[How to reduce various costs during vehicle inspection (1)] Replacing parts at an inspection shop is expensive! You can do it cheaper by replacing parts yourself or at an auto supply store before the inspection!

Where do you get your vehicle inspection done?

I think most people request their vehicle inspection from places like dealers, auto repair shops, specialized inspection shops, auto supply stores, or their regular gas station.

Some people might even take their car directly to the Transport Branch Office or the Light Motor Vehicle Inspection Organization for what's called a user inspection, but...

Although...

If the basic inspection fee at the time of the inspection were as expensive as it used to be, I could see the merit in the user inspection method.

Nowadays, if you search online with keywords like 'vehicle inspection [your residential area] (for me, Kochi) cheap', you'll find plenty of specialized inspection shops that set their basic inspection fees low, claiming things like 'We're confident in our low inspection costs!!'.

Since those specialized inspection shops have quite low basic inspection fees—at most around 20,000 yen—when you consider the time and effort involved, I don't really see much merit in doing a user inspection anymore.

By the way, no matter where you request your vehicle inspection—whether it's a dealer, auto repair shop, specialized inspection shop, auto supply store, your regular gas station, or even if you do a user inspection—the 'compulsory insurance,' 'weight tax,' and 'stamp duty' are uniform and the same price.

For example, if you get your inspection done at a specialized inspection shop with a basic inspection fee of 20,000 yen and no parts replacement is needed at all, for a light vehicle, the costs would be 'compulsory insurance = 17,540 yen,' 'weight tax = 6,600 yen,' 'stamp duty = 1,800 yen,' and 'basic inspection fee = 20,000 yen,' making the 'total amount for the vehicle inspection = 45,940 yen.' If parts replacement is necessary, the 'parts cost' and the 'labor cost' for the replacement are added to this total as 'parts replacement expenses'.

Of course, since there are many specialized inspection shops, the 'basic inspection fee' varies from shop to shop, and many places offer discounts like web discounts or repeat customer discounts. Taking that into account, I think it's safe to assume that the 'basic inspection fee' at a specialized inspection shop is generally around 20,000 yen.

Ultimately, I think the price difference in the total vehicle inspection cost is most likely to occur in the 'basic inspection fee' and the 'parts replacement expenses'.

By the way...

I had my vehicle inspection done yesterday.

Also, the place where I had my inspection done is a specialized inspection shop that appears at the top of the results when you search for keywords like 'vehicle inspection Kochi cheap'. By the way, the 'basic inspection fee' was 14,800 yen (tax included).

As for the flow on the day of the inspection at a specialized shop... You bring the car in for inspection early in the morning, like before 8:00 AM (which is before the start of the workday for regular office workers, so it has little impact on work). The deadline for bringing the car in is 10:00 AM. If you need a loaner car, just mention it when getting the inspection quote, and they will provide a free loaner car with a full tank of gas, so there's no problem even if you need a car. The inspection is finished by the evening, which is after work, so you go pick up the car in the evening. Note that you must return the loaner car with a full tank of gas. That's how it goes.

There is no doubt that a specialized inspection shop is one of the ways to 'keep vehicle inspection costs the lowest' for cars that 'don't need any parts replacement at all!!'

But wait!!!

If parts replacement expenses are required in addition to the inspection fee, you can't really say that a specialized inspection shop is the way to 'keep vehicle inspection costs the lowest.'

That makes sense, doesn't it?

A specialized inspection shop is, after all, a business that focuses on vehicle inspections, and there's an image that parts replacement is outside their specialty. However, even specialized inspection shops handle various parts replacements, and they will actively recommend replacing parts that they feel need to be replaced during the inspection quote.

For example, suppose that during a vehicle inspection estimate or pre-inspection, the tire tread is low and the inspector at the specialty inspection shop says, 'The tire tread is gone, so it won't pass inspection!! What do you want to do about the tires? Shall we replace them with new ones here?'

It is easy to imagine that tires sold at specialty inspection shops are inevitably more expensive when considering procurement costs and the like, because their economies of scale are smaller compared to tire specialty stores or auto supply stores. That is something that can be easily imagined.

Since such logic can be said to be a common factor for all parts,it is inevitable that the image that 'all parts are expensive' will follow the replacement of parts at a specialty inspection shop. That can be said to be the case.

In other words!!

'Even if you have your vehicle inspected at a specialty inspection shop, try to avoid replacing parts at the specialty inspection shop as much as possible!!'

I think that is necessary to keep the total vehicle inspection cost, including parts replacement, low.

So what does that mean!?

As mentioned above,when tires are recommended at a specialty inspection shop, you should reply with something like, 'I will replace the tires with new ones myself by the scheduled inspection date, so that will be fine,'andI feel the correct approach is to purchase tires where they are sold cheaply and have them replaced with new tires beforehand.It seems that there is such a large price difference between tires purchased at a specialty inspection shop and tires sold at discount tire stores.

By the way, if you think that parts replacement costs are cheaper at dealers or local auto repair shops, you only have the image that they are actually more expensive. Furthermore, since the basic vehicle inspection fee itself is very high compared to the approximately 20,000 yen at a specialty inspection shop, it is not uncommon for the total amount to be astronomical if you include parts replacement.

By the way...

Actually, for that reason, I,when I had my vehicle inspected at a specialty inspection shop yesterday, I replaced the parts that I thought needed replacing little by little in advance through DIY and at auto supply stores. Furthermore, if you need to replace parts in multiple locations, you might feel mentally burdened if you try to finish everything at once in a short period of time, so I think it would be better to proceed with replacing parts steadily one by one within a period of about a month, for example.

