[Bearcub]

The HK Automobile Association (http://www.hkaa.com.hk/) will do an inspection for you. Can't remember how much they charge.

[PettsWood]

The AA charges about $600 but mine was checked by AA. Obviously they only looked at the very basic things...

[kbokusan]

Originally Posted by cerberus

kbokusan, not wanting to be argumentative, but not many enthusiasts in HK? ya gotta be kidding. ever seen the fast and the furious? this is a city of tweakers, modders and tuners. not sure what you call an enthusiast, but in my book this aspect of HK is pretty damn cool. and rust? anybody ever seen rusty cars in Asia? very rare. humidity works against rust, if i'm not mistaken, and anyway, vehicles here are typically at least looking in good condition.
north america on the other hand has some real rust buckets.

hi , maybe i was speaking in general and not in detail. Enthusiast - i like the passion people put into restoring cars for the respect for the car. But given HK heritage its not likely many people will import a heritage and recustom it to look like the very original.

Rust= h2o + O2
note- high pollution in cobcentrated HK areas + rain = bad for cars

[ohchk2001]

How much does re-certification cost after 7 years?

[jaykay]

Buying a car from an ex-pat may not also be the best bet. So many of them have been ripped off from garages and don't even know it as they can't read the bills and don't check the cars to see if the work has been done!

Recent example, my friend who trades recently looked at a BMW 528 whose owner was leaving HK. He told him that the brakes were recently replaced and the exhaust and showed extensive receipts to back this up. The brakes were completely down to the metal and the exhaust had been welded with additional tubing! Don't assume that just by buying from an ex-pat you are buying a well looked after car!

[HKFella]

Originally Posted by jaykay

Buying a car from an ex-pat may not also be the best bet. So many of them have been ripped off from garages and don't even know it as they can't read the bills and don't check the cars to see if the work has been done!

Recent example, my friend who trades recently looked at a BMW 528 whose owner was leaving HK. He told him that the brakes were recently replaced and the exhaust and showed extensive receipts to back this up. The brakes were completely down to the metal and the exhaust had been welded with additional tubing! Don't assume that just by buying from an ex-pat you are buying a well looked after car!

Agree - something bought from a garage by an expat can be dicey. If it's been owned entirely by expats (down to second owner max), and the selling expat is departing, your odds are fairly good.

[ohchk2001]

Can someone tell me how much re-certification costs? Why is it such a big deal and causes so much depreciation?

[PettsWood]

The MOT costs only about $500 - $600. It is not the test fee but the fact that the car has past its seventh birthday and that it is likely to have all sorts of problem surfacing...

[discobay]

Originally Posted by ohchk2001

Can someone tell me how much re-certification costs? Why is it such a big deal and causes so much depreciation?

It may be because the cars here are generally lacklustre. Excluding Porsches, Ferraris and Lamborghinis they don't have much character. The RS Fords and GTIs never made an impact here. DIY car maintenance is also not done much. These factors in themselves do nothing to promote the desire to hold onto your over-6-year-old car. Also, annual license fees and monthly parking fees are so high that owning a second car that may have been the husband's classic MGB for instance is not worthwhile.