If you've only ever worked in a shop, working at an auction is a different kind of day — a good one, once you know what you're walking into. Here's what the work looks like, where you do it, and the one thing that matters most: how you carry yourself on someone else's property.
Your shop is a van
You don't work in a bay. You work out of a mobile van stocked with the parts and tools you need. The van is your shop, and it goes where you go. That means you're set up to do the job right there on the lot — no waiting around for a shop to free up a bay.
You work on the vehicle where it sits
The job happens where the vehicle is parked. You go to it; it doesn't come to you. Once in a while you might get to pull a vehicle under a covered pavilion or into a bay if the auction has one open, but that's rare. The expectation is simple: do the work where it sits, whatever the weather.
That's the honest truth of the job, so it's worth being straight about it. If working outside isn't for you, this isn't the right fit. But if you don't mind it, you'll never be stuck standing around waiting on a bay again.
Most of your day is recall work
Day to day, you're mostly doing recall repairs. You'll run the same kinds of jobs over and over — and that's a good thing. It's exactly why techs here get fast, and on flat rate, fast is money. (There's a whole guide on how the pay works — read it here.)
When the auction needs a hand with other work — inspections, upfits, diagnostics — you jump in. But the heart of the day is recalls.
You're a guest — and that's the whole game
This part matters more than your wrench skills, so read it twice.
We work on someone else's property. The auction lets us be there to do a job, and our number one rule is simple: if we do our jobs right, they never even know we were there. No drama, no conflict, nobody in anybody's way.
Here's what that looks like day to day:
- Security is there for a reason. Every auction has a gate and security staff, and their job is to keep the place secure. Respect that. Do what they ask, and never give them anything to worry about.
- Stay out of the way. Auctions are always moving vehicles around. If someone needs to move a vehicle — even one you're working on or parked next to — you accommodate them. You don't push back. Their operation comes first, always.
- Follow the posted rules. Every auction posts rules that everyone follows, and that includes us. Speed limits on the lot. High-visibility shirts or vests. Whatever they post, we follow — no exceptions.
None of this is hard. It comes down to being respectful, paying attention to what's going on around you, and being easy to have around. The techs who do well here are the ones the auction is glad to see pull through the gate. The ones who cause friction don't last.
Local or travel — same job, same rules
Whether you're a Local Mobile Technician working the same auction near home every day, or a Travel Mobile Technician moving between auctions, the work and the expectations are the same. Same van setup, same recall work, same "be a good guest" rule everywhere you go.
The bottom line
Working at an auction is steady, hands-on work with more than enough of it to keep you busy — and a lot more freedom than standing in a bay waiting for the next work order to come through the door.
What it asks in return is straightforward: be comfortable working outside, stay on top of your own work, and treat the place and the people in it with respect. Do that, and you've got a spot doing real work with real volume.
It's a good place to be a tech.
Mobile Repair Solutions hires Local and Travel Mobile Technicians nationwide — with paid training from day one, certification across multiple manufacturers, and travel handled for those on the road. See where we're hiring and apply.