What Hervey Bay cars bring to the station
4WDs back from K'gari
Ferries leave River Heads for K'gari, where a four-wheel drive is needed for every landing except Kingfisher Bay, and 75-Mile Beach is officially a main road. RACQ says to clean under a vehicle as soon as practical after beach driving, to get the sand and saltwater off before rust sets in. Body rust is on the safety certificate list.
Cars that don't go far
Hervey Bay's median age was 48 at the 2016 census, ten years older than the national figure. A second car that mostly sits in the carport can let you down on old tyres or a run-down battery: RACV lists long periods parked among the causes of a flat one.
An inherited car
Queensland's exemptions may include a beneficiary of a deceased estate. If a car has come to you that way, ring the transport department before arranging an inspection you might not need.
Buyers from Maryborough and beyond
Maryborough is about 30 minutes away, and buyers from further south come up the Bruce Highway. Meeting one halfway is a kind offer, but those kilometres come off the certificate's 2,000.
Worth looking at before the station does
- Rust under the doors, around the wheel arches and on the chassis rails of a beach 4WD.
- Tyre tread, and cracking in the sidewalls of tyres that have sat in the sun.
- Every light, brake lights and indicators included, with someone walking round the car.
- Chips or cracks in the windscreen, and wipers that actually clear it.
- Brakes or steering that feel different lately: that's one for a mechanic before the inspection.
A pass isn't a buyer's check
The station looks at basic safety items on the day. Queensland's transport department says the inspection isn't a full mechanical one, so if you're buying a 4WD with island trips behind it, a pre-purchase inspection is the check that looks harder at what the sand and salt have done.
Where we'd start
We'd give a beach 4WD a proper underbody wash a few days before the inspection, so the station sees metal rather than sand. Then we'd list the car and get the certificate that same week, before test drives start nibbling at the 2,000 km.