Discussions

Anyone had a vehicle safetied since the $50.00 price was changed to unlimited? Just wondering how much an average cost would be? I realize every vehicle is going to be different, but every repair shop is now able to charge as they please for a safety, and some will undoubtably be better than others...

Mr Pallister for changing how much shops can charge for the service which is required under Manitoba law.

Find a decent shop that charges a lower hourly shop rate. In all fairness removing tires to look at brakes and such takes some time. What would you say to working a 2 hour job but only getting paid less than an hour?

$50.00 was too cheap in my opinion, but since it is required by law, I think some kind of cap on the price would have been in order. I have discussed this with a friend who owns a garage and even he agrees.... What will happen is you are going to see way more of the lower end vehicles offered for sale "un-safetied" and prices will have to reflect the new cost of having it done.

Mpi should be doing their own safety inspections, that way there won’t be arguing whether something passes or not. It is pretty straight forward but customers still think their vehicles are all supposed to pass. Let MPI take the loss, and the heat

For all most places checked the $50 was more then enough. If it takes you 2 hours to take the wheels off and take a few caliper measurements you should likely find a new mechanic. The few safeties I had done I was in and out in about 20 minutes including the paper work. Its nothing but a rip off anyway.

MPI would not absorb the cost, they would just pass it on to rate payers. Are you willing to pay more for your insurance?

MPI has their nose in too many things as it is.

Tires are not removes, only wheels. Not a time consuming job. More often than not, the shop that does the safety does the required repairs.

PASQUALE said: "Mpi should be doing their own safety inspections. Let MPI take the loss, and the heat."  
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When MPI takes a loss who do you think it is that pays that shortfall?  
 
CHUBBS PETERSON said: "The few safeties I had done I was in and out in about 20 minutes including the paper work. Its nothing but a rip off anyway."  
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Before I retired I was doing MPI vehicle inspections. If you were able to get an inspection done in about 20 minutes I would be concerned. It's not possible to do a full and proper inspection in 20 minutes. I would also ask, what about the vehicle safety inspection program is a rip off? Are you ok with people driving unsafe vehicles on our roadways?  
 
Edited by fargobob, 2019-04-08 12:15:03

Well Bob, I wasn't concerned at all actually. I was happy that more of my time wasn't wasted. When I sell a vehicle that is barely 2 years old with less than 30k on it why do I need a safety? There is nothing wrong with it. Maybe they should be required when a vehicle hits a certain age or mileage. And yes I am aware that new vehicles can have problems but I would hardly call them unsafe to be on the road. The checklist for the light vehicle safeties is a joke. They check lights, wipers, windshield, tread depth, brakes etc. its hardly an in depth mechanic inspection that would really find and take an unroadworthy vehicle off the road. And you guys also must have realized that the program was a joke as you don't even keep records anymore the shops keeps all copies. So I would hardly say the program is anything more then a cash grab/rip off.

Shops keep the copies but MPI comes and picks them up. A perfect example of my point where owners will argue there’s nothing wrong with their vehicle by the poster here with 30,000 kms.. why do I need a safety he says, there’s nothing wrong with it just proves my point.If you travel day in and day out on gravel roads, I would bet dollars to donuts that your vehicle needs repairing,, shocks, struts, ball joints etc. Even if there is only 30,000 ins on it. As far as me paying more money on my insurance, surely your kidding... I’m paying for insurance and when I need to make a claim because someone ran into me,,I and only I suffer for it. I’ve actually seen a car on 18th street where I could see his shoes on the brake pedal because his door is so rusted out. And the majority of shops don’t do the repairs, I’m sure there are literally dozens of backyard mechanics making money on the side. Let MPI do them and deal with the grief

Couple more errors Pasquale. The shop keeps all the forms, MPI doesn't come and pick up squat. The shop keeps them all except for the owners which is needed to register the vehicle at MPI/broker.  
 
The average person doesn't travel day in and day out on gravel so your example is not a very good one. Even if I did travel day in and day out on gravel I would bet you all the donuts in the donut shop that there isn't anything major wrong with it.  
 
And lastly most people have the shop that performed the inspection do the repairs. Although some may take it to another mechanic of their choosing but I would suggest most of the time people get it all done at the same place if they are capable of the repair. Again like I said these safeties aren't exactly anything major they mainly find little trival things that need replaced. Looking at my records my last one needed a licence plate lamp replaced. Thank god they caught it before my unsafe vehicle went on the road!!

