Where do the facts come from?
From the bodies that set or explain the rules: state transport departments and consumer agencies, the ACCC and its fellow consumer regulators, the OAIC, the Australian Treasury, and motoring clubs such as the RACV and RAC WA.
We read the source itself, not someone's summary of it. If an official page won't open for us, we don't use what others say it says until we've read it.
Each fact is kept with its source. A page can only use a number that appears in one of those facts, and the sources it relied on are listed at the foot of the page.
What happens when a rule isn't clear?
We leave it out rather than guess. If we can't read a rule at its source, our pages say nothing specific about it and point you to the state's own department.
When two official sources disagree, we don't pick one. Two Consumer Affairs Victoria pages describe the parts needed for warranty servicing differently, for example, so we don't state either version as the rule.
Rules differ by state, so we never give one national answer to a state question such as roadworthy certificates or repairer licences.
When does a page change?
When a rule changes, we update the fact and the pages that use it, and each page shows the date it was last updated.
If a source moves or disappears, we find the current one or take the point down.
Why are there no prices?
Because a number on a web page can't see your car. The same job varies with the make, the model, the parts and what the mechanic finds once they start, so a published figure would mislead more people than it helped.
Instead, we explain what makes a job bigger or smaller and what a good written estimate should include. The quote comes from the mechanic.
How do reviews and photos get on the site?
A review only appears if it's a real Google review of a workshop in our network that has given us permission to show it. We pick reviews about the work itself and show the reviewer's first name and initial.
We don't write reviews, and we don't show any we can't trace to a real customer of that workshop.
Job photos come from workshops in our network, with their permission, and each caption says what the job was, on what car and where.
Some photos on this site are illustrations made with an AI image tool. They do not show a real job or a business in our network.
What is every page checked for?
Before a page goes up, it's checked against its sources and against rules we hold ourselves to. Every number has to match a fact, and every state rule has to belong to the right state.
Safety comes first on pages about warning lights, overheating, brakes or a breakdown: what to do right now sits at the top. A page will never tell you to open a hot radiator cap, work under a car held up only by a jack or drive on with a red warning light.
And no page says Mechanic Sorted works on cars. We find the mechanic; the mechanic does the work.
If a mechanic who has seen your car tells you something different from a page here, go with the mechanic. They've seen the car, and we haven't.