Why Dunedin cars wear differently
Suburbs on the hills
Dunedin sits at the head of Otago Harbour inside a ring of hills, some rising to around 200 metres, and plenty of suburbs are built on them. Daily climbs and descents wear pads and discs faster, and a handbrake that won't hold on a slope is worth sorting before the inspection.
Baldwin Street and its neighbours
Baldwin Street in North East Valley is listed by Guinness World Records as the world's steepest residential street, with a gradient of 1 in 2.9. If your street is anything like it, the clutch and handbrake earn their keep.
Frost, and the odd snowfall
Dunedin averages around 49 frosts a year, with significant snow perhaps every two or three years. Shady hill streets hold ice after the sun's up, so tread matters more here than in a flat city, and so do wipers that clear first time.
Mosgiel and the motorway
Mosgiel is 17 km west of the centre on the Taieri Plain, with Three Mile Hill and Scroggs Hill in between and the Dunedin Southern Motorway linking the two. Motorway speed shows up a wobbly wheel or tired suspension, so mention any shake when the mechanic rings.
The week before the inspection
Try the handbrake on a slope
On a quiet street, stop facing downhill, pull the handbrake on and ease off the foot brake with your foot ready. If the car creeps, tell the mechanic.
Walk round the lights
Headlights, tail lights, brake lights, indicators and the number plate light. Get someone to stand behind the car while you press the pedal.
Look at the tyres on a cold morning
Check the tread on each tyre and look for bulges or cuts in the sidewalls. Set the pressures while the tyres are cold, to the figures on the placard in the door frame.
Note the dash
If a warning light stays on after the engine starts, photograph it for the mechanic.
Got a fail sheet?
Bring it into the job. List what failed in the note on the card, so the mechanic who rings knows whether it's brake pads, a bulb or something bigger before they've seen the car.
Brake and suspension work on a car that lives on the hills can involve more than one part, so ask for the quote to list each part and the labour. Ask the inspector, too, how a recheck works at the place you went.
In your shoes
We'd test the handbrake on a slope, get the brakes looked at if the car lives up a hill, and do the WoF near home rather than driving across the city in a doubtful car. If it fails, we'd send the fail sheet with the job.