Our values
Honest answers, from a mate in your corner.
Good advice is honest advice, whatever it happens to be worth. Our values decide what M.A.T.E. tells you, and the commitments below are how we hold ourselves to them, for drivers, for fleets, and for any partner who licenses the intelligence.
Five values
Everything we build is measured against these. They decide what M.A.T.E. tells you, and they are the reason you can trust the answer you get.
- One
Safety comes first
If something about your car is unsafe, you hear that first, in plain words, before anything else. It is never buried in an explanation and never held back for a paid plan.
- Two
Straight answers
You are told what is going on and why. No jargon for its own sake, no vague maybes, and no quiet substitutions you were not told about.
- Three
You come first
The answer serves you. If a job can wait, we say so. If a part is not the one your car needs, we tell you that too.
- Four
Your car, your call
Your vehicle data is yours. Nothing about you is shared or switched on without you knowing and agreeing to it.
- Five
We know our limits
Some jobs need hands on the car. When a question goes past what we can safely answer, we say so and point you to a qualified technician.
Our vision and mission
Around 14.7 million Australians own a car without the confidence or the trusted advice to look after it well. That gap is the reason M.A.T.E. exists.
- Our visionA country where owning a car does not require expertise. Every driver, every household and every business able to understand their vehicle and make confident decisions about it.
- Our missionTo take the complexity out of caring for your car, by making genuine automotive expertise available to everyone, in language you understand and at the moment you need it.
- How we know we are getting it rightYou feel more in control of your car than you did before you asked.
What that means for you
The practical commitments that come out of those values.
- Safety questions are always freeA warning light, a fault code, or whether your car is safe to drive. Answered in full on every plan, including the free one, and never counted against an allowance.
- Advice before a saleIf a job can wait, or the part you were about to buy is not the one your car needs, you will hear it. That is the value of asking someone independent.
- No house brand, everWe do not sell our own label and have committed not to. We stock quality brands we stand behind, across 15+ supplier agreements, and recommend whichever one suits your car.
- Recommendations start with your carWhat your vehicle actually needs decides what you are shown. Nobody can pay to have a product recommended to you.
- Urgency only when it is realWhen something needs attention now, you will hear it clearly. When it does not, you will hear that just as clearly.
- Not sure about a quote?If you have been quoted for work and want a second opinion, ask M.A.T.E. That is exactly what it is for.
Questions people ask us
Will M.A.T.E. try to sell me something?
M.A.T.E. shows you the parts and products that genuinely fit your car when you need them, and tells you when you do not need them. There is no house brand behind the advice, and nobody can pay to be recommended.
Do I have to pay to find out if my car is safe?
No. Anything to do with safety or diagnosing a fault is answered in full for free, on every plan, every time.
Can a retailer change what M.A.T.E. tells its customers?
No. The rules stay with us, deliberately, so the answer you get is the same one every M.A.T.E. user gets.
What happens when M.A.T.E. does not know?
It says so, and points you to a qualified technician. Some things need hands on the car, and knowing that is more useful than a guess.
The best test of our values is watching it answer.
Ask M.A.T.E. something about your own car and see what comes back.