- Fitness checks move from 6-monthly to annually from September 1.
- 'Vintage' means any car or motorcycle over 40 years old.
- Qualifying fleet numbers 128,000 in NZ, out of 4.4m total vehicles.
New Zealand Transport Minister Chris Bishop has announced what he calls "common sense" changes to Warrant of Fitness (WoF) regulations for vintage light vehicles and Certificate of Fitnes (CoF) for private heavy motorhomes. Previously subject to 6-month checks, they will now only be required to undergo annual inspections. The change comes into effect on September 1.
“There are about 128,000 vintage vehicles and 39,000 private motorhomes registered in NZ [total fleet size 4.4m]," says Bishop. "Until now, their owners have had to front up for a Warrant or Certificate of Fitness inspection every six months - even though these vehicles are driven far less than your average modern car."
What's "vintage" though? You might be imagining a shiny classic car, kept in pristine condition and wheeled out on sunny Sundays only. And yes, they qualifty. But any car is classified as vintage when it hits 40 years of age, so your Gran's 1984 Corolla also qualifies.
“Evidence shows that vintage vehicles and motorhomes are half as likely to have a contributing fault in a serious crash - even after adjusting for how many of them are on the road," says Bishop. "And when it comes to passing a WoF inspection, vintage vehicles actually perform better than vehicles under 40 years old.
“In fact, once a vehicle hits 40, its pass rates go up - proof that hitting middle age isn’t all bad news.
“Earlier this year, the Government consulted on reducing the frequency of those inspections to six-monthly. Public support was overwhelmingly in favour of making this change."
A total of 13,242 submissions were received by the Government in response to the proposed change. Ninety-eight per cent supported the vintage-vehicle change and 89% were in favour of the new motorhomes rule.