I got told where my car is going for repair, what do those reviews actually tell me?

13 October 2026

I got told where my car is going for repair, what do those reviews actually tell me?

You report the accident, your insurer allocates a repairer, and now you are on your phone reading reviews from strangers trying to work out whether to worry.

That reaction is normal. Reviews can tell you something about how people felt. They do not tell you everything about how that shop was selected, what standards the insurer says apply, or what rights you have if the repair goes badly.

If you are in Melbourne or elsewhere in Victoria, there are a few checks that matter more than a star rating.

Why your insurer picked that shop in the first place

A lot of drivers assume the allocation means the repairer was the only option, or that the insurer had to send the car there. Public insurer material paints a narrower picture than that.

Auto and General says, "Registering your interest to be part of the Auto & General network does not guarantee you will be chosen or successful. Each registration is assessed on individual merit." That tells you two useful things.

First, network repairers are part of a selection process. Second, being in a network is about the insurer's own assessment process, not proof that every customer would have chosen that shop for themselves.

So when you read reviews of a network repairer, read them for what they are. They are feedback about other people's experiences. They are not proof of how your insurer selected the shop, what was agreed between them, or whether another repairer could have been used if the claim had been handled differently.

What the General Insurance Code of Practice says

The next thing to check is whether the insurer is bound by the General Insurance Code of Practice. The Code says, "The Code applies to all insurers who have adopted it." If your insurer has adopted it, there are clear statements about repair responsibility and complaints.

Most importantly, the Code says, "If we have selected and directly authorised a repairer to repair your damaged property, then we will accept responsibility for the quality of their work and the materials they use."

That matters because if the insurer selected and directly authorised the repairer, the conversation is not just between you and the workshop. The insurer says it accepts responsibility for the quality of the work and the materials used.

The Code also says, "Complaints about the repairer’s conduct, timeliness, quality of work or the materials they use will be handled under our Complaints process."

And it says, "We will make a decision about your Complaint within 30 Calendar Days."

So if you are worried by reviews, it helps to separate two different issues:

• whether the reviews suggest you should ask more questions before the repair starts
• what formal path exists if the work, materials, conduct or timing become a problem later

The Code gives you that second path, if the insurer has adopted it and if it selected and directly authorised the repairer.

What reviews are useful for, and what they are not

Reviews can be useful for spotting patterns in how people describe communication, delays, or handover issues. They can prompt sensible questions.

What reviews do not do is replace the checks that are actually tied to your situation.

Before handing over the keys, ask for these points in writing where possible:

• who selected the repairer
• whether the insurer directly authorised the repairer
• what the repair process is for complaints about conduct, timeliness, work quality, or materials
• what parts and materials are being used on your repair, if that is something you want clarified
• the estimated repair timeline, noting that an estimate is not the same thing as a promise

If the insurer selected and directly authorised the repairer, the Code wording above is the important anchor. If you later need to complain, the insurer's own complaints process is the route named in the Code.

The Victoria check worth doing

In Victoria, do not rely only on review sites. Check whether the business is on the relevant public register.

Consumer Affairs Victoria says, "If you have any doubts about whether a trader is licensed, you can check the register of motor car traders with the Business Licensing Authority (BLA) ."

That gives you a practical verification step you can do yourself.

If you are searching from Melbourne, or anywhere else in Victoria, this is one of the few checks that is concrete and checkable. A review might tell you someone was unhappy. The public register check tells you whether the trader can be verified through the Business Licensing Authority register referred to by Consumer Affairs Victoria.

If the accident was not your fault, the allocation may have been a default, not a requirement

This is the part many drivers only realise after the claim has already been lodged.

If you claim on your own policy, the insurer often controls the repair path, including allocating the vehicle into its repair network. That does not automatically mean it was your only route after a not at fault accident.

For not at fault drivers in Melbourne and across Victoria, another option can be to run the claim against the at fault driver's insurer instead of making the claim on your own policy. Whether that is suitable depends on the circumstances, and we are careful not to pretend every claim fits one pattern.

But the broad point is simple. The repairer allocation often followed from the path the claim took. It was not necessarily a universal rule that your car had to go to that shop.

How we help not at fault drivers in Melbourne and Victoria

We help drivers who were not at fault, including uninsured drivers, business owners whose vehicle was hit, and fleet operators.

Our role is to manage a not at fault claim so you do not need to claim on your own policy, recover the cost of repairs from the at fault driver's insurer, and arrange a replacement vehicle while your car is off the road.

That changes the conversation for many people. Instead of assuming the insurer's allocated repairer is the only path, you can ask what claim path you are actually on and whether there is another way to deal with the repair and replacement car.

We do not give legal advice, and we will not tell you every case is the same. Some matters depend on the facts, the insurers involved, and liability being clear.

What to do next

If you have just been allocated a repairer and you are uneasy about the reviews, do this next:

1. Check whether your insurer has adopted the General Insurance Code of Practice.
2. Ask whether the insurer selected and directly authorised the repairer.
3. Keep written records of any concerns about conduct, timing, work quality, or materials.
4. If you are in Victoria, use the Business Licensing Authority register referred to by Consumer Affairs Victoria to verify the trader.
5. If you were not at fault, ask whether claiming on your own policy was a choice, rather than assuming the allocation was required.

If you are in Melbourne or elsewhere in Victoria and the other driver was at fault, contact us before the repair is locked into the wrong claim path. We can talk you through how a not at fault claim is managed, whether the repair can be handled without claiming on your own policy, and how a replacement vehicle may be arranged while your car is being repaired.