The WOF showed the belt was OK when the WOF was issued. Does not guarantee it will still be working 3 weeks later.
socram,
Dec 31, 7:14pm
What else did he miss/ignore I wonder? At least he was man enough to say he'd missed it.
rpvr,
Jan 2, 2:47am
But not man enough to say bring your invoice in and I'll reimburse you.
gram,
Jan 2, 4:13am
Why would he.? If he found it not working in the original check he wouldn't pay for it
yz490,
Jan 2, 5:52am
Yes got fooled by that many years ago on my Toyota Grande, think "82 model. By memory it was the rear seat belts [maybe both front & rear], doing my own wof check before taking it in & pulled one apart to find a swinging lead weight in there to lock it under intertia--well--inertia from stopping [that sounds wrong doesn't it lol]. Anyway--testing station got a laugh out of my mistake. Just when i though i knew it all--i knew naathing! .
jgoater,
Dec 30, 8:16am
I bought a car with a new WOF issued today but noticed hours later the front seat belt doesn't 'grab', no matter how hard I pull it. Very dangerous and a definite WOF fail. I will be calling the issuer tomorrow, but my question is, who is responsible to fix the situation? The WOF issuer? the previous owner? or me? Bought privately, cheers.
twinroses,
Dec 30, 8:23am
what codes on the tag ,is it frontal impact vehicle ?
supernova2,
Dec 30, 8:28am
I'd say you as you should have noticed before you purchased. However with luck the issuer will come to the party after all its hie/her head on the block if you choose to report him. Problem of course is proving that it was faulty when the WOF check was done.
unleashed46,
Dec 30, 8:30am
My previous car had belts like that. The car had to be moving for them to grab think they were linked to the cars computer and breaking system. There should be a tag maybe in the door opening
franc123,
Dec 30, 8:33am
Exactly, as always before loading the CGA shotgun up with the liability bullets how do you know it wasn't OK at the time of the test? Seatbelt locking mechanisms DO fail at random, that's why there are two of them in the reel to start with. Get it assessed properly by an expert as belts do vary a bit in their lock up speed.
xs1100,
Dec 30, 8:36am
some guys I know of are in the habit of photographing things like wheels these days because the wheels it got a wof on an hour later could be completely different. this is the problem with the wof rules. it was fine at POINT/TIME of inspection should it fail 5 mins later who's fault is it
jgoater,
Dec 30, 8:42am
Not going down the CGA route as i bought privately. The WOF was done 2 hours prior to buying the car. I think it's reasonable to expect it to be up to WOF standard rather than saying I should have checked as per another poster. I am not a trained WOF inspector and I would have thought it's their job to pick this up. The car is 17 years old and don't think it would have a sophisticated system of 'locking up at speed'. I appreciate the feedback, cheers.
franc123,
Dec 30, 8:44am
That is why tread depths are recorded. I can understand why photos are a good idea, wheels DO get swapped because the operator knows the wheels and tyres are wrong for the car, or their spec differs from what's on the cert plate.
jgoater,
Dec 30, 8:47am
Kaz are you around? Just want to know the right way to approach this. Are WOF inspectors liable for this type of thing? A non functioning seat belt I thought would be a serious issue. Wer'e not talking a blown light bulb here.
gunhand,
Dec 30, 8:50am
Have you been around all the belts and see if they grab? Some you can snatch and it will grab easy and some you can pull over and over and they won't
supernova2,
Dec 30, 8:51am
Yes it "should" be up to WOF standard but I stand by my comment that its up to the buyer to make sure things are ok. I appreciate you may not be a WOF inspector but lets face it you are now saying they dont work so if you can come to that conclusion now then surely you could have come to the same conclusion before you purchased. I would expect in an (average) 17 yr old car that the belts would lock with a simple tug when stationary. It could of course be a high end euro supercar with all sorts of gizmos it which case who knows - certainly not I
tigertim20,
Dec 30, 12:05pm
you will get lots of opinions but in reality, a WOF is an on the spot check. good luck proving a dodgy WOF etc. theyll say it worked fine when they tested it, and you cant prove otherwise.
did you get an independent test done prepurchase? If not I suggest getting a PPI done now, and fixing any issues
sandypheet,
Dec 30, 4:45pm
Probably a single sensitive belt, does the one on the opposite side operate the same?
marte,
Dec 30, 6:14pm
Extend the belt out with your left hand, almost to the steering wheel. While driving at a slow speed, slam on the brakes. Does it lock up? Yes = passed test. No = buy a new seatbelt.
atom.ant,
Dec 30, 7:34pm
a WOF is not a warranty.
socram,
Dec 30, 7:43pm
Car may be 17 years old, but how old is the belt?
Amazes me that in competition, a 3" wide fixed belt that may only have been used a few times, or not at all, is deemed scrap after 5 years (recently extended to 10 for some belts) but a skinny 2" belt in a car with a dubious locking mechanism has no expiry date.
I'd probably be more than willing to replace the belts anyway, at that age, for peace of mind.
motig,
Dec 30, 7:45pm
The buyer says their not a mechanic so relied on the WOF check so some of you need to pull your heads in. All he wants is advice about what to do about the problem, is that so hard.
gabbysnana,
Dec 30, 7:50pm
but it is a reliance an expectation and the reasonable person test, the onus is on who paid for the wof. If the seller had a warrant done two hours before i picked the car up and paid for it, i as a reasonable person expect that the wof issuer is qualified to give that wof and can place reliance on the vehicle being compliant. I sue the seller who sues the wof issuer.
socram,
Dec 30, 7:55pm
You miss the point. If a headlight bulb fails straight after the WoF test, would you hold the Wof inspector liable?
bumfacingdown,
Dec 30, 7:56pm
Reading this thread that is what I thought, surely for road worthiness you should be able to rely on a WoF as much as any PPI. This is not the same as to say the belt was faulty at time of testing, good luck with proving that one.
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