So I got a mate to take my car to get a RWC so I could get my car registed in Victoria.

Come home and this is the list of shit they gave me:
- Bonet struts leaking
- Left washers x2 (What?)
- Left rear door rubber (The window seal, top part sags a bit)
- Muffler leaking
- Brakes undersize (I dont get, the rears are stock and the fronts are PBR C5's)
- Front disks under size + Rear discs (Actually the front discs and calipers are larger than stock, I can't fit the stock 17's on cause of them)
- Engine mounts torn
- Missing side skirt cap, passenger.

Had one look at the list and though, screw it, love that car so much but if this is what its gunna take I'd rather sell it and buy a motorbike. Anyone think I should actually do all this, anyone know of a mechanic I can trust to pass the car? Either the car passes the way it is or I'll just get rid of it.

take it to a different mechanic for sure!

- Brakes undersize (I dont get, the rears are stock and the fronts are PBR C5's)
- Front disks under size + Rear discs (Actually the front discs and calipers are larger than stock, I can't fit the stock 17's on cause of them)

Undersize discs refer to the remaining life of the rotors, the minimum thickness, not the overall diameter of the rotors.
Minimum thickness is about 22.4mm depending on the model.

Most of those sound like fairly legitimate faults; especially the brakes, muffler, bonnet struts and what I'm assuming are the wiper washers.

Get some Sikaflex 227 polyurethane sealant and glue the weatherstrip back into place. I did mine six months ago and its holding up well
Engine mounts are hit and miss, it seems, with RWC. Mine passed with a stuffed RH mount. Yours may be more noticable.

I'm surprised about the skirt cap though, I thought that was more of a cosmetic thing.

What a rubbish defect!! Since when is a missing skirt cap a rwc issue?!

I suppose you can go to anouther mechanic or fix them problems.

If you choose the latter - you can fix most of that quite cheaply.

Bonnet struts: Get a set for $20-30 second hand or from the wreckers. Even brand new they are cheap - you can get them on fleabay for $50 brand new or get a generic set from supercheap auto or autobarn. I've got a spare set you can use to pass the rwc test. Just give me $20 deposit.

Window washers (WTF!): Get a toothpick and clean them out or pocket them at the wreckers.

Left door rubber: if the actual seal is fine (not torn) then just push it back into place. Use some silicone to hold it in place. Otherwise get to the wreckers or contact someone on here whose wrecking a magna. These are super cheap to buy.

Muffler leaking: Probably more likely to be the piping as it can quite easily rust. Take to a honest exhaust shop (Auto fastfit in Dandenong is my recommendation) and get it checked over. Might be easy enough to weld up. Otherwise, buy a 2nd hand exhaust, I picked up a VR-X exhaust for $100 from a local wrecker. You could probably get a brand new lukey exhaust for $150. It'll bolt up so you can fit it up in your backyard.

Brakes undersize: Does he mean the disk or the actual thickness of the rotor? If it's the latter then you can get a full set of RDA rotors (front and back) for $120 off ebay. I suspect that's what he means. He could be bullshitting you so I'd get a second opinion or get tool to measure the thickness of the rotor. From memory anything under 22.6mm is unmachinable (well mine weren't). If it's the former then that's bullshit. That's from factory in that size. You can't say a car is unroadworthy if it passed ADR rules, is registerable in that state (there are 10's of 1000's of them on the roads) and your car matches factory specifications. He must have written something wrong. Take the car to a brake shop (Had good experiences with Rowville Brake and Clutch)

Engine mounts torn: Which ones? Drivers side engine mount is usually the most common to get torn. It's rubber and often tears straight through the rubber insert. You rarely see any of the others tearing. Drivers is around $100 for a new one (ebay) and replaceable at home. (Requires 17mm deep socket, breaker bar, jack or engine support and some elbow grease. ) If you're super tight on cash, go to a pick-a-part wreckers and pick an undamaged one off the wreck. Look for ones with bolts that have tool marks on them because they could be pretty new.

Missing side skirt cap: This is crap. That's a cosmetic issue. If he's adamant you must have it, then I'd just remove the entire skirt and fit up normal plastic exec skirts to pass rwc. Then put back the skirts once you pass. I've got a set of plastic executive skirts you can use.

If you're seriously going to sell it because of this then let me buy it and I'll fix it for real cheap and then sell it for good money. You could fix the above issues for less than $250-300. Not a reason to get rid of the car or chuck a tantie. Could be a hell of a lot worse.

