In 2015, while on a road trip to Shirdi with his family, an automobile engineer Sagar Joshi found himself in a tight spot when the car broke down. It was in the wee hours, and he had neither any repair tools at hand nor access to an authorised service centre. "I phoned the centre and they said no mechanic was available as it was beyond their stipulated work hours. I received no help." The incident, however, set him thinking. Having worked at some of the top automobile companies in the country, he began collating data of various local garages and mechanics from fringe areas of Mumbai. "But then, I thought, why stop at local garages and mechanics? So, I gathered data from all across the country." He aggregated 18,000 unorganised workshops and mechanics.

The result is AUTO i CARE, a specially curated mobile app for end-to-end roadside assistance. The app provides real-time tracking of the inbound support vehicle—similar to popular ride-hailing apps—with an estimated time of arrival, automated SMS status updates, and tow driver contact information. The bootstrapped startup promises to address roadside assistance concerns within 20 to 30 minutes and provide 24x7 vehicle breakdown assistance nationally. Currently, 48,000 local garages across India are registered with them. Operating the app is fairly simple. After you install it and fill in basic information, you can opt for the services you want, such as planned car service, towing facilities, tyre replacement or fuel addition. If you are on the highway and your vehicle breaks down, the app shows you the nearest garages in the area.