Built by James

Why I built this

I had a problem with my car. I took it to a mechanic, paid to have it diagnosed, and got an answer. I took it somewhere else for the repair and was told it was something different entirely. That experience — paying for a diagnosis, getting conflicting information, and feeling completely in the dark — stayed with me.

Around the same time I came across a comment on TikTok where someone said an app that listens to home appliances and tells you what's wrong would be really useful. I thought the same idea made more sense for cars, where the sounds are more universal and the anxiety around them is real. So I built it.

What I brought to it

My background is in IT. I'm still relatively early in my career, but I've always been someone who builds things — and who gets better through feedback rather than in spite of it. I didn't come from an automotive background, which meant I had to learn the basics of how cars work before I could build something that talks about them credibly. That process shaped how Mechd communicates: plainly, without assuming knowledge, and with a genuine respect for how much people don't know about their own cars — including me at the start of this.

What Mechd does

Mechd listens to a car noise, asks two quick questions about when and where it happens, and returns a plain-English suggestion of what might be causing it — along with how serious it could be and what it might cost to fix at a UK garage. The goal is to give people something useful to go on before they spend money, and to reduce the anxiety that comes with hearing something you don't understand.

What Mechd doesn't do

Mechd does not diagnose faults. It suggests possible causes based on the sound and symptoms. No remote audio analysis can guarantee what's wrong with a specific vehicle — that requires a physical inspection by a qualified mechanic. Mechd is a starting point, not a conclusion.

The model isn't perfect and I'm open about that. Accuracy improves with more research, more data, and more feedback. That's an ongoing process and one I take seriously — but the honest position is that Mechd gives you a better-informed starting point, not a definitive answer.

The guides

The symptom guides on this site were written to help people understand common car noises before they even reach the app. They're researched from UK repair pricing data, manufacturer guidance, and established sources including the RAC, Checkatrade, Bumper, and ClickMechanic. They're reviewed for accuracy before publication. They follow the same principle as the app: give people something useful without overclaiming.