Speak to Wiggles about a rwc mechanic you're seeking. I'm not a fan of a dodgy rwc mechanic that could potentially pass a car that needs things to be replaced, especially thin brake rotors. I don't like the guy but he's an option, I suppose. Or the save the odd $150 for anouther rwc and spend it towards fixing the problems ;)

Ummm I don't see how this list is rubbish? minus the end cap, the rest seem more than reasonable/usual. If they need replacing and are a RWC issue, fix them yourself if you can it will be far cheaper.

I hardly see how the guy is being a prick for doing his job....it's his arse on the line if he passes a car that isn't roadworthy and gets caught out.

Or drop off to me, I can check this list and arrange rwc provided most of that is bs. Brakes if undersized will need to be done but rest is small stuff

As for silicone.....really.....please don't tout that rubbish as is one of the many loads of rubbish that appear on here

Might be a good idea to go to mal or another mechanic. I cant believe they are that picky? Especially the skirt cap? Sounds like the mech was a magna enthusiast and wouldnt let it go unless it was detailed to kifs standard.

sounds reasonable, they are only reporting what needs to be done. there not forcing u to pay to have the work done, u can do it all yourself and then present the vehicle again for the 2nd inspection.

most mechanics will only do an inspect and report, even if its a simple thing like a globe out they won't touch it but theres nothing stopping u from doing it.

As for silicone.....really.....please don't tout that rubbish as is one of the many loads of rubbish that appear on here

I never said it was a permanent solution. I know that Silicone is acidic and will eat the seals over time. It's a no brainer that the best option would be to replace the door seal, but as a cheap solution to get the car through an rwc inspection - it'll work. Can't imagine brand new seals being too cheap.

The truth is that mechanics are really overly pedantic during rwc's because Vicroads is really harsh on them if anything is passed that is not perfectly according to the regulations. It's better for them to be overly harsh than letting things go and later being fined. I know a mechanic who was fined $10,000 for falsely passing a un-roadworthy car and also had his license stripped permanently. Good guy, just a friendship gone wrong.

lucky they didnt want you to cough up for a new windscreen too.

So I got a mate to take my car to get a RWC so I could get my car registed in Victoria.

- Left washers x2 (What?)


There are two jets per side. Most likely got clogged by car polish/wax. Get a needle and pick them out. Don't use toothpics as they may break off. Then give them a squirt to clear remaining bits. You should then use the needle to align them.

Might be a good idea to go to mal or another mechanic. I cant believe they are that picky? Especially the skirt cap? Sounds like the mech was a magna enthusiast and wouldnt let it go unless it was detailed to kifs standard.

Maybe it was Kif..... hahaha

*Imagines Kif in overalls* :ninja:

- Left washers x2 (What?)

I had this same problem with my car, but found it was actually a blocked T-connector on the inside of the bonnet. But obviously worthwhile taking a toothpick to the nozzle first to see if that fixes it...

That T-connector on my TJ became brittle and bits snapped off. This stopped the jets from working. I went to the mitsu dealer and got a new one for a few bucks. Cleared debris from the lines and replaced the T-connector. Problem solved.

Duct tape fixes all... bonus points if you buy a roll of duct tape and for kicks "fix" all the issues by wrapping them up :)

That T-connector on my TJ became brittle and bits snapped off. This stopped the jets from working. I went to the mitsu dealer and got a new one for a few bucks. Cleared debris from the lines and replaced the T-connector. Problem solved.
Ditto. Plastic becomes so brittle after a few years that any light movement causes it to shatter.
Other issue is polish forced into the nozzles blocking them.

Better rotors, muffler, engine mount and bonnet struts should cost you under $400 if you do the work yourself. It'll take 15 minutes to fix the other issues, at most.

From the mechanics perspective, if you're too cheap to spend $400 to get your car on the road, you can get stuffed - he's not gonna do the jail time if you crash into a school bus later and the fault is found with the car.

Better rotors, muffler, engine mount and bonnet struts should cost you under $400 if you do the work yourself. It'll take 15 minutes to fix the other issues, at most.

From the mechanics perspective, if you're too cheap to spend $400 to get your car on the road, you can get stuffed - he's not gonna do the jail time if you crash into a school bus later and the fault is found with the car.

Yea, after a while calmed down a bit and was like... eh maybe it's not that bad. Gunna organise to hand it over to madmagna with a 'just get it done' order. But yeah, aint given up on it yet.