☆ In addition, when having a vehicle inspected at a specialty inspection shop, the following are parts replacements that I was able to do myself in advance through DIY (things I actually did myself).

・Wiper rubber replacement
The condition of the front wiper rubber being 'cut' or 'deteriorated' is one of the factors that will cause you to fail the vehicle inspection.
Since wiper rubber is prone to deterioration, chattering noises, and tearing, I make it a point to replace it at every vehicle inspection.
In my case, I don't just replace the wiper rubber, but I buy and replace the blade with the rubber attached.
The reason is that since the blade and rubber are a set, the wiper blade can be removed and installed with one touch, making it easier and less troublesome than replacing just the rubber.
Also, the replacement is really easy, just one-touch removal and installation, so the time required to replace the wiper blades is only 3 minutes even for two blades.
Moreover, even though the blade and rubber are a set, it is not much more expensive than purchasing the rubber alone. By the way, in the case of my light car, it was 1,500 yen for a set of two for the driver's side and passenger's side purchased online.
If you don't know how to replace them, you can find kind and detailed videos uploaded by people who want to monetize or helpful people by searching for keywords like 'vehicle model wiper blade replacement' on YouTube, so anyone can easily replace them by referring to those.
By the way, regarding the rear wiper,'The condition of the rear wiper rubber is not included in the vehicle inspection items, so even if the rubber is deteriorated, it has nothing to do with 'passing the vehicle inspection',' said the person in charge at the specialty inspection shop. However, depending on the region where you have the vehicle inspected, it is possible that 'that is not the case,' and since the rear wiper also plays an important role in ensuring rear visibility by removing rain, snow, and dirt from the rear glass, I think it is better to replace it if the rubber is cut or deteriorated.

・Washer fluid replenishment
Replenishing washer fluid is something that anyone can easily do by DIY.
In my case, when replenishing new washer fluid, I make sure to spray out all the old washer fluid beforehand to empty it before replenishing with new washer fluid.

・Flare (emergency safety flare for automobiles) replacement
Flares have an expiration date, and if they are expired, the inspector at the vehicle inspection station may point it out, so it is often recommended to replace them during the vehicle inspection, so it is safe to buy a replacement before the inspection.
Also, these days there are LED type flares (LED emergency signal lights), and since LED type flares have no expiration date, it might be a good idea to include LED type flares (emergency signal lights) as an option when buying a replacement.

・Battery replacement
Reference article⇒ It's about time to replace the car battery.

・Headlight polishing + coating
Reference article⇒ 【Reducing various costs during vehicle inspection (2)】 'Headlight polishing + coating = 10,000 yen (professional labor cost)' can be done for 1,000 yen if you do it yourself (easy work anyone can do).

☆ When having a vehicle inspected at a specialty inspection shop, the following are parts replacements that can be done in advance at auto supply stores, etc. (things I actually did myself).

・Engine oil replacement & oil filter replacement
Reference article⇒ 【Tire change fee & engine oil replacement fee at Autobacs】 Heavy snow in the mountains! Changing from summer tires to winter tires (studless tires).

・Brake oil (brake fluid) replacement
Since brake oil (brake fluid) is recommended to be replaced at every vehicle inspection, you will be recommended to replace it with a very high probability during the vehicle inspection.
Also, brake oil replacement involves work such as removing the tires and bleeding the air, which is difficult for an amateur's DIY, and if you fail, it could lead to 'The brakes don't work!! Oh no, crash!!', so it is safer to leave it to a professional rather than thinking you can do it yourself by watching YouTube videos where it looks easy.
Since it is expensive to replace it at a specialty inspection shop, I replaced it at an auto supply store in advance.
By the way, the brake oil replacement fee at an auto supply store is written as '4,400 yen (including labor and oil, tax included)' on the website for Autobacs.
However, when I called the nearby Autobacs to inquire, for some reason I was told 6,600 yen (including labor and oil, tax included). Perhaps there was a misunderstanding. For example, in the case of my light car, the amount of brake oil required for brake oil replacement is enough with one 1-liter bottle. However, if the car is larger, such as a regular passenger car, there is a possibility that one bottle will not be enough and two will be needed. In that case, the cost for the additional brake oil is required, so it can be understood even if it was 6,600 yen instead of 4,400 yen.
Also, on the Yellow Hat website, the brake oil replacement fee is written as '3,300 yen (labor, tax included) + actual cost of oil', and when I actually called the nearby Yellow Hat to inquire, the clerk's answer was the same as the website, '3,300 yen (labor, tax included) + actual cost of oil', and the clerk said, 'I think it will be about 5,000 yen including labor and oil cost'.
So, 'Yellow Hat (5,000 yen) is cheaper than Autobacs (6,600 yen)!' and so I had the brake oil replaced at Yellow Hat.
The total price of labor and oil cost was about 5,000 yen, just as the clerk said on the phone.

・Tire purchase/tire replacement
Reference article⇒ [The story of when I bought and replaced car tires] I hope this will be helpful when you buy or replace your tires.

If you have the parts replacements listed above,
“Wiper rubber replacement”
“Washer fluid replenishment”
“Flare (emergency road flare for cars) replacement”
“Battery replacement”
“Headlight polishing + coating”
“Engine oil replacement & oil filter replacement”
“Brake oil (brake fluid) replacement”
“Tire purchase/tire replacement”
done at a specialized vehicle inspection shop during the inspection, it will likely be quite expensive when you include the labor costs.I think.

In other words!!

By simply making an effort to use DIY, auto supply stores, or discount tire shops depending on the situation and the specific parts or work required, you can replace parts at a lower cost and suppress unnecessary expenses during vehicle inspection.

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