Forums > General Discussion   Shooting the breeze...

Anyone had any really unreliable cars?

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Created by FormulaNova 5 months ago, 25 Aug 2025
FormulaNova
WA, 15086 posts
22 Sep 2025 9:54PM
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nicephotog said..


Never heard of anything that slack ever!


I don't understand what you are saying.

If I have understood you correctly, you think I was saying that NSW was easy? No, you misunderstand. It was easy if you had a roadworthy car. The emphasis is on the 'roadworthy' bit.

Here in WA the pit inspections are thorough, but after that you can drive almost anything as long as a cop doesn't defect you. I have found that in general a car that passes an annual inspection in NSW will struggle to pass a pit inspection in WA, but it would probably fail a NSW pit inspection anyway. Well at least for cars that are a few years old anyway.

I recently bought a car from NSW and re-did the rego into WA. The car is in good condition now. But there is no way it should have passed a proper rego inspection in NSW, but somehow the dealer magically made it pass. I hear of this sort of thing and wonder how many places do this. I remember a neighbour years ago even offering to 'inspect' my car without even seeing it. In WA I think the DOT are pretty good in chasing up inspection stations and if a dodgy car got through there would be hell to pay.

Again, I actually prefer the NSW inspection system as it means that people at least have major problems fixed and have good tyres and working lights.

IanR
NSW, 1324 posts
23 Sep 2025 9:16AM
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I found the roadworthy check in WA to be a bit of a farce when I had to change my NSW register motor bike to WA Plates.
The bike was just over a year old. The only thing that happened was the guy checked the engine and Vin numbers corresponded and took it for a twenty minute ride. It was also quite expensive.

One thing as a motorcyclist that I notice is the amount of oil on the roads here in WA. In NSW they check the vehicle for oil leaks and if there are any you don't get your pink slip.

FormulaNova
WA, 15086 posts
23 Sep 2025 9:00AM
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IanR said..
I found the roadworthy check in WA to be a bit of a farce when I had to change my NSW register motor bike to WA Plates.
The bike was just over a year old. The only thing that happened was the guy checked the engine and Vin numbers corresponded and took it for a twenty minute ride. It was also quite expensive.

One thing as a motorcyclist that I notice is the amount of oil on the roads here in WA. In NSW they check the vehicle for oil leaks and if there are any you don't get your pink slip.



One of the inspection stations here was telling me that he had to transfer a NSW rego bike to WA that was almost new and did just the basic checks. Yet the DoT then grilled him about why he passed it. He was saying that sometimes they can be a bit challenging to deal with and forget that these guys test cars and bikes all day every day and can generally tell when something is not the way it should be by feel.

I can understand that as I got pulled up for some bushes that needed replacing. I actually looked at them when I did some other work and thought they were fine, but he was right and they were gone. I replaced them and you could feel the car was suddenly tracking perfectly.

You think the inspections are expensive. I had one guy fail me for indicator bulbs which then required me to return for another hundred and something re-inspection! Almost anyone in NSW would have said 'mate, you need to replace these bulbs, here they are for $3 and I can replace them now'. Nope, this guy thought it was fine to bring me back to check that the bulbs were now good.... I think there is something in the DoT rules about not offering to do the work yourself (as the inspection station) but this was ridiculous.

UncleBob
NSW, 1299 posts
23 Sep 2025 4:02PM
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Poor performing and unreliable cars ? Only Bob and we all had to put up with that one.

fangman
WA, 1906 posts
23 Sep 2025 5:24PM
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UncleBob said..
Poor performing and unreliable cars ? Only Bob and we all had to put up with that one.


Sigh,..that took me way too long to figure out.

woko
NSW, 1757 posts
23 Sep 2025 8:13PM
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Just done the annual nsw rego inspection & yep it pushes you to check ya lights wash the beast,maybe a pair of tyres. Every few years, mate I replaced the wiper blades for ya caper that's an extra 30 bucks, that's when I change inspectors. In general it's an ok system,

FormulaNova
WA, 15086 posts
23 Sep 2025 6:57PM
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fangman said..

UncleBob said..
Poor performing and unreliable cars ? Only Bob and we all had to put up with that one.



Sigh,..that took me way too long to figure out.


Uugghhh... I was going to ask you to explain it to me, but then I remembered 'carr'.

He was a good politician if there was any such thing. A journo could ask him a difficult question and he could turn it around and answer a very different but positive question.

FormulaNova
WA, 15086 posts
23 Sep 2025 6:58PM
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woko said..
Just done the annual nsw rego inspection & yep it pushes you to check ya lights wash the beast,maybe a pair of tyres. Every few years, mate I replaced the wiper blades for ya caper that's an extra 30 bucks, that's when I change inspectors. In general it's an ok system,


In WA we only change the wipers when it rains for the second time that year and remember what they are.

nicephotog
NSW, 276 posts
28 Sep 2025 10:09PM
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Well, you can rely on f___wits!!!!


September 28th 2025
Setback around $300 (200 the door, 40 extra trimmer tools, 40 fuel, 20 snacks while away) , some prick reversed into the side of my car causing the driver door to be useless.
Took five hours to change over a door from the wreckers.
I had to take out the window regulator and locks so my key would operate.
Need to do a little again , the inner door latch mechanism is unusable!
Today I should been removing the engine and transmission to replace the clutch and swap the transmission!

My ",posts" section (not videos) on YouTube (theoldnic) shows the carnage.



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Forums > General Discussion   Shooting the breeze...


"Anyone had any really unreliable cars?" started by FormulaNova