Meet James Garzia — the mechanic behind Auto Labs.
I'm the person who answers the phone, diagnoses the car, does the work, and explains the result. One mechanic. One standard. This is why I built Auto Labs Performance Centre, and why I did it for my family.
Call James — 0432 744 993(Yes — me, personally. Not a service advisor.)
James, the morning the sign went up at Factory 18.
I quit my full-time job for this.
I was a full-time mechanic at someone else's shop. I was good at it. I was also watching people get quoted thousands of dollars for things that would take a roll of electrical tape and five minutes to fix — and then I'd go home to my wife and my kid and think about it.
So I started recording myself on my days off. I'd pull a car apart, show what was actually going on inside a transmission or a timing cover, and explain it the way I'd explain it to a mate at the pub. I posted the videos on TikTok because that was the platform where people who weren't mechanics would actually watch them.
Then one of them — the one about a Ford quote for nearly $5,000 to fix something that takes 5 minutes and some electrical tape — hit 1.3 million views.
Then another one hit 490,000. Then another hit 143,000. Then 41,000 people followed the page. And before I'd even officially opened my own shop, 147 people who'd had me work on their cars left a five-star Google review.
That's when I went all-in. I quit the day job. I signed the lease on Factory 18. I got Dan at PakSigns Pakenham to build me a logo and a sign. And I opened the doors to the shop I'd been promising myself I'd build — a shop where the mechanic who quotes you is the mechanic who works on your car is the mechanic who calls you when it's done.
One person. One standard. For my family, and yours.
Why this shop exists.
Every early morning I open the roller door at Factory 18, the reason is the same. I have a wife and a young kid. I wanted them to have a dad who owned his own shop and could be proud of the work he put his name on. I wanted them to see me choose honest work over easy money. And I wanted to give them a business that was ours.
If you've ever put your name on something because the people in your house were watching, you already understand why Auto Labs exists.
“Wealth of knowledge, no bullshit, no upsells — just genuine advice with your best interests first.”
I didn't pay for that. I didn't ask for it. A customer wrote it on their own Facebook page after I looked after their vehicle, and it's become the single sentence that describes this shop better than anything I could write myself. Read it again, then go read the 147 five-star reviews on my Google reviews page.
About the logo and the name.
I owe the brand of this shop to Dan at PakSigns Pakenham. He designed the AL monogram, the wordmark, and the signage that now sits above Factory 18. When the sign finally went up I wrote on Facebook:
"WE FINALLY HAVE SOME SIGNAGE!! SO EXCITED! Have to do a shout out to my man Dan from PakSigns, the logo, and the BRAND of this company wouldn't exist without him!"
(The "we" in there is me and Dan — getting that sign up was a two-hand job.) That's still true: if you need signage for your business in Pakenham, go see Dan. Tell him James from Auto Labs sent you.
You're not just a customer. You're someone I'm teaching to own their car.
“Here to share my experience and knowledge to help you maintain and fix your cars.”
Every car that comes into my shop gets photographed — before, during, and after. Not because I have to. Because I want you to see the problem with your own eyes, not take my word for it. Customers describe this over and over in their reviews: "he sent me photos of everything," "educated us on preventative maintenance," "showed me exactly what was wrong and why."
That's not a marketing tactic. That's the whole point of this shop. If I can teach you what to watch for, you'll bring me the car before it becomes a $5,000 problem. That's better for you, and it's better for your car. It's how I'd want to be treated if it were my car — so it's how I treat everyone else's.
All verified · all from before I officially opened
Read all 147 Google reviews →Now you know me. Let me look after your car.
Grand Opening Day is Sunday 3 May 2026, 9:00am. You can book before then. You can book after. You can also just call to say hello.
Call James — 0432 744 993