How Long Does A Car Safety Inspection Take?
Car Safety Certificate or Car Safety Inspections are required when you are looking at selling your car in Queensland. They are a basic check to make sure a car meets the minimal safety standard at the time of inspection as set by Queensland Transport.
Other reasons you may need a Car Safey Inspection is if you are transferring from interstate any of the following:
- Car
- Trailer
- Caravan
- Truck
- Motorbike
- Light Truck
- Motorhome
- Camper Trailer
- Vesper
Car Safety Inspections are also required if you are transferring between family and friends apart from husband to wife.
Car Safety Inspections are also required when transferring into or out of a company name.
Rule of thumb is that if the ownership entity changes, with the exception of husband to wife, a car safety inspection is required.
Why are Car Safety Inspections Necessary
In Queensland the government has decided that a car safety inspection is only necessary when a car is transferred from interstate or the ownership entity changes. Now theoretically, if you bought a car in the 90’s and have never sold it, then your car is deemed safe until you go to sell it. For those of you who buy a car, service it as per manufactures standards, rotate your tyres every service and park the car in a garage or undercover, You Are Awesome. For the rest of us who have good intentions but don’t quite get there, you are the norm. Car servicing and maintenance can get away from us, so car safety inspections are a necessity.
For the buyer it gives you some piece of mind that the car meets a minimum standard however you are not buying a new car, and a Safety Certificate is not a warranty. For the seller it is an opportunity to tidy up the car and make sure the new owner and their families are safe and you achieve the best sale price.
How Long Does a Car Safety Inspection Take
This varies from car to car as some cars are clean and well maintained and others are not. When the inspector arrives, he is required to complete an electronic form in the portal of Queensland transport. When completed these forms are automatically and immediately uploaded onto the Queensland transport system. The total process should take no longer than 45 minutes.
Unfortunately for those cars that aren’t going to pass the car safety inspection, it can take longer. Full details and photos of the failures must be taken for the inspectors records as well as for the seller to remedy the faults to which they will have 14 days. Before the end of 14 days the car must be reinspected and passed, or the failed car safety inspection will be deleted from Queensland Transports records. It is important to note that the car safety inspection certificate is not kept by the inspector, it is kept by Queensland transport. Should you have need for copies down the track you will need to contact Queensland transport.
Car Safety Inspections are Not a Warranty
Car safety Inspections are designed to provide a snapshot of the safety of a car or vehicle at the time of inspection. Please remember that the car safety inspection was designed by Queensland transport and a code of practise was legislated for inspectors to follow. Unfortunately, a lot of buyers are unaware of what a Car Safety inspection provides and when they buy a lemon, they seek explanation and remedy for their misunderstanding of the process and guidelines usually from the inspector.
Car Safety Inspections are a Poor Guide When Buying a Car.
We would not recommend anyone buy a car that only has an approved Car Safety Inspection. Sellers are more aware of the code of practice than the buyer and will use their knowledge and the limits of the code of practice to exploit the car condition and sale. For example, Oil leaks– if there are no visible oil leaks at the time of inspection, but there is evidence of major oil leaks that have been recently cleaned up and patched up (good or bad) the car safety inspection will get a tick for this area.
Warning Lights
When conducting a car safety inspection, if a warning light is evident on the dash, it is an instant failure. If a warning light is not evident at the time it does not mean a failure is not there, it could be just switched off or cleared by the owner who wants to sell his problem. Unfortunately, a car safety certificate does not require investigation or a scan, as it is a snapshot at the time of inspection only.
There are many examples throughout the code of practice that may leave a buyer asking questions unless he is fully conversant with the procedure of a car safety inspection.
The Car safety inspection has limitations but it is up to the buyer to be aware of them. The reliance on a car safety inspection or safety certificate is limited. It is important to select the right company to conduct your inspection. There are people who look for companies who will knowingly falsify documents for undisclosed payments. The reason I know this is because we get calls from people asking exactly that. Fortunately, Queensland transport is working hard to weed these people out.
If your are spending thousands on a car that you want, spend a couple of hundred on making sure it is everything you were looking for by booking a pre-purchase inspection. Failing to get a pre-purchase inspection will more times than not cost you thousands repairing hidden faults not found with a car safety inspection. DO not confuse the two inspections as they are vastly different.
Remember when buying a second-hand car it is Buyer Beware not someone else’s fault because poor investigation was undertaken.
