WOFs may cost more and be harder to get following a Transport Agency shake-up

Wednesday, 13 February 2019

Each year more than 4 million warrant of fitness inspections are carried out by 8000 inspectors. VINZ Christchurch site manager Billy Green explains a WOF check. (File video first published in 2019)

Efforts to see off cowboy operators offering dodgy warrants of fitness could push up prices for the safety check.

The Transport Agency had begun clamping down on vehicle testing before Tuesday's release of a highly critical independent report into its lack of action over a Dargaville garage that warranted a car later involved in a fatal crash.

Agency board chair Michael Stiassny has promised to continue a thorough overhaul that will include an end to the practice of rolling over inspector appointments, and instead they will have to formally apply for licence renewals.

Motor Trade Association chief executive Craig Pomare supports closer monitoring of testing outlets, and he said the upshot of that could be higher prices for WOFs as smaller garages found they can't afford the time, equipment and training required to meet higher standards.

**READ MORE:

The Transport Agency has warned that garages issuing warrants will be more closely monitored in future, and the industry says this could lead to higher prices for vehicle inspections.

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Motor Trade Association chef executive Craig Pomare says smaller garages may stop issuing WOFs because they can't afford to meet more stringent licensing conditions or the cost of installing new equipment

* Review after transport safety agency's WOF system failure**

He said there may be a case for introducing a minimum price to stamp out the practice of offering WOFs for as little as $10, which some garages did simply to get customers in the door in hopes of picking up mechanical work, but cut prices tended to lead to once-over-lightly inspections.

'If a car is turned around in 10 minutes, they're are not doing their job.

'The average time for a WOF is 45 minutes and the average price charged across the country is about $52.'

The MTA has been lobbying the Transport Agency for years to update the testing regime to reflect more sophisticated technology in modern vehicles, and Pomare said some of their smaller members were already looking to 'pull the plug on doing inspections' as costs rose.

In order to retain sufficient testing facilities in rural areas, the Government may need to consider offering low interest loans or other support to help garages purchase equipment such as roller brake testing machines.

The Transport Agency wants compulsory retests of vehicles passed by dodgy inspectors because so few owners are bothering to get them done.

'If you suddenly said they had to install [them] … I suspect a large percentage would simply say 'that's a $25,000 investment, we can't do it.'

'We cannot suddenly have rural workshops shut because they can't afford new versions of this and that, otherwise it might be 100km away to the nearest WOF inspector.'

The Automobile Association's general manager of motoring Stella Stocks agreed a roller brake test was ideal because it showed whether brakes were properly balanced and better tests were also needed for airbags.

In some cases deliberate tampering with electronics hid the fact that airbags were inoperative, something that was only discovered through a more invasive inspection.

'There's no check other than that the light works, and that doesn't mean that the airbag will work when it needs to.

'It's not easy but we should be starting to have those conversations now ans look at it.'

Stocks believes the Transport Agency is on the right track in seeking to get a law change making it compulsory for motorists to get suspect warrants of fitness checked in the event of a recall

The Dargaville case sparked a major recall of more than 28,000 vehicles warranted by garages and inspectors that had failed to do proper checks.

So far only about 7500 of the vehicles recalled for rechecks have been retested, and about 60 per cent of them failed their first recheck.

To date recalls have centred on Auckland, but on Wednesday the agency recalled a further 3515 vehicles after suspending Invercargill vehicle inspector Donald Stewart McLean and his testing station, The WOF Man Limited

The Transport Agency has extended the offer of free retests until the end of March, but Stiassny said they could not force motorists to get them done under current legislation.