Great Mechanic! Trunkin'Car | Mechanic and Parts

I wouldn’t go here again.

I visited a week or so ago with the owner and gave him a list of things I’d like to have done to my Land Cruiser before leaving Ecuador for Peru. A basic inspection with an old change, filters, chassis lubrication, tire rotation. I also had a new tachometer that I wanted installed to replace the defective one. I was given a price of $300 and made an appointment for the following week.

My assumption was that the price quoted would include the oil, filters, fluids, etc. it’s what I’ve been accustomed to in the past. Well, I ended up providing ALL of this. I had extra filters etc. but would have liked to save them for an emergency which apparently this has now qualified for. We even walked down to a nearby filter house where I bought brake and power steering fluid; pretty basic stuff that you’d think a garage would have. When it came time to lube the chassis we drove down the street to another business where I paid for that as well.

The tach was installed but not calibrated. The instructions clearly stated that calibration was required and a discussion ensued with the owner stating it was pre-calibrated. Well it’s not so I’ll deal with that down the road. It’s not working correctly.

Finally, most of the work was performed by a what appeared to be a late teenager. Maybe he’s an apprentice but that’s not what I was expecting.

The final discounted price paid was $220. Again after all fluids and filters provided by me.

I’d look around in Cuenca. My impression is that there are other more competent mechanics at a lesser price.

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Don't go there !!!
It is very expensive, we paid 900€ to change the air filter, the cleaning of injector, the bougies + he had to fix the problem of the 4x4 and check engine. It works during 1week and then thé check engine reapeare and the 4x4 did not work.
This Guy is an "arnaquer".

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I don't know what to say to be entirely fair here. We agree with all the other comments. The mechanics seemed friendly and helpful here. But we were surprised how much it cost - 450 usd for oil and filter changes, new brake pads and some bearings. Work seemed slow at times, if we weren't immediately nearby. Every time a job was started there seemed to be another more expensive fix needed, especially as we hadn't even requested some of this work. We were shown a piece of metal that they said came from our gear box and that we needed another 600 usd to check and up to 3500 to correct. At that point we left for a 2nd opinion at another garage who checked our van over for free and highly doubted their diagnosis. If you need a mechanic I'd recommend that guy instead- Martin Moscoso, about 5 mins away.

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N'allez surtout pas là bas ce sont des voleurs. On a été immobilisé 3 jours car ils ne travaillaient que 2/3h dans la journée sur le camion. Et on a payé 900€ pour un nettoyage d'injecteur + changement d'une pièce qu'ils nous ont faient payer le double d'en France. 40€/h de main d'oeuvre . On est dégouté.

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As described. Such a great mechanic, we just arrived unannounced and Marco (son) was more than happy to look at our 1999 Dodge Ram immediately. His father and him helped to diagnose the problem and were very clear in "spanglish" to explain the issue. He showed us everything that was wrong, and immediately went to work to fix it. Very friendly, very understanding, and used to overlanders. He understands the issues of "south American driving" with hard mountain roads vs highways. Highly recommend. You can also stay next door at the cabins or campsite for a very cheap $5. Hot showers, wifi etc.

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good people and good mechanics. was here with our defender td5, got an oil leak at the front diff sorted, had diff oils replaced and the broken spare wheel carrier welded and reinforced.

update: 200km later the diff leaked more than before. the seal wasn't properly installed, I had to put the old one back in. since the seal wasn't properly in, it also damaged the differential flange :(
will have to sort this out in Lima.

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Excellent service at fair prices. Highly recommended. Marco (Mauro's adult son) is a very competent mechanic who quickly diagnosed the problems with our 2003 Ford F150 gasoline engine, got it fixed promptly, explained all aspects of the repair an recommended follow-up preventative maintenance items. We would readily go to them again.

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This is one of the mechanics that as an overlander you dream to come across when you need them. Experienced, serious, very honest and fair prices. Well organized shop, clean and reliable. Mauro made our periodical engine maintenance to our Tacoma 2010 showing professionalism and great knowledge. They let us stay 1 night in the shop while they finished the job. If your vehicle needs any sort of maintenance or repairs and can wait until you reach Cuenca, this is the place you should come.