Just be glad you are not in the UK where the test is an annual one after a car is over three years old.  
Here's a link to the cost and scope.  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOT_test  
Without the Pass you cannot get insurance and will be deemed to be illegal on the highway if caught. This being highly likely with the traffic cameras and number plate recognition systems.  
If I have a gripe with MPI it is that I cannot have over than Comprehensive insurance which for a lot of people must cost more than the worth of the vehicle.

CHUBBS PETERSON said: "When I sell a vehicle that is barely 2 years old with less than 30k on it why do I need a safety? There is nothing wrong with it."  
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I would ask how is an inspection station supposed to determine if a vehicle has been "severely used" and requires attention, or "driven gently" and needs no repairs, short of doing a full inspection, regardless of kilometers driven? Your vehicles may be gently used and well cared for, a lot of vehicles don't fall into that category.  
 
I'll attach a link so you can see what a light vehicle inspection is supposed to consist of. I think if you bother to read it (it's fairly lengthy), you'll find it to be much more comprehensive than your posts would indicate. Not the joke you seem to feel it is.  
 
https://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/regs/annual/2019/031.pdf  
 
As a clarification, in the past I was not working for MPIC but rather I was working at a private repair shop that did safety inspections. Records of all inspection were kept on file for inspection by MPIC vehicle standards staff which were all inspected during regular station audits by Vehicle Standards Inspectors. I don't know if this is still done today as I retired some years ago.

I have purchased vehicles that have had the 20 minute inspection. I never said it would take 2 hours to take off the wheels and measure brakes. The whole thorough safety should take more than 20 minutes. I have bought a car you described as the "who needs a safety on a 30,000km car" and well it was me. I had to file a complaint to MPI regarding the garage that did the safety. Seems was a buddy of the car dealership. Turns out it was the A-arm bushings were totally shot causing a large thump over bumps. Turned out to be a grand repair bill to the garage for passing a safety without inspecting properly. Tried to charge me for the bill. The garage got the bill as MPI was ready to revoke their license or something like that. All I know was my car got fixed to what it should have been. Funny when the car went back it took longer that 20 minutes to re-inspect the car.

A cousin had to replace his rear brakes on his Dodge Journey at around 40,000 km as they were totally shot. He bought the vehicle new. He had to do them again at around 90,000 km. 40,000 km is still a pretty new vehicle, yet it would have failed a safety.

If it had passed the safety( wrongfully so), how did u find out about it? I am not sure why the shop would have had to pay for repairs that your vehicle actually needed.. obviously the shop missed it on the inspection, but why would that mean that you didn’t have to pay? Just asking the question.

The shop is in the wrong if they passed a car and missed something or passed it without properly checking. It’s a big deal. Safeties aren’t something to take lightly at all. And the increase it rightfully so as there is more stuff that used to pass that won’t now. Basically they don’t want rusted up cars on the road lol

When the car is on all wheels you couldn't tell. The weight of the car held it together. Hit a pothole and it sounded the the ass end of the car was falling apart. Once on the hoist you could clearly move the part back and forth. A proper inspection would have easily found the fault. They missed an important part of the car . They screwed up by taking the shortcut. The apparent pressure from MPI revoking inspections or whatever it was made them want to resolve fast and it went the way it went. Hey don't get me wrong we all know a friend of a friend who could get a safety.

There are bad safeties out there. We just purchased a truck - after purchase our mechanic looked at it, and it needed to come apart for new brakes, suspension parts, and other fairly important bits that should have been caught on the safety. We won't be trusting a safety from that place again. (No one local was involved in the bad safety)

When the garage misses something on the safety-they end up having to fix it. I bought a truck a few years back. It had a fresh safety, from a reputable garage. I took it to my mechanic for a.small modification. When he got under the vehicle he saw a problem with a spring--a.definite fail on a safety. I called MPI and they suggested I go back to the garage that did the safety. I did, and they sent me to the spring specialists and paid for the problem to be fixed. Since they certified the truck was safe, they had to make it match their certification. Had they done their job properly in the first place, the seller would have paid for the repair.

Yes they have review this and the cost is 75-100 now

A driver could have a safety passed, then drive down the street, hit a pothole and break a spring and the garage would have to fix it?

But mine had a part almost completely rusted through-absolutely no doubt it had been that was during the safety inspection 2 days earlier.