Terms of service

Backseat Mechanic Terms of Service
Effective October 27, 2026

These terms are an agreement between you and Backseat Mechanic ("we" or "us"). You accept them when you subscribe, check the box agreeing to them on our sign-up form, or use the service. You must be 18 or older and live in the United States to join.

1. What this is
Backseat Mechanic is a text-message service that explains car repair estimates and maintenance schedules in plain language. Our answers, including labels like FIX TODAY, CAN WAIT, SKIP and ASK TO SEE IT and any price check, are our opinion based only on the photos and details you send. They're written by AI, and a person doesn't check each one before it's sent. We are not mechanics. We never see, inspect or test your car, and our answers are not a diagnosis, an inspection, a quote or a guarantee of any price or result.

2. Your decisions are yours
You decide what to fix, when and where. Before you skip or delay anything that affects safety (brakes, tires, steering, suspension, or anything that changes how the car stops, steers or drives), ask the shop to show you the problem or have another shop check the car in person. If what a mechanic shows you, or what you see, hear or feel in the car, doesn't match our answer, trust the in-person check.

3. Emergencies and safety
If your car is smoking, on fire or leaking fuel, pull over, get everyone out and away from the car, and call 911. If it just doesn't feel safe to drive, stop driving it and call a tow or roadside service. Never text us while driving. We don't watch messages around the clock and can't respond to emergencies.

4. No guarantees
The service is provided "as is." Answers can be incomplete, out of date or wrong, including prices, maintenance schedules and anything written by AI. To the fullest extent the law allows, we make no warranties of any kind, express or implied.

5. RELEASE AND LIMIT OF LIABILITY
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERY REPAIR, MAINTENANCE AND DRIVING DECISION YOU MAKE, INCLUDING DECISIONS YOU MAKE AFTER READING OUR ANSWERS. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT THE LAW ALLOWS, YOU RELEASE US FROM ALL CLAIMS ARISING FROM THOSE DECISIONS OR FROM ANY ANSWER WE GIVE, INCLUDING CLAIMS BASED ON OUR OWN NEGLIGENCE. IF WE ARE STILL FOUND LIABLE, INCLUDING FOR OUR OWN NEGLIGENCE, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS IS LIMITED TO WHAT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM OR $100, WHICHEVER IS MORE. WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SUCH AS LOST PAY, TOWING OR A RENTAL CAR. THIS SECTION DOES NOT LIMIT YOUR REFUND RIGHTS UNDER SECTION 7 OR ANY RIGHT THE LAW DOES NOT LET YOU GIVE UP.

6. Texts and email
We answer by text: when you text us, we reply. Checking the text consent box on our sign-up form is optional and isn't a condition of purchase. If you check it, you also agree to receive texts we send on our own, like your welcome text, maintenance reminders and follow-ups. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. For help, reply HELP or email hello@backseatmechanic.com. Reply STOP to stop all texts, including answers; reply START to restart them. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. Privacy Policy: https://backseatmechanic.com/policies/privacy-policy. We'll also email you about your plan, such as changes to these terms and, for yearly plans, a reminder before it renews.

7. Plans, renewal, refunds and canceling
Plans: $12 a month or $99 a year.
Renewal: your plan renews automatically at the end of each month or year, and we charge the card on file, until you cancel. For yearly plans, we'll email you 30 days before renewal with the price and how to cancel.
Canceling: cancel anytime in your customer account. Your plan stops renewing, and you keep the service until the end of the period you paid for. Texting STOP or CANCEL stops all texts but doesn't cancel your plan.
Free first month: if our free preview finds nothing to skip or question on your estimate, your plan's first month is free. You won't be charged until a month after you join, and we'll email you 3 days before that first charge. Cancel before then and you pay nothing. One free month per person.
Refunds: if you join without a preview and we don't find anything to skip or question on the first estimate you send us, we refund your first month within 7 days of that answer, without you having to ask: your first payment on a monthly plan, or one-twelfth of the price on a yearly plan. Otherwise, monthly payments aren't refundable. If you cancel a yearly plan within 14 days of buying it, before we've sent your first answer, you get a full refund automatically. After that, yearly payments aren't refundable.
We may end your plan if you misuse the service, for example by sending abusive, illegal or automated messages, or by using one plan for a business's vehicles. If we end it for any other reason, such as shutting down the service, we'll refund the unused part.

8. Changes
We may update these terms. We'll email you at least 14 days before a change takes effect. If you keep using the service after that, you accept the change. If you don't accept it, you can cancel and we'll refund the unused part of your plan. A change never applies to anything that happened before it took effect.

9. Everything else
Texas law governs these terms. We may transfer these terms to a company that takes over running Backseat Mechanic. If any part of them can't be enforced, the rest still applies. Our Privacy Policy (https://backseatmechanic.com/policies/privacy-policy) explains how we handle your information.

Contact: hello@backseatmechanic.com