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My car (has broken or broke) down, so I have to call a mechanic at once.

Should I use the Present Perfect or the Past Simple in this situation? I think the Present Perfect is more suitable because the effect is shown.

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British English uses 'broken down'.

Unsure if 'broke down' is considered to be grammatically correct in the USA.

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Either is fine - like you say, the present perfect also implies it's having some effect on the current time (it's still broken, I have to take the bus, I'm late etc.) whereas my car broke down just says that the event occurred in the past (the rest of your sentence is enough context to know it's still broken and affecting the present though!)

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