<\/p>\n
Independent auto mechanics work on vehicles in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, where they offer vehicle repairs, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
When Cameron Chen was told it could cost about $2,200 to fix a problem with his car, he called his dad.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The price didn\u2019t sound right.\u00a0Chen, who later bought the parts himself, said they cost less than $200. And he had spent enough time driving along East Riverside Drive to know there might be another option.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
So in early August, he pulled into an AutoZone parking lot where, on most days, dozens of car repairmen arrive with floor jacks, toolboxes and vans and turn patches of asphalt into makeshift mechanic bays.<\/p>\n
Over the years, an informal auto repair market has taken root outside the\u00a0AutoZone at 2237 E. Riverside Drive\u00a0\u2014 a mechanic shop with no shop.<\/p>\n
The mechanics are not\u00a0AutoZone employees, and the brick-and-mortar store employees said are unaffiliated with those outside. AutoZone’s corporate office did not immediately respond to request for comment on the practice.\u00a0There is no service counter or shop roof to cover them from the scorching Texas sun. Customers pull in, describe the noise their car is making and negotiate directly with one of the men waiting outside. If they need a part, the store is steps away.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Independent auto mechanics work on vehicles in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
When he arrived at the AutoZone parking lot, Chen bought the parts in the store and paid a mechanic $200 for labor. In all, he spent less than $400 \u2014 more than $1,800 below the roughly $2,200 quote he had received from the first shop.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like they\u2019re not really taking advantage of how I feel that other place did,\u201d Chen said. After one visit, he said, \u201cI\u2019m just\u00a0gonna come here every single time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mechanic\u00a0Carlos\u00a0Paredes said his crew can see 30 or 40 cars on a busy day, replacing brakes and rotors alongside transmissions and entire engines. He said they are there every day\u00a0\u2014 \u201cSunday to Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n
The market is built around a basic mismatch in the formal economy. People need cars, increasingly expensive cars need repairs and conventional repairs can cost more than some drivers can afford. At the same time, mechanics with a valuable skill can make money outside the traditional bounds of employment without much of the overhead of operating a traditional shop.\u00a0For both groups, the savings and opportunity can outweigh the risks of doing business in the open \u2014 from extreme heat and violence to police sweeps and immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Rudy, left, and Samuel, two of dozens of independent auto mechanics working in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, replace a CV axle on a Hyundai Santa Fe on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Samuel, one of dozens of independent auto mechanics working in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, replaces a CV axle on a Hyundai Santa Fe on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Uriver Velasquez, one of dozens of independent auto mechanics working in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, works on a vehicle on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
An independent auto mechanic works on a car in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, where dozens of independent mechanics offer vehicle repairs, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Erwin Ramirez, one of dozens of independent auto mechanics working in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, works beneath a vehicle on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
An independent mechanic replaces a CV axle on a Hyundai Santa Fe in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Carlos Carcamo, one of dozens of independent auto mechanics working in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, replaces a taillight assembly on a Toyota RAV4 on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Carlos Carcamo, left, one of dozens of independent auto mechanics working in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, works on a vehicle on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Air conditioning manifold gauges hang from the back of an independent mechanic’s van in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, where dozens of independent mechanics offer vehicle repairs, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Marlo uses an angle grinder on an automotive part in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, where dozens of independent mechanics offer vehicle repairs, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Tools rest on the hood of an independent mechanic’s car in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, where dozens of independent mechanics offer vehicle repairs, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
A Honda engine sits on the pavement in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, where dozens of independent auto mechanics work, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
An independent auto mechanic searches through a collection of fasteners and other hardware while repairing a vehicle in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Uriver Velasquez, one of dozens of independent auto mechanics working in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, works on a vehicle on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Independent auto mechanics work on vehicles in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Independent auto mechanics work on vehicles in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
In June, the cost of motor vehicle maintenance and repair was 7% higher nationally than a year earlier, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor\u00a0Statistics, twice the 3.5% increase in consumer prices overall.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
But in the\u00a0AutoZone parking lot, Joseph Gaitan, a professional wrestler in training who moved to Austin from the Dallas area, said other shops wanted $500 to $800 in labor to replace an axle on his 2013 Hyundai. In the parking lot, he was quoted $100, so long as he brought the part.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just can\u2019t do that right now,\u201d\u00a0Gaitan said of the higher prices. \u201cI got a lot of other things going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cheaper in the open\u00a0<\/p>\n
The arrangement slashes costs at nearly every step.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Customers often buy their own parts. Some mechanics have commercial accounts that allow them to purchase at lower prices and pass at least some of the savings along. There is no waiting room, receptionist or garage. Repairs are first come, first serve. Cars are lifted on jacks in parking spaces while their owners stand nearby and watch.<\/p>\n
Allan Steer, who has\u00a0worked at the lot for six\u00a0years, said that visibility is part of why customers trust them.\u00a0At a traditional shop, he said, a customer may drop off a car and return later. Here, people seeking repairs\u00a0can see the damaged part and watch as it comes out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u00a0are\u00a0watching us what we do,\u201d Steer said. \u201cIt\u2019s not blind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gaitan agreed with the description of transparency. If someone\u00a0doesn\u2019t like a price or doesn\u2019t trust a diagnosis, he said, another mechanic may be standing a few parking spaces away.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Carlos Carcamo, right, one of dozens of independent auto mechanics working in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, accepts payment after replacing a taillight assembly on a Toyota RAV4 on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
