Coast Launches Mobile, On-Demand Oil Change, Auto Maintenance Service

By Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Not too long ago, if you needed a windshield or other glass replaced in your car, it was necessary to take your vehicle to a shop to make it happen. Now, thanks to a number of companies, those services come to you, either at work or at home. Hacienda's Coast Technologies, a start-up company, is seeking to provide that same level of care for maintenance items like oil changes, engine and cabin air filter replacements, and tire rotations.

"It's kind of like Uber for auto repair," says Jamison Cummings, Coast CEO. "You can download the Coast Auto iOS app from Apple's app store and order service. An Android app is in development as well. Right now, our primary focus is to visit people at their workplace."

This sort of innovative thinking is nothing new to Cummings, who was a founding member of Tesla's service team. "Back in 2007, there were about five of us who started the Tesla service team," he says. "Now, they number in the thousands."

He credits his time at the groundbreaking electric car maker with helping form the philosophy that now guides Coast. "I learned a lot about creating loyalty with customers, treating them as if they are the reason we exist - which is 100 percent true," he says. "Rather than look at immediate profits, we were looking at the future of the business and how to create loyalty, which is something that Tesla as a brand and as a product has done successfully, and how as a service organization we had to perpetuate that loyalty."

One way Cummings hopes to create loyalty is by being transparent with Coast's customers. "Rather than us giving you a menu of services and asking you to figure out what you need, we'll actually use the manufacturer's guidelines for that vehicle," he says. "For example, if you drive a Mazda that's three years old and has 30,000 miles on it, we will have that information on hand and be able to tell you, for your car at that time, what services Mazda recommends for your car."

Cummings' Tesla connection continues to this day: The electric car maker's campus was the first account landed by Coast. "Tesla has about 8,000 employees on their campus, so that was a good first step for us in terms of rolling out our services and our app," he says. "Now, we're ready for more."

The company is currently looking for opportunities to offer its services to companies in the Tri-Valley. One avenue the company hopes to take is offering its services to the employees of local businesses, either as a paid employee benefit or simply by allowing individuals to schedule service appointments while at work. For example, Coast recently began offering its services to Hacienda employees and residents.

"It's actually a very, very frictionless process, managed through the app," Cummings says. "On the larger scale, we have indemnified our businesses so it's really just a matter of companies letting their employees know about our services."

He sees the Tri-Valley as a logical next step in the company's growth. "We're a Pleasanton business, I live in Pleasanton, my kids go to school here, and this is where we're rooted," Cummings says. "We want to focus on the Tri-Valley and we think it's actually a great testing area. There are plenty of businesses here and it's a great place to be able to go without having to traverse heavily trafficked freeway corridors. I think there's just lots of great opportunity for us to grow."

The company has much broader ambitions, however. "From here, we'll expand in the Bay Area, then to a larger metropolitan area of Southern California, out of state, and eventually become the biggest automotive service provider in the U.S.," Cummings says.

For additional information on Coast, access the company's web site at www.getcoast.com.

Photo: Rob Graham, Tyler Harrington, Joe Hayes. Jamison Cummings

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