Are RWCs a rort?

Submitted: Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 23:36
ThreadID: 83942 Views:3881 Replies:9 FollowUps:20
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Bought a 2007 Corolla in Adelaide last week for my daughter in Melbourne. The car has been privately owned, dealer serviced and on thorough inspection and servicing last week, was faultless.

In Melbourne, we had it booked in to a local workshop to obtain a RWC for Vic registration and transfer.
#1 The workshop can charge what they like for the RWC – this one cost $95 and the only fault the mechanic could find was the rear wiper smeared the rear window because I hadn’t cleaned it. So he added an extra $14 for replacing it with an aftermarket blade.
#2 He had us in his office for 30 minutes while he wrote the certificate – during which time, he suggested we get a “slight noise in the front" checked out by him on another day. We politely said we’d look into it. We have never heard the noise.
#3 He then suggested we book it in with him for a service - by saying the vehicle was due – which is actually due in 5 months.
#4 He rubbished the “Toyota Extra Care Warranty” which we had transferred from the previous owner by saying they won’t pay out on any claim – they always have a way out of it…not worth the paper its written on.
#5 Then to thoroughly annoy the daylights out of us, the certificate was rejected by Vic Roads because he made a correction to the engine number by crossing it out and rewriting it. My daughter then had to spend 2 hours taking the certificate back to him and getting him to rewrite a new certificate, then returning to VicRoads. Instead of apologising, he said “Yeah I wondered whether they’d knock it back”.

This experience is similar to another daughter’s experience in Queensland last year where her Landcruiser was knocked back on a RWC because it had “some wear” evident on a trailing arm bush. The workshop quoted her $700 to replace the bushes. To get the roadworthy (I gather you are not allowed to get a second opinion on a RWC), she got another workshop to replace the bushes for half the price – the removed bushes were in serviceable condition. The RWC mechanic didn’t even inspect the work had been done.

So what are your thoughts?? Is the RWC system used by some states too easily abused? I’d like to think we just struck a couple of duds, but there's an incentive there to make a few $$ when you have the owner over a barrel.

Why don't all States have independent inspections (such as the Government inspections in SA and NT)?
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Reply By: kevmac....(WA) - Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 23:50

Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 23:50
In WA inspections only required if been out of rego certain amount of time and these are done by the licensing authority itself in metro area and by agents in regeional areas. Believe me the agents are quite thorough , becaus e there have been rogue ones that were reported. So my suggestion would be report the inspection agent to the appropriate authority if u believe they are lax.
AnswerID: 443270

Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 00:20

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 00:20
Sounds similar to SA, where they rely on random police inspections to get dodgy cars off the road. I have no problem with a thorough inspection, as long as you only get pulled up on items that affect the vehicle's "roadworthiness". A dirty rear wiper rubber is not listed as a roadworthy issue according to VicRoads.

If we complain to an authority, then the workshop has my daughter's address and contact details...........not worth the potential grief. I wouldn't call either of the mechanics "dodgy", just that in the current system they are easily rewarded by doing RWC's.
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Reply By: SDG - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 00:02

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 00:02
In NSW, if you fail a test, you can get it repaired by whoever you want, including yourself if capable. You do need to go back and have it relooked at by original inspector.

Each state seems to have different degrees of strickness. For the last three years I have not had visible reversing ligts. They are hidden behind a dual wheel carrier. (visible now)Apparently not needed for a rego check. Many utes can't have the brake test done as they are to light in the rear. Most likely they should put weight on the tray, but they will often use another vehicle.

Here they have a set price. $33.00 for pink slip, $47.00 from memory for a blue. Any work done is extra. If you use them.
AnswerID: 443271

Follow Up By: Patrol22 - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 07:14

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 07:14
The other difference for us in NSW SDG is that once the vehicle is 5 years old we have to have it done every year. And we also have to have annual RWC done on any trailer fitted with brakes.....now that's a rort...kick the tyres, check the lights and write the certificate $33 please.
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Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 08:01

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 08:01
"kick the tyres, check the lights and write the certificate $33 please"
I was brought up in Sydney in the 1970's and we always knew an inspector who would do exactly that - how else would you keep a rusty old Holden on the road?
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Follow Up By: Hollywood - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 08:29

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 08:29
A mechanic I know said the brake test is a load of crap. He took my Commodore ute for a spin and tested the brakes that way. Then he got the machine, entered the details, squeezed one part, bashed another against the bench and laughingly said, Congrats mate, your brakes passed. He does it the old school way by driving it for about 10 mins, not up the driveway of the workshop.
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Follow Up By: SDG - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 13:13

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 13:13
Motorcycles are done without geting off the bike. Lights-good, horn-good,blinkers-good, hold the brake and I will see if I can push you, not moving-good
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Follow Up By: IronMan - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 17:43

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 17:43
Are Motorcycles?

