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Originally Posted by JDNSW
Yeah thanks John, I wasn't going to fit seat belts to the '49 Dodge I'm renovating, but Ive just ordered a pair of Lap sash Retracts and a Lap belt for the centre of the bench seat. Thats another job added to the ever increasing list.
Yes, The Japs are notorious for both expense and obsolescence. A four letter word manufacturer which no longer makes in Oz was just as bad. My ute was barely 6 years old and I was being told at the spare parts dept. "Sorry. Obsolete part" or "No longer serviced".Quote:
Originally Posted by JDNSW
Many cars end up being offered for sale as unregistered, no RWC. This is because the cost of parts and, more so, labour to get the RWC is as much or more than an older car is worth.
The progression goes like this -
Bought new.
2-5 y.o. traded on another new car.
If good straight tidy car it goes to the new car dealers own used yard.
If not so good often goes to a yard owned by the new car dealership in another location and not identified with the new dealership.
Trade-ins on the used cars are getting old, high k's, bit untidy, so are sent to auction to be bought by the outside trade who are not so fussy.
7-8 years old plus go direct to auction for home handymen, fleas, bomb dealers, and roughies go to wreckers and crushers. Although wreckers like cars with straight rust free panels. "Insurance quality" is the term meaning panels that don't need resurrection only painting. Wreckers will sometimes pay more than a flea or bomb dealer.
It is a rolling restoration, having had some decidedly dodgy repairs/modifications, by Grandad's mate/engineer/wrecking yard proprietor. Ben bought a donor vehicle and said "It'd be easier to restore the donor, but then I wouldn't have Grandad's car."Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigbjorn
Now, that made me laugh as I immediately thought of JerryD.Quote:
Originally Posted by V8Ian
Once bought a car in NSW that was only a month out of its annual inspection and drove it home to QLD where my local garage did the RWC so I could reregister in QLD.
The garage was owned by a friend and he called me come and have a look as was worried what I would say as the car would not pass the RWC due to some fairly serious suspension problems that had been there for some time. So much for the stringent NSW checks. These were items that were required to be checked under the NSW system that had been passed. We will not mention the rust that came free of charge
The car had also been checked by NRMA who had given it a clean bill of heath with nothing worth mentioning found other than the fog lights switch not turning off the head lights.
These kinds of checks are loved by the motor trade in the U.K. as they are a profit earner. Add in regular scare stories in the press to make sure people believe they would all die if the checks were not required.
There is a proposal to make the checks start at 4 years as 3 year old cars are passing without problems and then each second year. Being fought by motor trade on emotional grounds not the drastic created by their checks.
The only study I have seen on the results of annual inspections and not having them was actually done in Australia. They compared South Australia to another state. Cannot remember which that had these inspections. They found an initial 12 month period where some older cars went off the road other than that they could not find any significant statical differences between the two. A little vague however was a few years ago was involved in this.