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Amazing service and great mechanics. Had to replace a brake relay switch on my Land Rover, thought I was going to have to order, but they found the Lucas part and had me back on the road in an hour. If you are in Cuenca and need repairs, this is the place you need to come. 5 ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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We came with our 78 landcruiser for a big maintence. We had a spare parts so that was easy. But place is clean, Mauro and his son know.what to do. we spend two days and was done, breaks, suspension all oil change and few new filters. All looks good but expensive compare rest of the SA countrys but thats ecuador. Cant say anything wrong... but we will se after while :)

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We spent 2 days here. It's the cleanest place we have seen since the Us. We were allowed to sleep in our car even if the brother owns the camping next too. We asked the camping to take a hot shower and use the wifi for 5 $.
Concerning the mechanic (the father and his son) they are both really skilled and nice. The father worked in Toyota in Japan before. They explain you really well everything and you know what you will have to pay. They are also really fast for working. We were really happy to find them after a bad experience in Guayaquil. We were allowed to use all their tools for working on our camper while they were repairing. Highly recommended.

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We're sorry to put the first bad comment about this place.

Day 1 : we asked for a convenient day for them as we knew they are usually busy. Mauro only told us he will be happy to help us without specifying a day.

Day 2 : we went on site to agree on a day. Marco, Mauro's son, told us to come back the next day.

Day 3 : Marco arrived 40min after the hour he told us. He managed to solve half of the issues and suddenly asked us to come the next day for the other half. We initially assumed that he will work full time on our van because we were very careful about booking a work day, wrong.

Day 4 : Marco eventually told us that he cannot handle the other half as he had other cars to deal with. A pity that he didn't tell us sooner. We lost 1,5 day because of a lack of serious.

We are disappointed because we were very happy about finding a serious mechanic when reviewing iOverlander but it was actually the classic blablabla when you want the work to be done in time.

No WiFi nor shower offered but the expensive camping nextdoor instead, which is actually managed by a member of the family.

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We turned up here on a Friday afternoon with our front brakes and one rotor needing urgent replacement. These guys were great and made sure to get the work done that day so we could get on our way. For front brake pads and one new rotor we paid $255 which we were pretty happy with. The owner was amazing- super friendly, helpful and so accomodating to fit us in that day! Highly recommend these guys!

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Finally somebody that was able to fix our problems (overheating engine) after months of trouble! Mauro and his son Marco are a very knowledgeable team. They are also great in helping you find other specialists in town.
They are good so they are busy, best to contact them beforehand. Very friendly crew. Not cheap but happy to pay for expertise.

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Mauro and his team are fantastic and very helpful. We needed our brakes changed, which I had never done myself. Mauro explained every step of the way to me, along with more advice for the trip. He answered all questions and gave a very (more than) fair price. Great service, highly recommended!

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Mauro is the nicest, most honnest and most competent mechanic we met in two years of travel. We came to see him for a suspensions problem and he found small rocks on the suspension parts that blocked everything. He removed them and then spent the entire day cleaning the injectors, and changed the spark plugs and the air filter. Our car was brand new after this !
If you are in cuenca and need something done on your car, you definitely have to meet Mauro.

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Best mechanic we have found in South America (Peru, Bolivia, Chile)! After having been to several well know mechanics on our trip, Mauro an his team were the first ones who were able to make our car running under South American conditions. They found several grave problems which well known mecanics as e.g. Fire Wheels Lima did not find during one week of work! While they were working they explained everything they did, so that we now know a lot more about our car and we were able to understand the problems our car had.
After over 30 years working as an international mechanic, Mauro has a lot of experience. And if he doesn't have a part or needs the help of another specialist he doesn't hesitat to do his best!
When we left the garage we had a competely new car!!!
Prices were very fair. And Mauro offered us to stay in his garage (electricity, baños, shower, wifi) while they were working on our car. Or you can stay on the campground directly besides his garage.
Heres the mobile phone number: +593 99-967-4518 (spanish or you write an english text message/whatsapp)
Calle Canton Gualaceo, Cuenca

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