I bought a motorcycle in NSW then moved to SA. While it was still registerd I rode it to Regency Park (inspection station) and asked for a quick opinion on the straight through exhaust. I got the answer I was expecting (No way mate!) so I obtained a factory exhaust for the inspection.

Brought the, now, unregistered bike in on a trailer to Regency Park. Solly old codger didn't check anything past the chassis number. The bike was a 1985 Yamaha XV1000, so plenty old enough to warrant even a cursory inspection. Nope! No lights or anything.

After I paid the rego, two strongly worded e-mails to Transport SA led to precisely no satisfactory answers.
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Follow Up By: SDG - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 18:19

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 18:19
Mine is the same bike. Has straight through exhaust. Also has dual filament front blinker globes, as a standard design. This means that the front blinkers are always on (running lights) and blink a lot brighter when flashing. Apparently amber coloured lights displayed on the front of a vehicle is acceptable. Makes the bike more visible as well.
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Reply By: Member - Boeing (PER) - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 00:16

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 00:16
Hi Phil, I purchased a 06' RV Troop Carrier from SA in '09 ex SES and then had it transported by truck(Adelaide Car Carriers (on special) to WA. Took it to Dept of Transport for inspection and transfer to WA ($65). No problems except the guy got wound up about the 5 seats until he saw the compliance plate. First RV he had ever seen!
Central locking but no immobiliser so off to a auto electrician to get one fitted the same day. Back to the Dept of Transport the same day and a 5 minute (if that check) another $65 . With the Stamp Duty (tax) it cost me circa $2,500 to transfer the licence and renew for 12 months .

Plus airfares to SA and back but having said that, I love this thing to bits and have had it serviced by two experienced mechanics both of which can't fault it. I guess the demo drive up the Adelaide Hillls paid off. (God it gets foggy up there in June). LOL

Cheers


Mark
AnswerID: 443272

Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 08:18

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 08:18
Gday Mark,
Yeah, HDJ78RV - got to be one of the best 4wds ever built! I think the stamp duty and rego would have cost you $2500 in SA as well - about $1600 SD and $900 for rego/3rd party.

Cheers
phil
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Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 07:11

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 07:11
Phil,

Just one of the reasons why "SA is Great".
(Well, apart from the Rann/Foley Circus)
Bill


I'm diagonally parked in a parallel Universe!

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AnswerID: 443278

Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 08:25

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 08:25
Gday Bill,
They said last week that Adelaide was "Australia's most livable city". We probably earned that by not having all those damn toll roads........hehe
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Follow Up By: Dasher Des - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 12:00

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 12:00
I hear Mr Foley's attacker faces court today. I wonder what the charge might be. Maybe it's not hitting him hard enough. LOL
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Reply By: Member - Oldbaz. NSW. - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 08:44

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 08:44
G'day Phil, firstly I wouldnt darken the door of that workshop again. secondly,
you may get as many RWC's as you like, if you feel dudded ,take the car
somewhere else, you have to pay for each inspection though. I think annual
inspections are a safety issue & dont mind paying...then again I know I can
trust my bloke to give an honest assessment & not miss something that may,
at a later date, cause an accident. One can easily see the wrecks on the road in states where inspection only occurs with change of ownership. Why dont we
have common rules anyway ?...cheers.....oldbaz.
AnswerID: 443281

Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 09:20

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 09:20
Yes, that guy has lost a potential future customer.
In Qld (and ? other states?), you can't get multiple RWCs - they are entered into a database whether passed or failed.

Available evidence is that Roadworthy inspections do not save lives.
Have a read from the RAA website: LINK HERE

".... formal Inquiries both here and interstate have found that such inspections:
• do not increase the roadworthiness or safety of the passenger vehicle fleet,
• place an unjustifiable financial burden on motorists,
• are not cost effective, and
• may actually give consumers a false sense of confidence about the condition of the vehicle they are purchasing.

Cheers
Phil
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Follow Up By: Roughasguts - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 11:11

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 11:11
Hmmmm I moved from S.A. to NSW a long while back and had my Cordia turbo fail an inspection due to the wheels from a Starion being 5mm to wide but still inside the guards.

The remedy put steel rims and old re tread tyres on a high perforance car, drive at 55kph to the inspection place because of vibration! get it past the blue slip. Then get told put your old rims and tyres back on those re treads will kill you.

Makes no sence.

