AN Orange mechanic was left shaken on Wednesday after he was abused by a customer who failed their registration check, which they left to the last minute.
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John Spicer's Mechanical Repairs owners John and Learne Spicer said it is not the first time customers have become angry over a failed registration check and it was a common experience for the city’s mechanics.
Mrs Spicer said in the last couple of months she has noticed a lot of people leaving their registration inspections to the last minute who have then been disappointed and stressed when their car did not pass registration.
She said people did not need to wait for the papers to be issued to get the check.
“Once passed, the report is valid for six months but if selling it’s valid for 42 days,” Mrs Spicer said.
To share that message she took to social media on Wednesday with her post on Facebook site Spread the Word in Orange receiving more than 300 likes in less than 24 hours.
“Rules are rules and I will not be responsible for injury or worse, death, if we pass your unsafe car,” she said in the online post.
She said Wednesday’s incident occurred after they refused to tick off a pink slip due to the car not having working brake lights and told the owner to see an auto electrician because they could not do the work.
However, Mr Spicer said cars with issues with ABS systems and air bags could also not be approved and often the work could not be done the same day and the expense could be heartbreaking for owners.
Although he said it was only a small minority of customers that dished out the same level of abuse as the man on Wednesday, about 25 per cent of cars brought in fail the check and 50 per cent of owners leave it to the last minute to book in.
NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said pink slips were about ensuring road safety, not checking boxes.