Water over the road, or a car that's been in it
Queensland's government says never drive through floodwater: any amount of swift-flowing water can sweep a car away, whatever you drive. Check for closed roads online. If a car has been submerged, RACQ warns owners not to try starting it, because water in the cylinders can wreck the engine. Don't start a flooded hybrid or electric car at all: RACQ says it should be towed to an authorised repairer.
What Toowoomba roads and weather do to a car
The range
The Warrego Highway climbs from Helidon Spa, at the foot of the Great Dividing Range, to its highest point on the Toowoomba Bypass. Riding the brakes on the way down overheats them, and a hot-day climb with a load on finds out a weak radiator or water pump. If the temperature light comes on, pull over somewhere safe and switch off: RACV says driving on could cause severe engine damage.
Gravel and the Downs
The Toowoomba Regional Council's network runs to nearly 6,700 km of sealed and unsealed roads. Corrugations and loose stones are hard on shock absorbers, wheel bearings, tyres and windscreens, so a new rattle or hum after a run out west is worth having looked at.
Storm season
Most of Toowoomba's rain falls between November and March, and the city knows what a flash flood can do: on 10 January 2011, 149.6 mm fell in one day. If your car was caught in floodwater and it's insured, talk to the insurer first. RACQ says owners of uninsured flooded cars should contact their mechanic.
Hail and fog
Toowoomba gets hail and fog more often than many places. Hail dents are a panel and insurance job, not a mechanical one. Fog is a good reason to make sure every headlight and fog light works before winter.
No licence to look up, so here's what protects you
Queensland has no general mechanic licence, so there's no register to check a Toowoomba workshop against. Ask about the mechanic's trade qualification, insurance and experience with your make instead.
Your rights come from the Australian Consumer Law, wherever the workshop is: a repair must be done with due care and skill, be fit for any purpose you made clear, and be finished in a reasonable time when no time was agreed. Getting the job in writing first is what lets you hold a mechanic to it.
Before you say yes to a repair
- What exactly is wrong, and how did you find it?
- Is it safe to drive down the range until it's fixed, or should it stay in town?
- What's urgent, and what can wait until the next service?
- Are the parts and labour listed separately on the estimate?
- What warranty comes with the parts and with the work?
- Will you ring me before doing anything that isn't on the estimate?
What we'd do
We'd describe the fault the way you'd tell a mate: when it happens, uphill or downhill, hot or cold, on bitumen or gravel. In Toowoomba those details narrow a fault down quickly. Then we'd get the estimate in writing and ask for a call before anything extra is done.