Warrant of fitness - WTFs

[baffa]

The logic is that VTNZ has no bias. Problem is, they often dont have a fucking clue either.
It cuts both ways. Ive had stuff pulled up by mechanics that didnt really need doing in order to line their pockets.
I prefer to use VTNZ most of the time since they dont know bikes, they are less likely to fuck me around, and simply pass me. I only trust a select few people to work on or touch my bikes anyway
Problem is, most of the VTNZ in my area dont have someone with a full bike license.

[neels]

Used to have a good tame WOF man for my bikes, but he moved on to parts unknown Was a good bugger who wouldn't fail the bike for something that could be sorted in 5 minutes when I got home, and if he noticed anything in passing would let me know, the place didn't fix bikes so he wasn't in the business of looking for extra work.

Now take them to another WOF shop that doesn't do repairs either, the guy that checks the bikes has always been good, usually in and out in 5 minutes with me helping out with checking lights, bearings etc.

[ruaphu]

Do you work or have ever worked in, or owned or have ever owned a WOF station?

lol, nah man, I'm a sparky.

[vifferman]

I haven't taken my bikes to a VTNZ since back in the 70s. I usually find a bike shop with some clever guy in charge who cares about safety but couldn't give a toss about cosmetic or non-critical items like my non-OEM front indicators, slightly louder than the gummint standards Staintune muffler, etc. Atomic was my preferred choice, as Roger was pretty tough on anything likely to compromise safety, but pragmatic with it. (Having said that, if someone with a Harely with drag pipes comes in, he won't even look at it).
As for cars - ever since the morons failed my son's Fiat because it had a non-critical and minor leak in the rear part of the exhaust, yet failed to notice the flexi-joint behind the engine was cracked, and failed a rear tyre because it had a leak, yet failed to notice another tyre was pretty much rooted, I've determined they're not getting any more of my coin. I had to sell the last vehicle I owned (Pajero) at an almost 90% loss, because VTNZ mucked me about so much over stupid things. F'rexample: I got four WOFs in a row, with the driver's seatbelt frayed on one edge. I'd just cut the fuzzy bits of. Yet they were supposed to fail them if they even had noticeable fading. So, I bought a new belt and fitted it. Shortly after that, they failed one of the factory fitted belts (on one of the 'jump seats' in the boot) because the manufacturer's tag was torn. It would have taken a complete absence of any thought process for them to have not deduced that because the other seatbelts (apart from the new driver's one) were identical, and all had tags, that this one was also compliant.
I took it in the time or two before that, and they failed it because the driving lights (when switched on) came on when the main headlights were on high beam, just as they always had (and do on most cars?) They told me to pull the fuse, so next time I took it in, they failed it, because it had driving lights fitted, but they didn't work, because I'd pulled the fuse! So I put it in, and they passed it. Then they failed the brakelines, so I had them replaced, even though the guys that replaced them said they were fine. It was like every time they'd randomly fail some random, arbitrary and minor thing, and it began to piss me off so much I took the car to Turners and auctioned it with no WOF and no reserve.