Sask Provincial Car Inspection

[Sir Osis of Liver]

In order to get insurance and registration done, any car permanently entering Saskatchewan needs to be inspected. The inspection is very rigorous, leaks, rust, wheel alignment, belts lights etc. Everyone was telling me how they were “reamed” in one way or another when they moved here. Most places use it as a cash cow. A co-worker was quoted $3k for all of the repair work necessary to pass the inspection. His truck is only 3 years old and, to my eye, in pretty good shape.

I dropped the car off at the local Subaru dealer, Auto Gallery of Regina, completely expecting to be charged through the teeth. It was with great delight, that when Lady Osis picked up the car, the only charge was for the inspection itself, a very reasonable $99 (others in the office paid $125 to $150 just for the inspection). They told her that the rear wheels were “a tiny bit” out of alignment, which they rectified at no charge. They also noticed from the window sticker that it was due for an oil change, which they also did at no charge. To top it off, they vacuumed the interior and washed the car.

I still have a grin from the experience. Others in the office are accusing me of living a charmed life. They may be correct!

[dr_spock]

That may not be good for morale at the office. 

Is it better to buy a new car in Sask. instead of moving one in from out of province?

[airbalancer]

I think they are tring to get all you service work, nice to hear a good story

[initial_D]

A Subie is out of alignment? 

[Sir Osis of Liver]

That may not be good for morale at the office. 

Is it better to buy a new car in Sask. instead of moving one in from out of province?

Depends on the age. One or two years old, probably will be ok, but older than that can be a real pain in the ass. Warranty will cover some stuff of course, but they can still get you for wear items.

It's kind of a silly system, because they nail people moving into the province, but they don't have an annual inspection, so some of the local vehicles are basically rolling derelicts.

The Atlantic provinces all have annual safety inspections that aren't as thorough, but are good enough to keep most of the crap off the streets.

[PJungnitsch]

I was very lucky with my ancient truck that the six years I spent in Saskatchewan as a student I could remain under Alberta registration, so no inspection required.

It is funny that they bother with out of province inspections, when I first arrived there from Alberta I'd never seen so many old vehicles, like moving to Mexico. My old machine fit right in.

[initial_D]

Cheap insurance with the Republic of SaskGovernmentInsurance as well. Wind-Win in SaskatBush, ... even the Green Riders!

[Dexer]

The great irony of these government mandated inspections is that they are basically "make work" projects for civil servants and mechanics.

I read a survey some years ago which told us what we already know: the number of accidents attributable to mechanical failure is so tiny as to be below the level of statistical measurement. It's another huge waste of resources. Almost all accidents are caused by drunk drivers, bad drivers and driving conditions (weather, darkness, road surface). Of those accidents which could be found to have an equipment failure component, 90% of the time, it was a tire failure.

Here in Manitoba, we used to have random inspections where everybody in a given area was called in for an inspection. That was eventually changed so that cars only had to be inspected when sold and registered by a new owner. This was done at the request of the big auto dealers who didn't appreciate private individuals selling cars at cheaper prices since the dealers can do their own inspections and rubber stamp their own vehicles.

I got one of the Manitoba inspection requirements lists and it's ridiculous. One of the things they check for is "trunk seals" based on the idea that, if you have bad trunk seals, exhaust gas can get sucked back into the car from the low pressure area created behind the vehicle when it is in motion. It's an interesting requirement considering that nobody has ever been able to find any record of this actually causing an accident in the last hundred years. I drive a convertible that I only operate with the top down...yet my car could be pulled off the road for a broken trunk seal.

But these inspections serve their purpose: work for civil servants and used car business funneled to dealers instead of individual citizens selling their own used cars cheaply.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

The great irony of these government mandated inspections is that they are basically "make work" projects for civil servants and mechanics.

I read a survey some years ago which told us what we already know: the number of accidents attributable to mechanical failure is so tiny as to be below the level of statistical measurement. It's another huge waste of resources. Almost all accidents are caused by drunk drivers, bad drivers and driving conditions (weather, darkness, road surface). Of those accidents which could be found to have an equipment failure component, 90% of the time, it was a tire failure.

Here in Manitoba, we used to have random inspections where everybody in a given area was called in for an inspection. That was eventually changed so that cars only had to be inspected when sold and registered by a new owner. This was done at the request of the big auto dealers who didn't appreciate private individuals selling cars at cheaper prices since the dealers can do their own inspections and rubber stamp their own vehicles.

