All driver licences, warrants of fitness (Wofs), certificates of fitness (Cofs), and some vehicle certifications, that expired on or after January 1, 2020 will be valid to October 10 because of the Alert Level 4 lockdown.
Motor Trade Association advocacy and strategy manager Greig Epps said that meant the usual month of about half a million warrants was missed and workshops were trying to catch up.
In June, about 130,000 more inspections were done than is normal for that month.
Mr Epps estimated there were about 340,000 outstanding warrants that workshops had to squeeze in with their usual workload.
At PD Auto Services in Dunedin it used to take a couple of days to get a Wof done.
"We’re booking out a week in advance ... there’s just a lot more people ringing up," PD Auto Services director Nick Johnstone said.
If your car needs a warrant his message is clear: "Be prepared to wait".
"It’s probably been our busiest time since we’ve been in business," Mr Johnstone said.
"It’s like someone’s just flicked the on switch after the lockdown and everyone wants stuff done to their car," he said.
MTA’s Greig Epps said the organisation was waiting to see what the Government would do about the Wofs that expired before or around the time of the lockdown.
"We’ve been waiting for NZTA and the Ministry of Transport to come back with more clarity about what they’re doing with that extension.
"We think the decision that will come back will be they’re just going to leave that extension there and have the industry ... try and work their way through the backlog."
A communication campaign saying the extension was still in place was also likely, Mr Epps said.
Despite the delays, Mr Epps said car owners should insist in getting their vehicle inspected.
"If it’s time for your inspection or if it’s past due, you really need to get your car in and get it inspected."
Mr Epps said tyres, the rubber on the windscreen wipers and the brakes were key things for people to look out for.
Nationally about four in every 10 cars inspected failed their Wof and Otago had one of the higher rates, Mr Epps said.
"Otago was 46%, which was actually one of the highest. Waikato, Gisborne and Otago in 2019 had the highest failure rates for Wofs."
The top four reasons for Wof failures were lights, tyres, steering and suspension and brakes.
Warrants of fitness
Six million Wof inspections done every year
In April 2019, there were 514,000 inspections
In April 2020, there were 80,000 inspections
In 2019, 41% of Wof inspections failed nationally
In Otago, 46% of Wof inspections failed
In 2015, 5% of crashes had a vehicle failure; in 2018, that was 15%
