Topic: Out-of-province inspection in Calgary

[EV Dan]

I have a friend who just moved from ON to Calgary, AB and in order to get plates he needs to pass an inspection. The money is tight and he doesn't want to find himself in a situation where a mechanic would ask for several hundred dollars in repairs in order to write this piece of paper. Can anyone recommend a trustworthy mechanic in the city or some distance away or else, is there a good/smart way to approach this thing?

[Arthur Dent]

How new is the vehicle?

Out of province inspections are seriously tough if your vehicle older than a couple years old. Not to be downer but I think he'll be lucky if its only a several hundred dollars unless its extremely new/low mileage.

[EV Dan]

IIRC the car is 2-3 years old and there shouldn't be anything wrong with it... that is until some mechanic says there is.

[rrocket]

. that is until some mechanic says there is.

Which could also be totally truthful...

People frequently think their cars are "perfect", "mint" and "needs nothing" and that's rarely the case.

[revalations]

Tricky one. The OOP inspections are tough, and more often than one would think the shop/mechanic gets audited on inspections. If any issues were looked past the mechanic could lose his license and the shop could get their inspection privileges revoked. A 2-3 year old car shouldn’t need much- he’ll have to make sure his tires/brakes/glass/lights are all ok, as well as no engine/ or other warning lights. Rust shouldn’t be an issue for something that new, but it’s an automatic fail if any penetrating rust is on the body.

 Have no shop to recommend. But in the northeast portion of Calgary there are many independent shops that usually are more fair than the typical dealership or Canadian tire type places.

[HeliDriver]

SK, not AB, but I was surprised when we bought our Yukon (used) from a dealer. The SUV was only a year old and with only 20k on the odometer, but there was a receipt for $300 spent on a brake job (looked like just turning the rotors and sanding the pads.)

Salesman said pretty much all their out-of-province cars end up getting a brake job. Said it's impossible to pass the inspection unless the brakes are like-new.

[EV Dan]

Thanks guys. What's strange is from some provinces, e.g. BC and a few other, NO inspection is required, go figure...

[Arthur Dent]

I've heard tires have to be like new, match brands, etc as well. Windshield free of any cracks or rock chips. I had a '65 Envoy Epic (Vauxhall) I could not register for the road as it had a single rock chip in the unobtainable windshield. I seem to recall the inspection requirement was brought in 30 (?) years ago when BC (I think?) dealers were en-mass exporting junkers/accident damaged cars to Alberta.

[revalations]

Here in BC we have out of province inspections too. The only vehicles that are exempt are new ones coming from other provinces.

[ianmcc]

So here is a few tidbits I can offer about the dreaded OOP inspections in Alberta having had several done in my days.
First, have your friend get his insurance in place. You don't need to have the inspection done first. I am not 100% in the insurance part but in my experience most if not all Registries won't look at you without valid insurance.
Then he will have to go to a Registry with proof of ownership and valid insurance and request a "Request for Vehicle Inspection Form".
They issue a numbered and tracked form that he will take to an authorized location (no fly by night mobile inspections allowed).
The form does not expire so once it is issued he can locate the facility of his choosing.
Before getting an inspection done have him read the Vehicle Inspection Manual on what the facility is looking for during an inspection.

https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/4878a85b-0d94-46dc-9b88-363c0fafa0c9/resource/410d7461-dd09-4e0a-b17e-901bd7e71372/download/amltmanualdec2009.pdf

Once the inspection is done he will have to present the form to the Registry office within 14 days of the completed inspection elsewise he will have to do the process all over again.
If it fails the inspection he will have 10 days to have repairs done and re-inspected on the original form then 14 days as noted above.
As far as getting one done and cost that is not that easy as there are a lot to choose from. Most dealerships are able to do them but that comes with the caveat of dealership pricing.
Also avoid Canadian Tire at all costs. That goes without saying when it comes to any automotive repair or service work.
My experience has been that the smaller shops have the best pricing and the chains like Kal Tire are the most expensive.
Here is a list of inspection facilities in Calgary (just select Out of Province at the top and drill down).

https://www.transportation.alberta.ca/vis/production/vishome.asp

Keep us posted on his process!

[PJungnitsch]

Windshield free of any cracks or rock chips.

Is that something a person could fix ahead of time? At the least the smaller star/bullseye etc hits. The epoxy fixes if done well can make them pretty hard to see

[bridgecity]

Good idea to go through the manual that ianmcc posted so that you're clear on requirements.  For instance, there is an allowance for chip size on your windshield.  Windshields don't need to be perfect. 

[ktm525]

I was shocked when my I looked underneath my wife's three year old car from Ontario. The corrosion on the steering/brake bits was nuts.

