If the car has been in floodwater
Don't try to start it. Cranking a flooded engine can draw water in, and because water can't be compressed, it can bend parts inside. If it's a hybrid or electric car, don't start it at all: short circuits can cause a fire or an electric shock. Call your insurer first, and tell any tow operator the car has been flooded.
What Lismore has been through
A city on a floodplain
Lismore sits low on the Wilsons River where it meets Leycester Creek. In 2022 the river peaked at 14.37 metres, the largest flood since modern records began, well above the levee's stated 10.7 metres of protection. In 2017 it reached 11.6 metres and went over the levee for the first time since it was finished.
Write-offs coming back
If a written-off car has been approved for re-registration, NSW lists it among the vehicles that need a blue slip before going back on the road.
Buying a replacement
In the Northern Rivers, 90% of trips are made by car, so a replacement can feel urgent. Before you buy, NSW's buyer checklist says to look in the boot, floor wells, doors and lower sills for dark stains or bubbled paint, and warns that grey or milky oil may mean water has got in.
A pink slip isn't a flood check
A pink slip checks safety items for the rego. It isn't designed to tell you what floodwater did to the wiring, the engine or the gearbox. A pre-purchase inspection is the one for that.
For cars that stayed registered
Most light vehicles more than 5 years old, counted from the compliance plate, need a pink slip each year, and the renewal notice says when. It must come from an AIS station, and the report is valid for 6 months.
If the car fails, the rego waits for the repairs. Return to the same station within 14 days and there's no extra inspection fee.
What we'd do
If our car had been in floodwater, we'd leave it switched off and ring the insurer before anyone else. If we were buying in Lismore, we'd work through NSW's checklist ourselves, then get a pre-purchase inspection before worrying about the pink slip, because the slip only tells you the car passed on the day.