If you've just hit a kangaroo
Pull over somewhere safe, switch on the hazard lights and get everyone away from the traffic. If anyone is hurt or in danger, call 000. Don't drive on if the temperature gauge climbs, steam comes from under the bonnet or a red light comes on, because a damaged radiator can quickly ruin an engine. Report the crash to police using the AFP crash report form, and an injured animal to Access Canberra.
Why kangaroos turn up on a Canberra repairs page
The ACT Government says early morning, dusk and night are the peak times for kangaroos crossing roads, and crossings are more likely in winter and either side of a full moon. If a hit can't be avoided, its advice is to stay straight and brake rather than swerve.
A strike can look like a panel job, but plenty of what sits behind the bumper is mechanical: the radiator, the cooling fan, the headlights and the sensors for the driver aids. The smash repairer looks after the body. A mechanic should check the cooling system and anything that's put a warning light on the dash.
Getting a repair done in Canberra
Search the licence register
Access Canberra licenses anyone who repairs motor vehicles or their parts as a business, and publishes a register of them. Ask for the trading name when the mechanic rings, and search it before you agree to the work.
Workshops over the border
Queanbeyan is in NSW, which runs its own repairer licence. A business just across the border is licensed under NSW rules rather than the ACT's, so that's the scheme to ask about.
Damage a long way from home
The Kings Highway back from the coast has casualty crash rates 85% higher than the NSW average, and wildlife collisions on it are a particular risk at night. If the car is hurt far from Canberra, get it somewhere safe first and organise the repair from there.
What the written estimate should say
- What's wrong, in plain words, and what the mechanic plans to do about it.
- Parts and labour, listed separately.
- When the car should be ready.
- That you'll be called before any work beyond the estimate.
- Whether a diagnosis fee applies if you decide not to go ahead.
- The warranty that comes with the repair.
Your rights once the work is done
Under the Australian Consumer Law, a repair must be done with due care and skill and be fit for any purpose you told the mechanic about. If something isn't right, go back to the same mechanic first, with the estimate and the invoice in hand.
Remember the mechanic can hold the car until the bill is paid, under what's called a repairer's lien. That's the reason to settle any doubt about the estimate before the work begins, not when you come to collect.
Where we'd start
We'd describe the symptom rather than the fix we think it needs: what you hear, feel or see, and when it happens. Then we'd get the estimate in writing, search the business on the ACT register, and only then say yes.