But the low prices\u00a0are possible in part because the mechanics have traded the protections of a traditional workplace for independence.<\/p>\n
During the summer, temperatures in Austin regularly rise above 100 degrees, and sun-baked asphalt can make conditions feel even hotter. And there are no enclosed bays separating workers from the traffic moving through the lot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the benefits outweigh the discomfort for the mechanics. Jonathan Rivera, a young mechanic who works in the lot with his family, said his father once worked in a mechanic shop before deciding he did not want to work for someone else. A friend told his dad about the Riverside lot, where he could bring his tools and find his own customers.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Rivera has now worked there for about five years, alongside his brother and other members of his family\u2019s crew.<\/p>\n
If he needs a day off, Rivera said, he takes one.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to tell nobody,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The mechanics have also built much of the infrastructure a formal business would normally provide. Some have regulars who recommend the lot to friends and family, others advertise their work on TikTok, and many\u00a0operate mobile mechanic businesses from vans and travel to customers’ homes. If one man cannot perform a particular repair, mechanics said, he may refer the job to someone else in the lot.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tools fill the back of an independent mechanic’s van in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, where dozens of independent mechanics offer vehicle repairs, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Even the parking spaces have developed an informal order.<\/p>\n
The mechanics said workers generally respect the spaces where others have established themselves. Customers learn where to find a particular mechanic, and reputations spread through families and word of mouth. Another mechanic described fixing one customer\u2019s car only to have the customer\u2019s brother seek him out the next morning.<\/p>\n
More vulnerable in the open\u00a0<\/p>\n
The parking lot also offers a place to earn money for workers who can face barriers to formal employment. The community is heavily immigrant and Spanish-speaking; mechanics described coworkers from Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and elsewhere, some supporting children, parents and relatives with what they earn there. Rivera said most of his customers also speak Spanish.<\/p>\n
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Carlos Carcamo, another mechanic,\u00a0said the lot has become one of the few places some men\u00a0\u2014 including some who are undocumented\u00a0\u2014 can reliably find work.<\/p>\n
There is no employer standing between the mechanics and law enforcement, no building to retreat inside and little anonymity in a workplace visible from one of East Riverside Drive\u2019s busiest commercial corridors.<\/p>\n
Immigration enforcement has already reached the parking lot. Social media videos from June 21 show a Texas state trooper at the Riverside\u00a0AutoZone during an incident in which local accounts said a man was taken into custody by federal immigration agents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In response to questions about the June 21 incident, ICE confirmed that it detained two Mexican nationals after the Texas Department of Public Safety requested assistance. The agency described both men as being in the country illegally but did not provide their names, the specific basis for their arrests, where they were taken or their current custody status.<\/p>\n
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A week earlier on June 15, Jose\u00a0Salgado-Amador was working in the same parking lot when a man walked up and said \u201cmechanico,\u201d according to an arrest affidavit \u2014 a word a customer might use to flag down someone for a repair. Then the man flashed a gun and demanded property.<\/p>\n
Salgado-Amador, 28, complied, the affidavit says. But when the robber turned toward another man, Salgado-Amador tried to wrestle the gun away. The robber shot Salgado-Amador in the struggle and he died at a hospital about an hour later.<\/p>\n
Police later arrested two men. Israel Medina, 19, was charged with capital murder; David Perez\u00a0Jr., 26, was charged with first-degree aggravated robbery.<\/p>\n
Several weeks later, the mechanics were still there. Cars sat with their hoods open, some with the entire engine removed. Men crawled underneath tons of metal to squeeze their hands into tight places. Customers waited under the shade from a few trees. Music played nearby.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Juan Carlos Paredes, left, and Uriver Velasquez, two of dozens of independent auto mechanics working in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, work on the transmission of a Chevrolet Silverado on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Operations like this one have faced hardship before.<\/p>\n
Steer said he previously worked around an\u00a0AutoZone on North Lamar Boulevard, where a similar group of mechanics gathered. He said police repeatedly forced the mechanics out, at one point disrupting the group for roughly two months.<\/p>\n
Eventually, he said, another community grew on Riverside. When Steer joined them six years ago, the lot had\u00a010\u00a0mechanics. It has since grown to\u00a0a least 50.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople come, more people come, more people come,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
An independent auto mechanic works on a car in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, where dozens of independent mechanics offer vehicle repairs, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Gaitan called the scene an \u201cAutoZone car repair shop and an all day party\u201d \u2014 mechanics, customers, food for sale, music and chairs clustered together around working men.<\/p>\n
The informality carries obvious risks. Customers generally do not receive the experience or protections they would expect from a conventional repair facility. Mechanics work outdoors, on someone else\u2019s property, exposed to whatever happens in the parking lot around them.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
But each morning, the mechanics and customers keep coming back.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Marlo, one of dozens of independent auto mechanics working in the parking lot shared by AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts on East Riverside Drive, works on a vehicle component on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Austin.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Sometimes the customer\u2019s need is acute enough that mechanics say they relate to the struggle and cut prices further. Steer\u00a0described customers arriving with dangerously damaged brakes and little money. In those cases, he said, he shirks the profit motive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they are in need, you help them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
A broken car can mean missing work, and a four-figure repair can be impossible. A mechanic with tools and experience needs somewhere to use them. In the Riverside AutoZone\u00a0parking lot, both sides have found solutions.<\/p>\n
And so far, even when something disrupts the work, people continue to return.
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