Same test center

Positive purchase inspection report, but still no “sticker”

Even a complaint via the central ÖAMTC office has not yet brought any insight or solution: purchase test good, sticker bad ...(Bild: Krone KREATIV/zVg, stock.adobe.com)

A woman from the Weinviertel in Lower Austria wanted to buy a car. As everyone knows, it is a good idea to carry out an inspection beforehand. No sooner said than done. For the expert, the matter was clear: only minor damage. But during the "Pickerl" inspection at the same test center, everything was different ...

"I should move the car for a while, then everything would be fine," the lady explained what she had been told during the purchase test. "As the 'Pickerl' appointment was already due, I decided to have it carried out at the same service station before our planned vacation - which we wanted to go on with this car," explains the "Krone" reader. However, another employee carried out the check - and came to a completely different conclusion.

"Minor" suddenly became "serious" damage
"To my great surprise, the new test report suddenly revealed one serious and four minor defects - including points that had not been mentioned during the purchase test. Above all, the brake disk failed as a 'serious defect'," said the stunned Weinviertel woman about the previous purchase test, in which it had been said that the rust on the brake disk was only minor damage.

She wanted an explanation - and was stunned: "The inspector explained that the condition could deteriorate from one day to the next and that the car had been driven 'too little', which is why the rust hadn't disappeared."

"Could not possibly have occurred within weeks"
The car had certainly been moved - there had been just under three weeks between the tests. "The mechanic who later actually replaced the rear brake discs and pads showed us that they were already badly worn - a condition that could not possibly have occurred within weeks," says the woman, disappointed by the purchase test.

A positive assessment was not possible, she was told by the ÖAMTC base. "At my request, the employee who had carried out the purchase test was called in - he didn't see any misjudgement on his part either," explains the woman. Although this was no longer a big surprise for her, the lady had hoped for a concession - which did not happen even after communication with the ÖAMTC headquarters. 

ÖAMTC: "Deteriorating by nature"
At the request of "Krone", the motorists' club took a close look at the case and commented in detail: "Minor defects on the report essentially serve the purpose of informing the client of a necessary repair or replacement of one or more wearing parts, as a short-term deviation from the legal requirements can be accepted. Minor defects should be repaired in any case," comments Head of Public Relations Barbara Gall.

In the course of a purchase inspection, it is not possible to determine the cost or scope of a necessary repair - this is the responsibility of the workshop commissioned with the repair. "From a technical point of view, the assessment of the brake discs as a serious defect (1.5 months and approx. 1000 kilometers later in the course of the assessment according to § 57a KFG) is not a surprise. This is also because corrosion-related defects naturally deteriorate."