[EV Dan]

So here is a few tidbits I can offer about the dreaded OOP inspections in Alberta having had several done in my days.
First, have your friend get his insurance in place. You don't need to have the inspection done first. I am not 100% in the insurance part but in my experience most if not all Registries won't look at you without valid insurance.
Then he will have to go to a Registry with proof of ownership and valid insurance and request a "Request for Vehicle Inspection Form".
They issue a numbered and tracked form that he will take to an authorized location (no fly by night mobile inspections allowed).
The form does not expire so once it is issued he can locate the facility of his choosing.
Before getting an inspection done have him read the Vehicle Inspection Manual on what the facility is looking for during an inspection.

https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/4878a85b-0d94-46dc-9b88-363c0fafa0c9/resource/410d7461-dd09-4e0a-b17e-901bd7e71372/download/amltmanualdec2009.pdf

Once the inspection is done he will have to present the form to the Registry office within 14 days of the completed inspection elsewise he will have to do the process all over again.
If it fails the inspection he will have 10 days to have repairs done and re-inspected on the original form then 14 days as noted above.
As far as getting one done and cost that is not that easy as there are a lot to choose from. Most dealerships are able to do them but that comes with the caveat of dealership pricing.
Also avoid Canadian Tire at all costs. That goes without saying when it comes to any automotive repair or service work.
My experience has been that the smaller shops have the best pricing and the chains like Kal Tire are the most expensive.
Here is a list of inspection facilities in Calgary (just select Out of Province at the top and drill down).

https://www.transportation.alberta.ca/vis/production/vishome.asp

Keep us posted on his process!

Thank you!!! I will post an update once I hear back.

[dkaz]

When I first moved from BC to Alberta, I had Go Mazda of all places inspect my car. It was $350 but they found zero issues.

I have a trusted mechanic now but they seem to always find something that needs to be fixed with every vehicle I bring in. Yes I’ll be using him lol.

Thanks guys. What's strange is from some provinces, e.g. BC and a few other, NO inspection is required, go figure...

There’s an agreement between BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan that cars newer than 4 model years are exempt from OOPIs.

[bridgecity]

There’s an agreement between BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan that cars newer than 4 model years are exempt from OOPIs.

That's good to know dkaz, thanks for that.  I wasn't aware.  This from SGI's website:

New West Partnership First-Time Registered Inspection exemption
Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan launched the New West Partnership (NWP) in 2010. Under this agreement, some privately owned vehicles are exempt from a first-time registered vehicle inspection when the:

Owner of the vehicle moves to Saskatchewan from another NWP jurisdiction (BC or Alberta);
Vehicle was last registered in a NWP jurisdiction to the customer applying for the inspection exemption;
Vehicle is a passenger car, multi-purpose passenger vehicle, motorcycle, light truck or van with a gross vehicle weight rating less than or equal to 4,536 kg;
Vehicle has a normal status reported through the Inter-Provincial Records Exchange (IRE) system; and
Vehicle is either:
less than four-years old from the date of manufacture (includes current year plus previous three); or
has been inspected as part of a NWP government inspection program within the last 90 days.

[jamie1]

Out of province inspections in Alberta are not as tough as some of think. Tires fail when worn down to the wear bars or beyond. Brakes can be worn to 1.6mm.  But for some reason a lifted truck is ok as long as the H/Lamp does not exceed a certain height. And god forbid you have an aftermarket exhaust that is louder than what came from the factory. Tinted side glass? Nope, can't have that. But believe me, they are shops that will pass as sorts of sh!t and techs that take advantage of people.  As for your buddy's car, being from Ontario, it will must certainly need rotors.

[Seafoam]

^^ on the rotors. Wouldn't they just measure the thickness ,same for pads ? I know in my province we have motor vehicle inspections every two years.  Does Alberta have inspections regularly or never ?

[ktm525]

^^ on the rotors. Wouldn't they just measure the thickness ,same for pads ? I know in my province we have motor vehicle inspections every two years.  Does Alberta have inspections regularly or never ?

Once out of province inspection is passed no more inspections ever. No annual or bi-annual inspections. How long do rotors last in the salt bath areas of Ontario?

[Allen]

^^ on the rotors. Wouldn't they just measure the thickness ,same for pads ? I know in my province we have motor vehicle inspections every two years.  Does Alberta have inspections regularly or never ?

Once out of province inspection is passed no more inspections ever. No annual or bi-annual inspections. How long do rotors last in the salt bath areas of Ontario?

I trade my car every 4 years and have never had to replace the rotors. this car being 2-3 years old should be good