Cheers.
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Follow Up By: Member - Oldbaz. NSW. - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 11:33

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 11:33
Well, perhaps evidence does suggest RWC are not effective, but I will continue
to be happy pay to have my bloke inspect my vehicles. I agree that that there is
little point if not done properly. As for running illegal width rims....your choice
entirely...your insurance company will wipe you like a db if you make a claim, &
the type of tyres you run is, again, your choice......oldbaz.
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Follow Up By: Roughasguts - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 11:53

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 11:53
Never had it insured oldbaz the premium was over $2500.00 a year so I saved around 30 grand by not having it insured, before it finally died at 385k.

Cheers
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FollowupID: 715358

Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 12:22

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 12:22
"but I will continue to be happy pay to have my bloke inspect my vehicles"

What about the bloke who services your vehicle? Isn't that his job too?
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Follow Up By: Member - Oldbaz. NSW. - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 14:14

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 14:14
He is one & the same, but as our Km are shared by 4 cars he may not have
serviced one for 6 months or more when inspection is due.........oldbaz.
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Reply By: Shaker - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 09:29

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 09:29
Sounds to me that financially, you got off lightly!
AnswerID: 443287

Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 12:24

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 12:24
hehehe ....I reckon you're right - the guy was scraping the bottom of the barrel to only sting me for a wiper blade.
Wonder why they charge 3 times more than a NSW roadworthy?
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 18:20

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 18:20
Maybe it is more comprehensive?
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Reply By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 18:59

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 18:59
Well I wish they would bring regular RWC's in in Queensland.

Lots of old Falcons with the ball joints falling out and 4wd with bald tyres running around.
Guy I worked with drove a Suzuki that was completely rusted out, an absolute death trap and he drove it like he stole it.

We have a system in NZ that you have to get a "Warrant of fitness" every six months if you car is more than two years old.

The system is linked nationally and all inspections are entered up BEFORE they are done. Guy I went to was very thorough because as he said you go out and have a prang and he could lose his accreditation.

They are very tough on rust and if they find any it has to be cut out and taken back UNPAINTED for re-inspection.

Lots of Toranas and Kingswoods were put off the road for rust near hinges in the doors.

Coronas for across the back window in front of boot.

He would occasionally put a fault in and then a correction to show he was picking up on a few things.

Upset them and they could fail you for a tail light bulb being out.

In the good old days you could get failed and go down the road to an easier place and get passed.

Not any more.

Has certainly upped the condition of the fleet in NZ and despite the article rubbishing them I think they are necessary.

Have seen Troopys in the outback towns with the mudguards in front of the doors roped down to stop them flapping. Lovely if you go to close to a cyclist and one flies out.

Always those who flout the law and dont register, insure or get a WOF.

No good legislating against idiots I guess.








AnswerID: 443357

Follow Up By: BuggerBoggedAgain - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 20:56

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 20:56
I tend to agree with Graham unlike the response below, fairy tales???, nope, have had the opportunity to watch corruption at its best in NSW.

According to RTA, they have a scheme, where-as, transport companies can do their own inspections on their vehicles and just send the paper-work to RTA, who then send out all the rego. stickers for the fleets.

Here I am driving a 24 wheeler with the floor completely rusted away, and watching the black-stuff pass me by, whilst over on the windscreen is the rego sticker saying this semi passed inspection.

You can't miss these companies, they have a transfer sticker with half-a-dozen red ticks going down saying this company is an accreditated company for inspections, my company was in SA, but the fleet worked in NSW, but, regos were handed out in SA, cheaper, even when other interstate ppl moved here, if they lived here for more than 3 months, must by LAW, change their registration to comply with NSW.

But it would seem, interstate companies are exempt.

I remember good-ol-days, when I couldn't get my heap of crap registered, I went down the street to another, whose charges were a six-pack and a carton, no worries, times have changed

Every time I was up in Qld, I was amazed at the number of really really clapped-out vehicles on roads, so much rust and all passed inspection, what inspection??

I wish we had todays laws 40 yrs ago,then I would not have bought the mini-moke with a cement floor, a what, your kidding, nope, hits with hammer, thud, thud, NOT clunk clunk, LOL LOL
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Reply By: Member - John B2 (VIC) - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 19:39

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 19:39
Another fairy Tale

Hans Christian Andersen would have loved this story!!!

Cheers,
John
AnswerID: 443362

Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 21:03

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 21:03
Which post are you referring to????



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FollowupID: 715416

Reply By: SDG - Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 21:57

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 at 21:57
Heres one for you.

Have been told that military vehicles are not even registered/insured. All those you see driving on the road tranporting troops, supplies are registered to a military standard but not a state/territory level. Some of those driving do not have a licence(civie) I know of one 18year old driving what we would need a HR for.

If you buy a used army vehicle, Landrover, etc, most likely you will need to get it modified to suit road conditions.
AnswerID: 443380

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