Putting a shed car back on the road
Around the Goulburn Valley, cars and utes drift off registration for all sorts of reasons: a farm runabout that never leaves the property, an old ute parked in the shed, a project car. Getting one back on Victorian rego needs an RWC.
Tell the tester how long the car has been sitting. RACV lists long periods parked among the causes of a flat battery, and tyres and brakes that have sat for years deserve a look from a mechanic before inspection day, not during it.
What Shepparton cars bring to the tester
Orchard and farm utes
Shepparton is the centre of the Goulburn Valley irrigation system, one of the largest in Australia, with peaches, pears and apricots grown for canning. Utes that run between rows and along channel banks wear their tyres, steering and suspension in ways a town car doesn't.
Highway kilometres
The Midland and Goulburn Valley highways meet here, and the Goulburn Valley Highway links the capitals of Victoria and Queensland. On its Arcadia section more than 2,000 of an estimated 6,500 vehicles a day are commercial. Trucks flick up stones, so check the windscreen for chips in the driver's view.
January heat
January averages a top of 32.1 degrees, and 46.1 was recorded on 7 February 2009. RACV says hot weather weakens battery performance, so a slow start on a hot afternoon is worth a battery test before the car's listed.
A buyer from Melbourne
Melbourne is about 181 km south. If a buyer is driving up for the car, have the RWC done before they set off, and remember the 30 days are running while you wait.
What we'd do
We'd have the car looked over a week or two before listing, sort any wear we found, then get the RWC the week the ad goes up. For a ute coming back on the road after years in a shed, we'd give the tester the whole story before they start.