I've used one inspection centre until a specific guy kept on failing stupid thing. Then switched to an AA inspection station which was great until the same guy got a job there. Last thing I failed before I stopped going there was brake pads too thin, so I remove them and measured the thickness 5mm while the minimum spec is 2mm but the inspector would not accept that saying I have to pay the dealership to check it out as he does not know what the correct spec is for this specific car. Later I discovered an inspector actually cannot fail you if he can't visually inspect an item, these were rear brake pads which cannot be visually inspected without removing the wheels.
For the last few years I go to VINZ by Sylvia Park, Auckland. They do a lot of commercial/company vehicles and import registration, less consumers, so appears to be a bit more pragmatic. Worst I got there is that there is a minor split in one CV boot which is not a fail yet but will need to be replaced in 1-2 years.
Regarding the guy that failed due to 1 LED dead in a high tail light, the rule is at least 1/4 of your lights must work. This means if you have 3 bulbs and one is dead, you fail. But if you have 4 bulbs and one is dead, you pass. There is a specific criteria for classifying if an LED fitting is counted as dead or alive, can't remember what it is, but is something like half of the number of LEDs. Definitely not just one LED.
It is worth familiarising yourself with the vehicle inspection manual, or pay a (good) dealer to do the job right.
Sidestep: It was already entered in the system as a fail. And the vehicle would have had to be towed. It was more time efficient to crimp up a cable (and remove it again afterwards)...
Are you definitely talking about a cable rather than a hydraulic brake hose? Some of your terminology "2 piece" could refer to types of after market brake hoses that aren't approved.
IlDuce: My most pedantic fail - rego label holder (was older double sized one one half label, other half AA information.
Stupidest thing wrong resulting in pass - brand new motorcycle with speedo/tacho cables transposed... would have been reading 30-50kmh idling!
Most dangerous thing resulting in pass - another brand new motorcycle, again assembled wrong, front wheel spacers transposed, caused disc to be hard up metal to metal along full length of caliper. Was told its an easy mistake to make (and also to miss in WOF test!), so now I got a 2014 bike with nasty disc/pads and caliper with 2 different colours.
I had a second-hand Ducati pass (on the day I bought it), 2 days later, the front pads were metal onto the disc.
Sidestep: It was already entered in the system as a fail. And the vehicle would have had to be towed. It was more time efficient to crimp up a cable (and remove it again afterwards)...
Are you definitely talking about a cable rather than a hydraulic brake hose? Some of your terminology "2 piece" could refer to types of after market brake hoses that aren't approved.
Brake cable. He failed it because it was 2 piece, with an adjustment plate between the two.. just like any one of the millions of vehicles manufactured that way.
Sidestep: It was already entered in the system as a fail. And the vehicle would have had to be towed. It was more time efficient to crimp up a cable (and remove it again afterwards)...
Are you definitely talking about a cable rather than a hydraulic brake hose? Some of your terminology "2 piece" could refer to types of after market brake hoses that aren't approved.
Brake cable. He failed it because it was 2 piece, with an adjustment plate between the two.. just like any one of the millions of vehicles manufactured that way.
ie: Anything in the 70's, 80's and any pick-up ever made?
I have had horror stories with VTNZ, as well as independent testing stations/workshops - abject incompetence, arrogant smart-alec attitudes, and attempted price gouging for unneeded work. I use a local mechanic who has a small workshop. He's a good guy and I trust him. I believe he also trusts me. It's also an opportunity for me to see and inspect the underside of my cars for non-wof issues while it's up on the hoist, while he's checking for potential WOF issues. He's happy for me to be there - and answer any questions or give his opinion on things - or talk about the weather etc. There's probably some OSH rule to say I shouldn't be there. It's a good arrangement. Beats the hell out of testing stations and large workshops.
Sidestep: It was already entered in the system as a fail. And the vehicle would have had to be towed. It was more time efficient to crimp up a cable (and remove it again afterwards)...
Are you definitely talking about a cable rather than a hydraulic brake hose? Some of your terminology "2 piece" could refer to types of after market brake hoses that aren't approved.
Brake cable. He failed it because it was 2 piece, with an adjustment plate between the two.. just like any one of the millions of vehicles manufactured that way.
ie: Anything in the 70's, 80's and any pick-up ever made?
Yes it was an American pickup. Millions of them made like that.
Sidestep: It was already entered in the system as a fail. And the vehicle would have had to be towed. It was more time efficient to crimp up a cable (and remove it again afterwards)...
