Red light on, or the brakes feel wrong?
Pull over somewhere safe and switch off. Don't keep driving with a red temperature or oil light: RACV says driving on with an overheating engine could cause severe engine damage. On the freeway or the Ring Road, get well off the road, hazards on, and stand back from the traffic. If anyone is hurt or in danger, call 000.
Repairs and the way Geelong drives
Broken down between Geelong and Melbourne
The Princes Freeway runs 46 km from Melbourne's west to Corio, and a car that stops on it can be towed to either end. Put in the postcode where the car now sits, so the job reaches a mechanic near the car rather than near your home.
Towing on coast roads
Caravans down the Great Ocean Road and boats to the Bellarine put extra load on the gearbox, brakes and cooling. RACT says transmission faults on the road are more common when towing a trailer, boat or caravan, so mention the towing when you describe the fault.
Cars that live by the water
Cars kept at Ocean Grove or Barwon Heads, or driven onto sand, are worth checking underneath for rust. RACV says any exposed metal under a car is vulnerable to rusting, and RACQ's advice after beach driving is to wash the sand and saltwater off the underbody as soon as practical.
No licence to look up
Victoria doesn't license mechanics or repair businesses, so the checks are yours to make: the ABN, the insurance, and the qualification of whoever does the work.
How a repair should go
Describe the fault
What it does, when it started, and what makes it better or worse. Consumer Affairs Victoria notes intermittent faults are often hard to find, so a short video or a note of when it happens saves time.
Find the cause
Ask up front whether there's a fee for the diagnosis if you decide not to go ahead with the repair.
Get the estimate in writing
It should cover the work, the parts, the time to finish and how you'll pay, and say you must be called before any work you haven't agreed to.
Collect the car and the paperwork
Ask for the old parts back when you drop the car off, and make sure the warranty on parts and on the work is written on the invoice.
Your rights once the work is done
Under the Australian Consumer Law, a repair must be done with due care and skill, be fit for any purpose you told the mechanic about, and be finished within a reasonable time when no date was set.
Two Victorian points catch people out. Consumer Affairs Victoria says a repairer's lien lets the mechanic keep the car until the repair is paid for, and it suggests caution with any mechanic who wants payment upfront.
If it were our car
We'd describe the fault in plain words with when it happens, send the job with the postcode where the car actually is, and agree to nothing beyond the diagnosis without a written estimate. If the car tows, we'd say so at the start.