Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

With the Openbay app, you can monitor (and pay for) car repairs from your phone

Openbay
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Generally speaking, if your car needs service, you take it to a shop and let the mechanics do their thing. What exactly happens back there though? Magic wench-wielding repair gnomes? Mystical fix-it spray? A stack of Easy Buttons? With a new smartphone application by Openbay, you can keep tabs on the entire process right from your phone.

Openbay is an online marketplace that allows customers to locate, schedule, and purchase auto repair services in their area. The company’s new Openbay app — now available for Android and well as iOS devices — builds off an already established community of service professionals by allowing them to communicate with car owners. With Openbay, the wall between mechanic and driver has been broken down.

“Until now, there’s been no other native app for consumers to handle the end-to-end process of getting a vehicle serviced via Android,” said Rob Infantino, CEO of Openbay. “More than 40 percent of Openbay consumers book auto repair services via their mobile devices, and we see the trend toward mobile continuing, and look forward to exposing the platform to an entirely new market wherever and whenever they need automotive service.”

Related: Let your car describe its symptoms directly to the mechanic with OpenbayConnect

The Openbay app goes far beyond pictures and messages though; it also tracks service history, allows users to generate Openbay Rewards credits for future services, and even helps customers process payment with their mobile. The program can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Last year, Openbay announced another smartphone app called OpenbayConnect. The program expands on the company’s online services by adding an OBDII plugin, which opens a line of communication between your car and your phone. If there’s an issue with your vehicle, the app will find it, diagnose it, and list local repair offers with prices attached.

Editors' Recommendations

Andrew Hard
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Andrew first started writing in middle school and hasn't put the pen down since. Whether it's technology, music, sports, or…
Are you having iPhone alarm problems? A fix is coming soon
A person holding the Apple iPhone 15 Plus.

If you’ve slept through an important meeting or missed your alarm lately, it may not be entirely your fault if you’re an iPhone user. For weeks now, iPhone users have been reporting on social media that their devices are no longer ringing.

Today, The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern finally confirmed this. According to Stern, Apple has confirmed that it’s aware of the issue causing some alarms not to play a sound and is working on a fix.
iPhone alarm issues explained
The iPhone alarm problem seems to be tied to Apple’s Attention Aware features. For those unfamiliar, it’s a feature that lowers the volume sound of your alerts and alarms if you’re looking at your device and avoids dimming the screen, similar to how Samsung phones keep the screen on if they see you looking at your screen.

Read more
5 phones you should buy instead of the iPhone 15
A green iPhone 15 on a green bench.

Apple’s iPhone lineup continues to be among its bestselling products. In 2023, we got the iPhone 15, which packs some of Apple’s latest and greatest tech and starts at $800.

The iPhone 15 is one of the easiest iPhone recommendations in 2024. But if you're open to a few other suggestions, there are some great alternatives to consider — including cheaper iPhone options and some really compelling Android phones. Here are five other phones you should consider buying instead of the iPhone 15.
iPhone 14

Read more
Why you should buy the iPhone 15 Pro instead of the iPhone 15 Pro Max
Natural Titanium iPhone 15 Pro with Chopper and BD-1 droids around it.

Apple releases multiple iPhones every year, offering folks choice in terms of size and features. In 2024, the iPhone 15 lineup includes four distinct models.

The regular iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are great for those who don’t need a telephoto lens and don’t care about the Action button or the 1TB of storage. But anyone who wants a more “pro” experience has the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Read more