Are you definitely talking about a cable rather than a hydraulic brake hose? Some of your terminology "2 piece" could refer to types of after market brake hoses that aren't approved.
Brake cable. He failed it because it was 2 piece, with an adjustment plate between the two.. just like any one of the millions of vehicles manufactured that way.
ie: Anything in the 70's, 80's and any pick-up ever made?
Yes it was an American pickup. Millions of them made like that.
Ford sell millions a year... probably getting closer to "billions" made by now! ;p
Sidestep:Yes it was an American pickup. Millions of them made like that.
So rather than "2 piece cable" it was a very standard 1 cable to each side with a balance bar?
Like most US pickups the cable between the park brake assy and the equalizer plate is 2 piece, with an adjustment plate/tensioner in the middle. In typical american fashion the rear or "intermediate" cable part comes in different lengths to allow different wheelbases with a minimum of different parts. The WOF guy didn't like this. I took the 2 pieces down the road to a place that made me a 1 piece nonadjustable cable which I popped under the truck and installed. I never made the mistake of going there again.
Like fred99 I have a local buddy with a garage who does WOFs on my private cars. He's very safety oriented but not pedantic. Over the years he's caught a couple of things I' be missed - including a cracked control arm that could have been very dangerous. I appreciate his thorough inspections - and agree with the reasoning behind yearly WOFs.
I' ve lived in several places in Australia, the US and Canada where all that's required is an inspection at initial registration - and then never again. Relying on police to spot unroadworthy vehicles, and drivers to maintain them properly seems a bit hit or miss. All those places, however, require the driver to carry liability insurance. The theory being that with the driver liable for damages caused by an unroadworthy vehicle the risk is transferred to them..
Sidestep:Yes it was an American pickup. Millions of them made like that.
So rather than "2 piece cable" it was a very standard 1 cable to each side with a balance bar?
Like most US pickups the cable between the park brake assy and the equalizer plate is 2 piece, with an adjustment plate/tensioner in the middle. In typical american fashion the rear or "intermediate" cable part comes in different lengths to allow different wheelbases with a minimum of different parts. The WOF guy didn't like this. I took the 2 pieces down the road to a place that made me a 1 piece nonadjustable cable which I popped under the truck and installed. I never made the mistake of going there again.
Which is waaay less safe because it could just operate one side... the guy was an idiot. That said, I found out from an ex-tafe teacher the other day that they're not allowed to fail anyone doing a trade anymore, no matter how stupid.... WTF?
Sidestep: I' ve lived in several places in Australia, the US and Canada where all that's required is an inspection at initial registration - and then never again. Relying on police to spot unroadworthy vehicles, and drivers to maintain them properly seems a bit hit or miss. All those places, however, require the driver to carry liability insurance. The theory being that with the driver liable for damages caused by an unroadworthy vehicle the risk is transferred to them..
QLD & Victoria require a roadworthy every time a vehicle changes owner. And they're waaaay more intense than a WoF. But South Aussie requires nothing if it's still registered.. That's the reason I've replaced all the suspension in my BMW E32 (Adelaide). Was dodgy as all f%^* when I bought it.
blakamin: QLD & Victoria require a roadworthy every time a vehicle changes owner. And they're waaaay more intense than a WoF. But South Aussie requires nothing if it's still registered.. That's the reason I've replaced all the suspension in my BMW E32 (Adelaide). Was dodgy as all f%^* when I bought it.
4 years in QLD where I once had a ute fail a roadworthy for having 'cracks' in the leather of the driver's seat... Several years in U S states that required a very basic inspection, including Montana which at the time had no inspection, no seatbelt laws, no speed limits.... The last 10 years mainly in Alberta, Canada, only inspected on purchase if older that 10 years and required by your insurer.. mine doesn't
AA did pre-purchase inspection on a vehicle we were going to buy. Passed with flying colours. The guy selling it to us went to get a WOF before we bought and it failed on a couple of checks that were part of the pre-purchase inspection -included worn shocks that were riding 6 inches too low. The seller paid to fix them, so no cost to us, but shows the pre-purchase check was poor.
Sidestep: 4 years in QLD where I once had a ute fail a roadworthy for having 'cracks' in the leather of the driver's seat...
Yeah, hence autobarn, repco and supercheap selling a billion seat covers! They do that in Vic too... :/
All that said, I failed a WoF once because my E34 seatbelt height adjuster didn't work when the seat moved. Easy fix, but I would've thought that when it was locked in position, it was locked!
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