I got one of the Manitoba inspection requirements lists and it's ridiculous. One of the things they check for is "trunk seals" based on the idea that, if you have bad trunk seals, exhaust gas can get sucked back into the car from the low pressure area created behind the vehicle when it is in motion. It's an interesting requirement considering that nobody has ever been able to find any record of this actually causing an accident in the last hundred years. I drive a convertible that I only operate with the top down...yet my car could be pulled off the road for a broken trunk seal.

But these inspections serve their purpose: work for civil servants and used car business funneled to dealers instead of individual citizens selling their own used cars cheaply.

Typical right wing nonsense. OOOHHH de ebil gubmint gonna git me!!!

Inspections keeps crap cars off the road and only costs $25/year in NB. Well worth it. Might not save many lives, but it does save some, plus any number of fender benders.

[airbalancer]

So how are the wife & kid making out in the new town?

[Greg B.]

The great irony of these government mandated inspections is that they are basically "make work" projects for civil servants and mechanics.

I tend to agree. Here in Nova scotia up until a few years ago there was a very basic annual inspection required: lights work, tires have tread, no obvious structural flaws, etc. It was more of an annoyance than anything, but even at that cursory level repair shops used it as an excuse to sell new exhaust systems, ball joints, etc. The other dumb thing was that even brand new cars required it, and it was annual, which made little sense for the first couple of years a new car was on the road.

A couple of years ago they changed it to a more robust inspection, at a higher price, and required tires to be removed along with brake drums, so that brake linings could be inspected. This opened the door to all kinds of other problems, since shops were allowed to charge more and then tended to cause problems of their own by trying to remove frozen-on brake drums. Citizens cried foul. But it persists.

The only good thing about the change is that my new car does not require an inspection for 3 years now.

[articsteve]

since the dealers can do their own inspections and rubber stamp their own vehicles.

That is exactly how it works.  

The Ontario system works.  Safety on resale which just covers the basics.  A trunk seal requirement would be ridiculous.

Annual inspections are nothing but cash grabs.  Seems that Maritimers love BIG GOV.   HST took route where  

[2hondas]

When we sold our 96' Camry 4 years ago to a friend in Saskatchewan, he needed to get it inspected also.

He said it needed nothing, except a wheel alignment...it had perfect alignment when we sold it. I guess the mechanic wanted to make some money.

[tenpenny]

[Annual inspections are nothing but cash grabs.  

Considering the number of people I've known who only have functioning brakes because they get nailed on their annual inspection, I respectfully beg to differ with your condescending attitude.

[Cudworthhab]

Good thing they don't do an annual inspection here. My daughter hit a tree head on with our 97 lumina if we had taken it to SGI they would have written it off . It looks real bad but it runs . she can't take it out of town as the hood is held down with bunge cords . I should get a picture some time & put it on show & shine. She can't wait until it dies so she can get something else.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

So how are the wife & kid making out in the new town?

Very well. The 6 year old gets daily reports from the teacher, which have been very positive. She loves the school and has made many friends.

The 13 year old goes to a dedicated special needs school, which is much better equipped to deal with her needs. The Paratransit picks her up and drops her off at our doorstep, which is very convenient.

Both of them are gone until 3:30, so Lady Osis is getting much more time to herself. She's been painting and decorating since we moved in.

Getting a family doctor hasn't been an issue. The first clinic we went to had two doctors taking new patients.

All in all things have turned out better than expected.

[airbalancer]

Good to hear
A Happy wife, makes for a good life

[dr_spock]

I think annual inspections could be a good thing.  Lately I'm getting tired of being stuck behind cars with non-functional or partial functioning brake/tail lights on my daily commute.

[PJungnitsch]

That's something I like about the work vehicle oil changes done at Mr Lube, signal and brake light checks are part of the process.

[SiRCivic]

That's something I like about the work vehicle oil changes done at Mr Lube, signal and brake light checks are part of the process.

Off topic, but you just reminded me of my last visit to Mr. Lube with the work truck...

After the oil change, the service guy came to the window to review all of the checks they had done. When he got to the tires, he was happy to report that they all checked out at a perfect 32 psi.

I asked him if he was sure they were all at 32, and he confirmed that yes, all the tires were checked, and all were a perfect 32 psi.

Well then, I said, you better go put an extra 35 psi in all of them, because this is a one-ton truck with LT tires, and they should all be at 70 psi (or thereabouts).

Needless to say, nobody had really checked the tires. The only thing checked was the box on the sheet.