Structural rust, a crossmember dented in a crash, a deployed airbag or flood damage can turn an entry inspection into a referral for repair certification. A repair certifier then has to see the damage before repairs start, write the repair instructions, inspect the work in stages and sign it off on an LT308. Only then can compliance or re-registration finish.
Fasttrack Compliance, whose two branches are Penrose (Auckland) and Waltham (Christchurch), assists with repair certification after structural damage or corrosion through approved repair certifiers.
Damage, corrosion or fresh repair work beyond the threshold set in an NZTA technical bulletin calls for repair certification when the car is entering or re-entering service. That covers fresh imports at compliance, and NZTA's repair certification page says you may also need it to re-register a car.
The entry certifier, such as a VINZ inspector, applies the threshold, and the repair certifier takes over from there.
For structural rust or crash damage over that line, a failed compliance inspection leads to a certifier rather than straight to a panel shop. Some imports also arrive with a border damage flag already on their record.
A single item on NZTA's threshold list is enough for the inspector to refer the car. Most of the list is below, and an importer can spot several items in auction photos or on a pre-purchase check:
Grounding marks, sill dents under 25mm lengthways and cosmetic outer-panel damage sit below the threshold, so on their own they do not send a car to a certifier.
Fresh undersealing, rust prevention or acid wash in the structure is a referral item in its own right, so a tidy underside can still trigger repair certification. The bulletin does not ask whether the coating hides anything.
Rustproofing or undersealing an import before compliance can add a certifier's inspection instead of avoiding one, so the safer order is to leave underbody treatment until after the entry inspection.
No. Section 3-10 of the repair certification manual says certification must begin before repairs are carried out, and the certifier's first step is to photograph all of the damage.
Suppose an importer's car has a soft patch in the rear floor. A panel shop cuts it out and welds in new steel the week before compliance. At inspection the fresh welding is itself a referral item, and the certifier has no photographs of the original damage to work from.
NZTA warns that repairs done without a certifier's oversight risk having to be redone. That may mean stripping paint and underseal back so the certifier can see the welds and seams.
Repair certification runs in three phases: an initial assessment with written repair instructions, inspections while the repair is under way, and a final inspection recorded on the LT308.
For a car from Australia, the certifier's first photographs also take in any damage listed on its PPSR record. The certifier then gives the repairer a written repair process; repair instructions given verbally, by text or written on the glass do not count.
Intermediate inspections catch internal structural work before outer panels cover it. A large repair may need more than one of these visits.
At the end the certifier photographs the finished repair and makes the final determination, and the car goes back into the compliance or re-registration process.
For vehicles built after 1 January 1990, the certifier must collect evidence of the repairer's qualifications, training, welding certification and equipment. Whoever does the work, ask the certifier early whether that repairer's credentials will be accepted.
If the certifier runs a quarantine system, it can hold a car for up to 180 calendar days or 100km, whichever comes first. The days are counted from the entry certifier's first inspection, and the kilometres from the odometer reading on the check sheet. Go past 100km and the manual sends the car back for a full entry-level inspection.
The car has to enter quarantine within the 21 working day recheck period, which runs from the date on the check sheet. While it is there, it must not be driven or moved from the nominated site except for repair certification.
So line up a certifier within days of a failed inspection, and keep the car parked while repairs are pending.
Rust needs a certifier once it reaches the threshold, and rust heave, usually seen as paint or sealer lifting from underneath, counts on its own. So a car can be referred before the rust has made a hole.
RepairCert NZ, an independent body under contract to NZTA, lists certifiers on its Find a Certifier page. Before booking, ask whether the certifier runs a quarantine system and where the car would be kept.
If the inspector finds the car below the threshold, a removal request goes to an authorised supervisor, who checks the photos from the border inspection. Above the threshold, the flag can come off once the repair is certified and the certifier requests removal on the LT308.
The owner does. NZTA says the inspection and any required repairs are at the owner's cost, on top of the entry certification fee. Parts of the car may need to be dismantled for the inspection.
Has an entry inspection flagged corrosion or a fresh repair on your car? Leave the panel work until a certifier has seen it, and ask Fasttrack about repair certification before you book a repairer.
