Overhaul proposed for car warrants

Vehicles will be safer if Warrant of Fitness inspections are performed according to the distance they travel, a Whangarei mechanic says.

Proposed changes reducing the frequency of WoF safety checks could save drivers millions of dollars, according to the Ministry of Transport. The options were revealed in a discussion document on New Zealand's vehicle licensing system. They include a proposal to carry out vehicle inspections according to their mileage.

Kelly Miru of Kelly's Automotive said all drivers would benefit under a mileage scheme.

"Some guy may do 100,000 (km) every three years and you might get another one that does only 20,000 (km), so whether it's a new or old car it should be based on mileage."

Drivers whose cars required more care would be forced to step up under such a scheme, Mr Kelly said. "You get the likes of taxis which come in and their tyres are ace, or just gone after six months. So to give them another six months would be quite bad.

"But this wouldn't happen if it (WoF inspections) happened on mileage," he said.

The proposed options include four alternatives to streamline the warrant of fitness scheme and changes to the vehicle registration programme. Currently, vehicles must be inspected every six months if older than six years. Newer vehicles are inspected annually.

At a cost of about $50 per inspection, Kiwis drivers are forking out nearly $250 million in inspection fees each year.

Proposed changes include tougher testing standards, but less frequent inspections and the introduction of demerit points penalising those who don't comply with WoF safety standards.

A further seven changes to vehicle registration are included in the document, plus new options for the Certificate of Fitness and Transport Licensing systems.

Drivers would save millions of dollars in testing fees and administration costs each year under the proposed options, the ministry says.