Pitstop. Anyone used pitstop for wof39s the reason i ask is that we moved down from auckland to tauranga 4 years ago and went to

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ianalice1, Aug 6, 3:34am
Anyone used Pitstop for WOF's!

The reason I ask, is that we moved down from Auckland to Tauranga, 4 years ago and went to VTNZ. Every WOF was good and down here everyone found something, often quite small.

EG head lights.
bellky, Aug 6, 3:48am
Yep, how could headlights be important.
ianalice1, Aug 6, 4:08am
Slightly out of adjustment.
Thats why I said, small things.

Even heard of them refusing warrant because of water in washer bottle, being low.
bellky, Aug 6, 4:19am
Yep, doesn't really matter if you blind an oncoming driver.
morrisman1, Aug 6, 4:36am
for once I agree with bellky, damn right they were correct on failing you because out of alignment headlights are either dangerous for you (cant see far enough ahead) or dangerous for other people when they are too high and blind them.

Ever found people flashing their lights at you when you are already on low beam!
splinter67, Aug 6, 4:41am
Jeeze you guys read post 3 and no I never have herd of being refused a warrant for a low level in the washer bottle unless the windscreen washers didn't work
toyboy3, Aug 6, 4:54am
herd of cows !
0274spoilers, Aug 6, 5:41am
I go to VTNZ on 9th ave with all my cars 89 mirage(standard) 92 323 (lowered mags body kit etc) they always say something about headlights being out of adjustment. Other than that i have found them to be very good.
I started using them after constantly being failed by local mechanic for ball joints cv joints bushes. I replaced ball joints on the mazda 2 warrants ago mechanic told me they were buggered only after a year! Took it to VTNZ to get 2nd opinion and they were fine so iv stuck with them they cant rip you off.
mugenb20b, Aug 6, 6:14am
Your car can fail on head light beams being slightly out of adjustment and no water in your windscreen washer bottle. But, they could have remedied those faults in 5 minutes. If they haven't done those things (assuming the car hasn't failed on other things), that's just laziness or shit customer service.
steve312, Aug 6, 6:18am
Agree whole heartedly.

It takes a couple of minutes to adjst the headlights while the car is on the beamsetter and less than that to pour a bit of water into the washer bottle.

Had plenty of people bring their car into my workshop after being failed for these things at VTNZ though.
stevo2, Aug 6, 6:28am
I use the VTNZ on Birch Ave, (same owners as the 9th Ave VTNZ) and they always adjust the lights for me while they are checking them and they never charge any extra.
I havent used Pitstop here but I have used Midas for a small exhaust job, got horribly ripped off and will never go back
bmc460, Aug 6, 6:40am
washer bottle has to squirt water out for warrant. if you dont want to fill it up remove from car then it dosnt matter and drive with dirty windscreen
the.wife, Aug 6, 6:42am
You can't do that. Every car manufactured on or after 1st of January 1992 has to have working windscreen washers.
bmc460, Aug 6, 8:23am
oh right didnt know that thanks
ianalice1, Aug 6, 8:25am
Thanks for the input.
thejazzpianoma, Aug 6, 8:35am
I would avoid pitstop ianalice, I have had mixed results the times I have tried VTNZ's in Tauranga. Definitely some are completely inept (I could tell you some stories!) others were more intelligent.

If you want work done well for a fair price near you I would recommend "The Garage" at Papamoa over Pitstop any day. Brent is not only a very talented mechanic who is reasonable in cost, he is absolutely honest. Caleb down there is also excellent and he is an auto sparky too.
granada, Aug 6, 8:38am
Ive been failed on headlights out of adjustment.I have rechecked them on the alignment machine at work and found them spot on.Took it back through for a recheck withoutdoing anything and they passed.Also learned to fill up the washer bottle.
Some of these WOF guys are impossible to deal with and you have to play the silly game
unbeatabull, Aug 6, 8:44am
Some WOF inspectors are just too lazy to set the correct dip rate setting on the tester and leave it on the same setting for every car . or don't set cars with adjustable/automatic headlights adjustment right
pauldw, Aug 6, 8:47am
I had lowered my headlights while carrying a heavy load in the boot. A few days later WOF at VTNZ Thorndon Quay and they adjusted them back to normal without being asked or any drama. The service is probably as individual as any other garage.
gunhand, Aug 6, 9:03am
I can understand why people moan that they dont get the small things done (for free) at the time but in this day and age you dont very often. If one mechanic spends say just 5mins doing a bulb or water or headlights etc by the end of 10 cars he has wasted dam near an hour, thats another car he could of done or "your" car he could have got out the door that day instead of doing all the we things. And who pays for the lost hour!Its not as simple as it once as.
And how bloody hard is it make sure you have water in ya bottle. I do a walk around before a warrent and see if anything needs done.
And what happens when hes leaning over doin somethin and scratches your car by mistake doing you a favour!I can just imagine the rant, OH, I could effin done that myself and not effin scratched it etc.
You may say, naaa that dosen't happen.dosen't it!
thejazzpianoma, Aug 6, 9:19am
I disagree on this one. VTNZ don't get to charge for the re-check and will waste far more time doing that than the couple of minutes it takes to adjust lights or fill the washer bottle. (although I agree ideally the bottle should be checked beforehand)

The other factor is clearly many of them can't use a beam setter because they seem to want to louse about with the settings just about every time you go for a WOF. Its simply unfair to expect you to go away and try and guess what setting the particular tester wants. Especially as you don't know what tester will even be looking at the car next time.
gunhand, Aug 6, 9:30am
Out of interest, how DO headlights become missaligned in the first place. Do people play with the screws or do they vibrate off alignment!always wondered this. Of course if its been to the panel shop I could understand.
steve312, Aug 6, 9:34am
think it just comes down to different inspectors.One says the lights are too high and adjusts it then next WOF someone says they are too low and adjusts them back.

We have plenty of customers who bring their vehicles in for adjustment after VTNZ inspections and yet they look perfect on our beam setter.Have even had to take the car for a recheck on behalf of the customer and adjust them to suit the VTNZ inspector using their beamsetter.
unbeatabull, Aug 6, 9:34am
Ideally they shouldn't. But as suspension and parts wear etc, ride height changes slightly. The rear sagging slightly with age can have a big affect at the front of the car. Of course vibrations etc can attribute to it. Really once they are adjusted right, they shouldn't need adjusting again for a long time.
gunhand, Aug 6, 9:38am
Prob right there dude. But its all a bit wasted if ya get 3 large chaps in the da back seat and a boot fulla da gear and piss a.and ya suspensions rooted. Mind you that should b a warrent issue LOL.