Colton McComas grew up around his grandfather’s Rocky Mount repair shop, and by age 15, launched his own mobile repair business. Later on, while studying mechanical engineering at UNC-Charlotte, he became the go-to person for friends and family seeking advice on vehicle problems and repair estimates.
“There were always people asking me to fix their cars for free or asking if they were getting ripped off at the repair shop,” McComas said. “I kept thinking there had to be a better solution.”
That solution, as McComas sees it, is Fixxr—a startup he founded with his fellow UNC-Charlotte mechanical engineering graduate, Thomas Spraker, which uses AI to make auto repair less of a black box. The startup’s platform combines an AI-powered diagnostic assistant with a marketplace that connects drivers to vetted repair shops, aiming to help customers better understand their repairs while steering business toward trusted mechanics.
“Other platforms connect you with repair shops, but they don’t do anything to be a driver-first advocate,” McComas said. “We want to educate drivers on what they’re paying for.”
The diagnostic tool
Fixxr began as a quote analyzer that helped drivers determine whether repair estimates were fair. But McComas and Spraker soon realized pricing wasn’t the only problem. Rather, the problem was that most drivers didn’t know what was wrong with their vehicles in the first place. That insight evolved into Fixxr’s AI-powered diagnostic assistant.
The process begins with users entering their vehicle’s year, make and model, providing a description of the problem and uploading a video. From there, Fixxr analyzes a combination of visual and audio cues—including sounds, leaks, smoke and other observable symptoms—to determine what additional information is needed.
Rather than jumping straight to a diagnosis, the platform walks users through a dynamic decision tree, asking follow-up questions based on each previous answer. If a car won’t start, for example, the system may ask whether the engine cranks, whether a clicking sound is present or whether warning lights appear. Each response narrows the possible causes until the platform arrives at its most likely diagnosis.
“We really want drivers to upload videos because from videos we can pick up things like sound waves, frequencies and even decibel levels,” McComas said. “A mechanic doesn’t just read sensor data—they look at the car and they listen to it.”
The marketplace
As Fixxr’s diagnostic tool gained traction, McComas and Spraker faced that ubiquitous startup question: How could they turn a promising platform into a sustainable business?
Charging drivers for diagnostics wasn’t the answer. Customers already faced potentially expensive repair bills, and adding another upfront cost created unnecessary friction.
Instead, the team built a marketplace that connects drivers with vetted repair shops. After completing a diagnosis, users can submit their repair through the app, clearing the way for participating shops to provide competing quotes. Rather than simply displaying prices, Fixxr explains what each estimate includes, helping users understand differences in labor, warranties and parts before making a decision.
Initially, the founders planned to charge repair shops for a monthly software subscription. But after talking with shop owners, they realized most businesses were hesitant to pay for software before seeing tangible results. So the startup pivoted to a referral-based model, taking a percentage of each completed repair booked through the platform.
“It makes so much more sense,” McComas said. “They’re paying for results.”
Today, the marketplace includes a growing network of repair shops, primarily in the Charlotte and Raleigh areas. Each shop is personally vetted by the Fixxr team based on factors such as certifications, insurance and business history before joining the platform.
Traction and future
In the near future, the team hopes to fully automate the marketplace, making it simple for repair shops to sign up to participate. They aim to quickly reach 100 repairs booked and establish a strong presence in Charlotte and Raleigh before expanding city by city.
“We want to secure the Charlotte market; [then] let’s secure Raleigh. Then let’s move to Wilmington,” McComas said. “We’re really focused on winning these local markets first.”
QUICK BITS
Startup: Fixxr
Founder: Colton McComas
Founded: 2025
Team size: 6
Location: Charlotte
Website: fixxr.repair
Funding: Bootstrapped, raising pre-seed
Concurrently, the team is steadily improving the technology that powers Fixxr’s diagnostic assistant. Very recently, the company completed a major update to the tool, replacing what McComas described as a broad, general diagnostic model with a much more precise system built around increasingly sophisticated decision trees.
Rather than relying solely on AI-generated logic, McComas and Spraker spent countless hours manually building and refining the decision trees using their automotive knowledge.
Longer term, McComas hopes Fixxr becomes synonymous with solving car problems, like Uber has with getting around, or DoorDash has with food delivery.
“We want Fixxr to become the first place people turn when something goes wrong with their car,” he said. “If you have a car problem, we want your first thought to be, ‘Let me just download Fixxr,’ or, ‘Let me find a repair shop on Fixxr.'”
