QLD Safety Certifcate / Roadworthy

[jason_85]

I will be looking at selling my car in the near future and just wondering if anyone has a checklist of what the mechanics check when they issue a safety certificate in QLD?

[Unco]

what car? the EL?

[jason_85]

Yep

Just want to start fixing little things that i will get picked up on.

eg will need to replace 2 seatbelts cause those little clips have broken

[savagE]

They only check stuctural rust, things light light bulbs and whether the odometer works.
They are pathetic... should be a piece of proverbial.

[jason_85]

Originally Posted by savagE

They only check stuctural rust, things light light bulbs and whether the odometer works.
They are pathetic... should be a piece of proverbial.

haha where do you get yours done?

I wouldnt want to buy a used car of you if they are the only things they check

[Unco]

jason_85 it really depends where you take it. they've always been fairly thorough wherever i've taken my cars in the past. basically, if you know of something that's wrong with it, they'll find it.

check the obvious stuff, steering wheel, brake pedal rubber, check that your roof lining hasn't dropped, seatbelts as you mentioned, they'll get you for that.

do you know if there's any rust on the car?

outside, make sure all the lights work, horn, washers. check your tyres, brake pads, some places will get you for low brake pads, some will even get you for worn brake discs. check your shock absorbers (make sure there's no moisture evident around the strut inserts). check your bushes under the car, make sure there's no cracks on them or oil dripping on them.

obviously, check for oil leaks. most places will want to see a car completely bone dry when they put it up on the hoist.

[jason_85]

Unco

Yeah i will be up for seatbelts. will need to source some mocha ones i replaced the roof lining last year.

Theres no rust in it at all.

This might sound stupid but do you know how many power windows need to be working? Dad was trying to fix one of the back ones before i bought it off him but just disconnected it. I have never really bothered with it cause i dont sit in the back I heard somewhere that you need 3 out of the 4 working? is this right or have i been fed some bull %^%$

Mechanically its good my parents owned it since it was 12months old and i bought it 1.5yrs ago off them. So besides the windows and seatbelts i should be right

thanks

[Neeek]

Originally Posted by jason_85

This might sound stupid but do you know how many power windows need to be working? Dad was trying to fix one of the back ones before i bought it off him but just disconnected it. I have never really bothered with it cause i dont sit in the back I heard somewhere that you need 3 out of the 4 working? is this right or have i been fed some bull %^%$

In my experience, all of them. Our Saab was failed for not having one of the rears working. Fortunately it was only a faulty connection that was easy to fix. The reasoning was that it was a sfaety issue - in the event of an accident opening windows are a good thing... apparently... even if they're smashed out and the battery's disconnected, but there we go..!

What it will fail on depends very much on how thorough a mechanic wants to be.

Our Saab was failed on VERY minor stuff (aforementioned window, parking light out, engine oil leak from rocker cover, ABS light on) and all those were fixed easily. The only thing we never fixed was the headlight wiper, one of which had a busted motor. I argued the point to the testing mechanic when he failed it on that (after the others bits were sorted) and he agreed to not worry about it. But anything that worked on a car when it was new has to still work, as far as I know.

My XC wagon failed it's first roady on a perished brake hose, engine oil leak, one tyre was below legal limit, crack in steering wheel rim, one reverse light was out, and a couple of other bits and bobs. The second roady I got from somewhere else passed it first time with only a couple of said items (important ones such as tyres and brakes) properly fixed. He just shoved it on the hoist, had a good look, tested the lights, took it for a spin and that was it.

Depends on where you take it, really. Luck has a lot to do with it. But before you take it anywhere give it a good clean and get underneath and clean up any oil on the underside of the car. Just make sure it's in the best nick possible for the testing guys and if you can. And if you know anyone who'll turn a blind eye to the odd non-safety-related failure, so much the better.

Best of luck!

[jason_85]

Thanks Neek

I guess everyone will be different and from my experience getting one is a pain in the butt but at the end of the day i know when it comes for me to buy id want it done properly.

I have also found that if you purchase an unroadworthy car and are getting the roadworthy for yourself they are more lenient.

[Unco]

from my experience, if you're going to keep the car, they'll just check the important stuff. if you're selling the car, they'll go through every little thing that may need fixing and fail you for it. which is fair enough, if they get reported for passing unroadworthy vehicles, they are up for a big fine $$$.

[dredd_xr6]

ive heard kmart tyre and auto places are usually honest and not too stringent... had my old mirage roadworthy done there... tyres were fairly low on rubber but still passed no probs. i dont even think they took it for a drive as i waited at the shop for them to do it.

good luck

[jason_85]

mmm Kmart have stuffed me around too much in the past with a puncture repair