What does the card ask?
1st: the job
What the car needs, or what it's doing: a service, brakes, an engine light, a car that won't start, a roadworthy, or a noise you can't place. The buttons use the dashboard symbols you already know. Arrive from a page about one job and the card already knows it, so it skips ahead.
2nd: the car
Tap the make, then the model if you know it. The model is optional. The make matters more than people expect, because it's how the job reaches a mechanic who knows that kind of car.
3rd: your postcode
The postcode where the car is right now, which may not be where you live. It decides which mechanics see the job.
4th: who to call
Your first name and a mobile, so the mechanic can ring you. An email is optional, and so is a note for the mechanic, which is the place for details like when the noise started. Tick the consent box, and on this step you may be asked to show you're not a robot.
5th: the call
A mechanic who's taken the job rings you. They ask what they need to, tell you what they'd do and quote it. Nothing goes ahead until you say yes.
Reverse is Back. It works on every step, and nothing you've already answered is lost when you use it.
What happens after you send it?
The job goes to mechanics near the car who've told us they do that job on that make. At this stage they see the job and the car, not your contact details.
The first of them to take it receives your contact details. Only one local mechanic gets your number.
If no mechanic nearby takes it within 48 hours, the job widens to mechanics further away in your state.
We can't promise that someone will take every job. A rare make in a quiet area can be hard to match, and we'd rather say so than pretend otherwise. Your contact details only go to a mechanic once one takes the job.
What does the mechanic do next?
They ring to talk about the car. Expect a few questions: what it's doing, when it started, roughly how many kilometres it's done and when it was last serviced. Having the logbook handy helps.
Then they'll tell you what they'd check or do, and either quote it or explain why they need to see the car first. Plenty of faults can't be pinned down over the phone.
Ask for a written estimate before you agree to any work. Consumer Affairs Victoria gives car owners that advice, and it holds wherever you live: it's your record of what was agreed.
If you go ahead, the agreement is between you and that business. They do the work, invoice you and stand behind it under the consumer guarantees.
Who does what?
| Mechanic Sorted | The mechanic | |
|---|---|---|
| Asks about the job and the car | Yes, in the card | Yes, in more detail on the phone |
| Looks at the car | No | Yes |
| Quotes the work | No | Yes, ideally in writing |
| Does the repair and invoices you | No | Yes |
| Answers for the work under the consumer guarantees | No | Yes |