaust pipe) but, anyway, we can only recomend that place a lot. Whatever your problem is, Didier will find a way to help you. Him and his wife are some of the most beautiful person we have met on our trip. We slept at their garage for 2 nights, its safe, super quiet, away from the city's noise. And the location is perfect, close to all embassies, the good restaurants and other convenience stores... Just the perfect place !

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We recommend Fred and his team 200%. Super welcome, attentive to your needs, great honesty and ultra responsive. Well organized and well equipped garage. Fred kindly allowed us to spend the night on the lawn in front of the garage.
If you have something to fix, it's the right place!
Thanks again to him, his wife and his team.

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Nice organized shop with a variety of mechanical and fabrication capabilities. Didier is attentive to your needs, no matter how many wheels you have. It’s also possible to camp on the premises if needed. We got some basic maintenance done on our motorcycles and are very happy with the service we received. I highly recommend. Message him on WhatsApp +23778288491.

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Super accueille et super services. Didier et ces gars nous à beaucoup aider pour réparer la moto. Ça été simple et amical. Nous y avons même rencontré d'autres voyageurs. Merci pour tout!

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There are not enough words to say Thank you to Didier, his team and his family. It will be forever our best garage in the world. When we arrived in his garage, we were very worry about our 4x4 and its numerous problems after be stucked 26 months in Cameroon but Didier found all the solutions and we let Cameroon with almost a new car ;-)
Very friendly people, competent and professionnal.
They repaired our injection pump, direction, silent blocks... but they can also paint, repair everything, help you to find tyres and spare parts... Didier will try everything to help you, he is speaking english and french.
We could sleep in the secured parking lot 1 week with water tap and toilets so it was helpful.
Whatsapp Didier : (+237) 78288491.
Encore merci amigo and see you soon!

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FRED Garage is the best garage I have seen in the whole of Africa. It truly deserves the superlative. It has everything, spare parts for motorcycles, Cars and even trucks. Didier, the guy in charge is a french guy who has lived here from 2011. He speaks perfect English and French. Everyone here is incredibly knowledgable. They can also fabricate things as they have a lathe. If you need to order tyres he is your guy aswell. Just a lovely helpful place. Best of luck

Didier Whatsapp number +237 678288491

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