Why keep the inspection on the Shore
The Harbour Bridge opened in 1959, traffic on it reached three times the forecast within ten years, and commuters crossing it now face severe congestion. Taking a car that might fail across it, then back again for the repair, is time you won't get back.
If you ride the Northern Busway into town, a garage near home or near your stop means the car can be inspected while you're at work. From the upper harbour side, State Highway 18 and the Upper Harbour Bridge put West Auckland close too.
Shore driving and the inspection list
Stop-start to the bridge
Every crawl down the motorway towards the bridge in the peak is constant light braking. Pads and discs wear faster that way than on an open road, so get them checked before the WoF if the car commutes.
Beach air in the bays
Cars kept near Takapuna, Milford or the East Coast Bays from Browns Bay up to Long Bay get salty air off the water. On a car of some age, have the sills and floor checked for rust, which the inspector looks for.
July is the wet one
Albany's records show about 1,189.4 mm of rain a year, with July the wettest month at 145.4 mm. Blades that smeared all winter are worth replacing before a spring inspection, along with any tyre that's close to the wear marks.
Hills behind the beaches
The Shore isn't flat: the Albany hills rise to 143 m, and plenty of streets climb up from the coast. A handbrake that won't hold on a steep driveway is a brake problem, and brakes are on the WoF list.
Getting it ready, step by step
Check the sticker
Find the WoF sticker on the windscreen, on the driver's side: it shows the due date. Set a reminder on your phone a few weeks before it.
Do the walk round
Lights, indicators and brake lights with a helper, then wipers, washers and every seat belt. Look along each tyre for cuts or bulges.
Fix the small things first
A bulb or a wiper blade takes a few minutes now. Leave it, and it can mean a fail and a second trip.
Pass on what you've noticed
Noises, pulls, warning lights: put them in the note so they can be looked at with the WoF.
Back from the inspection with a fail
The sheet lists what needs doing, so type its items into the note when you send the job. Have the repair priced on paper first, and before leaving, check with the inspector how they handle a recheck.
There's an argument for keeping one garage for the car. Consumer Protection points out that a regular garage keeps notes on your services, warrants and repairs. That record is handy when an item on the sheet has shown up before.
How we'd handle it
We'd keep the WoF on the Shore, near home or the busway stop, and get the brakes looked at first if the car does the bridge run every day. If it failed, we'd send the sheet with the job and stick with one garage so the car's history stays in one place.