Which Shellharbour?
The name covers three places: the old village on the harbour, the City of Shellharbour council area, and Shellharbour City Centre, the council's business district. This page is the village, where Addison Street is the main street.
Elsewhere in the council area? Albion Park and Warilla have their own pages.
Living by the water in Shellharbour
Two beaches and a headland
Shellharbour Beach runs north to Barrack Point and South Beach runs down toward Bass Point. The NRMA warns that steel left exposed near salt and water can rust quickly, and that rust can keep spreading under a painted panel. Stone chips on the bonnet and the sills deserve attention early.
Salt on the trailer
If the car pulls a boat or trailer into salt water, RAC WA says wash it down as soon as you can, and give the car a wash at least once a month anyway. Ask the mechanic to look at the towbar, the trailer plug and the brake lines while the car is up.
A village being built up
Shellharbour is going through extensive development, with new shops and home-units. If the car lives in a unit block's basement, ask the building manager whether a mobile mechanic is allowed to work there before you arrange one.
Licences and pink slips
Any business repairing cars in NSW needs a motor vehicle repairer licence, mobile ones included. Pink slips come only from AIS stations, some of which send an inspector out to you.
Ask about a car that lives by the sea
- Can you check the underbody, sills and brake lines for rust while it's on the hoist?
- Is that rust on the surface, or has it gone into the metal?
- Which stone chips should be sealed now, and which can wait?
- What's your NSW repairer licence number?
- Will you ring me before doing anything that isn't on the written quote?
If it were our car
We'd rinse the underside after any beach or boat day and ask for a rust check at every service. A chip sealed in autumn costs far less trouble than a panel that's bubbled by spring.