01
Engine diagnostics & repair
Rough idle, no start, overheating, warning lights, loss of power. We read fault codes on OBD-II vehicles and go back to the old method on the ones that predate it — timing, compression, fuel delivery, one at a time.
Issue 01
Mobile mechanic
Sukuta, Banjul
Est. 2011
The garage that comes to you
Your car breaks down where it breaks down. We come to it.
Aly Low Mechanic Garage is a mobile workshop based on the Sukuta road, working across Banjul, Serrekunda, Kanifing and the coastal strip. We carry the tools, the diagnostics and the common spares in the van, so most jobs finish at the roadside rather than in a yard you have to tow to.
Open Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM. Sunday closed. Call-outs answered during opening hours.
01 — Services
What we actually fix
Six jobs make up most of our week. If yours isn't listed, call anyway — the answer is usually yes, and the price is usually a phone call away.
02
Brakes & suspension
Pads, discs, drums, shoes, brake fluid, handbrake adjustment. Then the other half of the complaint: worn shocks, tired bushes, the knock over Sukuta's speed bumps that you've learned to live with.
03
Tyres, wheels & alignment
Puncture repair, tube and tubeless, wheel swaps, spare fitting, pressure and tread checks. We'll tell you honestly whether the tyre has another thousand kilometres in it or not.
04
Batteries & electrics
Flat battery, dead alternator, starter motor, wiring faults, lights, wipers, windows, radio. We test the charging system before we sell you a battery — sometimes the battery was never the problem.
05
Servicing & oil change
Oil and filter, air filter, fuel filter, plugs, belts, coolant flush, general inspection. Done in your compound or at the roadside, with the old parts left with you so you can see what came out.
06
Pre-purchase inspection
Buying a second-hand car in Banjul is a gamble. We'll meet you at the seller's, go over the vehicle properly, and tell you what it needs and roughly what that will cost before you hand over any money.
02 — Roadside
Stuck somewhere? Ring us first.
The van carries a jump pack, a trolley jack, two spare wheels' worth of common sizes, a diagnostic reader, and enough hand tools to strip a small engine in a car park. That covers the great majority of what actually strands people: a flat battery at the market, a puncture on the Bertil Harding Highway, a car that turns over and won't catch.
We work Sukuta, Serrekunda, Kanifing, Bakau, Fajara, Bijilo and the Banjul–Serrekunda corridor as standard. Further out — Brikama, Kartong, the South Bank road — is possible, but call before you set off and we'll tell you honestly whether we can reach you in reasonable time or whether you're better off with the nearest garage.
Have the details ready and we can usually tell you on the phone whether it's a roadside fix or a recovery.
- Flat battery — jump start, test, replace if needed
- Puncture — repair or fit the spare, on the spot
- Overheating — coolant, hoses, thermostat, fan
- Won't start — fuel, spark, starter, immobiliser
- Warning light — read the code, explain it plainly
03 — The workshop
Fifteen years of Sukuta traffic
Aly Low started out working on his own cars in a compound off the Sukuta road, doing favours for neighbours that turned into a queue. What began as one man with a toolbox and a borrowed jack became a mobile garage in 2011, and it has stayed mobile on purpose — because the cars that need help in this city are almost never in a position to drive to a workshop.
The work is mostly the same vehicles you see everywhere in Kombo: Toyota Corollas and Hiaces, Nissan Sunnys, Mercedes 190s and W124s still going strong, the occasional Peugeot 504 that refuses to die, and a growing number of Korean and Chinese small cars. Parts availability shapes the job more than anything else, so we keep a short list of suppliers around Serrekunda and Westfield and we'll tell you when a part is worth waiting for and when an alternative will do the same work for less.
What we won't do is invent a fault. If the noise is a loose heat shield and not a gearbox, you'll hear that. If the car is genuinely finished, you'll hear that too — and we'd rather lose the job than take money for work that won't hold.
04 — Opening hours
When we're reachable
Call-outs are answered during opening hours. If you ring outside them, leave a message and we'll come back to you first thing.
| Monday | 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
| Wednesday | 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
| Thursday | 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
| Friday | 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
| Saturday | 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
| Sunday | Closed |
Six days a week, eleven hours a day.
The quietest time to call is early morning, between eight and ten. The busiest is late afternoon, when the day's breakdowns have piled up — if you can wait until the next morning for anything that isn't urgent, you'll usually get seen faster.
Call 779 540605 — Find us
97XQ+G8Q, Sukuta
The garage sits off the Sukuta road in Kombo North, on the stretch between the Sukuta traffic lights and the turn towards Brufut. If you're coming from Serrekunda, take the Sukuta road west and look for the compound with the blue gate — there's usually a vehicle or two parked outside with the bonnet up, which is the easiest landmark.
If you'd rather we came to you, that's the normal arrangement. Give the address and the nearest landmark when you call — landmarks help more than numbers in most of Kombo.
Get in touch
Phone is the fastest way to reach us — calls and messages both work.
Aly Low Mechanic Garage97XQ+G8Q, Sukuta
Kombo North, The Gambia