11 July 2009

Who to see for rego inspections?

| Phantom52
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I have recently moved to ACT and need to change my rego from NSW.

Can anyone recommend a authorised service centre that won’t give me a huge repair bill?

Its an 95 EF Falcon there are minor issues.

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I’ve been going to KMart Tyre and Auto at Manuka for ages – absolutely no complaints about price or service.

Rego will be cheaper in ACT compared to NSW.

In NSW you pay twice for compulsory third party (CTP) insurance. Once for the Green Slip (to the provider of your choice). Second in a levy on top of the car rego payment (which goes to GIO, who had to be compensated for losing the statewide CTP business that they had up until deregulation, 15 or 20 years ago.

Here in the ACT all the CTP business goes to NRMA as part of your car rego payment. There’s no deregulation (yet) so no need for the licensing authority to have to compensate the single desk provider for loss of revenue.

Further, in NSW you have to get an annual pink slip/vehicle inspection. If you like cheap old cars like I do, that can set you back a bundle in repairs plus inspection every time you have to get the cash together to pay for rego and insurance.

farnarkler said :

How about Kmart auto?

I went to Kmart in Hawker, the guy charged me $228 just to change the centre muffler plus the checkup fee of $53. He ripped me off by $92. As there was an extra charge on the bill for R&R Exaust, when asked whats it for guy said its labour charges. I think labour charges should be mentioned as labour charges. Unless he is cheating tax.

Never again at Kmart.

Wraith said :

IF you are on the Southside, Lanyon service centre is a good fair garage, they don’t mess around and will actually be honest with you regarding your rego inspection, never had a problem with them.

Can you please me the address of Lanyon service centre.

Mike Bessenger10:23 am 13 Jul 09

You might be thinking of Holt auto port? Located at the caltex at kippax.

Don’t waste your time or money on KMart Auto.

There is someone in Holt who a lot of my friends have gone to and have been very happy with. Not at Kippax – Holt proper. Can’t think of the name of the guy tho sorry, and don’t know if he is able to do slips.

canberratowie2 said :

Ultimate Tunes in Phillip is very good !

He has turned his hean on a few “little” problems in the past for me

http://www.ultimatetunes.com.au/Index.html

He probably didn’t notice unless they’ve changed owners. They cost me almost cost me $2,500 needing to replace an aircon system after one of their “services” about 5 or so years ago.

From the regoact website, a complete list of approved inspection centres:
http://www.rego.act.gov.au/registrations/regoaes.htm

I’m pretty sure you could get a similar service from most of those places, given it’s a 5-10 minute job.

Hells_Bells7411:16 am 12 Jul 09

*use perhaps.

Hells_Bells7411:16 am 12 Jul 09

Harry’s did my last couple of inspections too. Seemed okay and my bf’s work uses them all the time.

How about Kmart auto?

harry’s auto care belconnen……good service…. quick and fair with rego inspections and also authorised to do gas certificates if the car is lpg…..

IF you are on the Southside, Lanyon service centre is a good fair garage, they don’t mess around and will actually be honest with you regarding your rego inspection, never had a problem with them.

My car’s up to 270,000 km and I have it done by the car mob at the servo at the end of Lonsdale st, facing Haig Park. They are sensible and basic and know their way around cars without computers. apparently mine has an oil leak and they keep mucking around with the “rocker cover” (no idea what that is) to no avail. It doesn’t drip though.

They do a good honest job and I believe they’re official for ACT rego.

OH, and it’s not a falcon, it’s a suzuki!

Thankyou all for the helpful suggestions. If the car needs fixing I am all up for fixing it but car has done over 200000km there will be minor oil leaks and cannot afford to spend on a new car. I live in Belconnen.

i’m confused, is phantom52 looking simply for a reputable inspector so as not to get ripped off (entirely laudable) or seeking to avoid having to make the vehicle entirely roadworthy with some sort of bodgy inspection place who will be soft (entirely reprehensible)? if the vehicle requires repairs to make it roadworthy, then it does.

Oh and dvaey- living in South Tuggers is a good reason to go somewhere else than Dickson too!

Depends on where you live. We recently had a good experience with the mechanics in Lanyon for a 92 Magna.

BenMac said :

Keep your car registered in NSW and get any mail sent to a PO Box in Queanbeyan. I think there’s quite a few who do that, as it may be cheaper.

Im pretty sure this is more expensive. I remember my parents often buying cars in NSW with 6 months rego, claiming the refund and using that refund to buy 12 months of ACT rego when I was younger.

Also, these answers are all good for mechanics, but if all you want is an inspection, then goto the motor registry in Dickson. Ive always taken my cars there, much quicker inspection and unlike a mechanic they have no interest in saying something needs to be repaired to get the extra work/money out of you, unless its dangerous or really does need repair.

The only reason to not goto Dickson is if your car is unroadworthy, in which case youll have a hard time getting it passed anywhere as most mechanics highly value their inspection approval stamps. Also if your car isnt roadworthy, we shouldnt be giving you tips on how to bypass the already relaxed inspection system in the ACT.

Second vote for Pharleys.

Totally honest, but if it’s wrong, they will find it. Charges are modest.

No connection, just a satisfied customer for many years.

I take my car to Melba Motors for regular services but they are not an authorised service centre unfortunately.

Mick at Melba recommended Harry’s Auto Care to me and they did a good job, pretty inexpensive too from memory. I drive a ’95 Corolla so same vintage as yours.

http://www.drive.com.au/Company/CompanyDetail.aspx?cid=4285

harley said :

City Car Car in Braddon. They also trade as Repco, so don’t be confused when you’re driving past. I’ve used them since moving here in 2007, they do good work at less cost than the dealers we used in Melbourne.

http://www.yellowpages.com.au/bi/city-car-care-braddon-act-42750.html

+1

City Car Care are good to deal with, and are also a NRMA approved repairer.

I’ll put a vote in for Pharleys Spares & Repairs in Hume. They do rego inspections and have treated us well over the last few years, and our ED gas-Falcon.

They seem to be Falcon specialists, or at least very familiar with the older models. Their charges for repair & maintenance have been particularly modest, especially in comparison to previous disastrous rip-offs served up with a smile by a few of the so-called ‘reputable’ joints around town.

canberratowie212:48 pm 11 Jul 09

Ultimate Tunes in Phillip is very good !

He has turned his hean on a few “little” problems in the past for me

http://www.ultimatetunes.com.au/Index.html

Mike Bessenger11:31 am 11 Jul 09

What ever you do don’t go to ACT brakes.

Keep your car registered in NSW and get any mail sent to a PO Box in Queanbeyan. I think there’s quite a few who do that, as it may be cheaper.

City Car Car in Braddon. They also trade as Repco, so don’t be confused when you’re driving past. I’ve used them since moving here in 2007, they do good work at less cost than the dealers we used in Melbourne.

http://www.yellowpages.com.au/bi/city-car-care-braddon-act-42750.html

Melba motors

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