Looks like I may have fallen victim to a falsified safety inspection here.

Here in Manitoba, before ANY vehicle is transferred between two parties it must hold a valid safety certification. All insurance is public (super cheap here) and this safety MUST be presented when the car is insured.

So I was driving down the road and the brake light comes on and that chime started. I quickly went home and I felt my brakes beginning to fail. It was not a comfortable drive home. Sure enough when I popped the hood my master cylinder was empty. Turns out that the brake line going to the rear of the car was completely rusted through and gave way. When my respectable mechanic had the tires off, he noticed the pads were PAPER thin, rotors were beat up beyond repair, and rust on the right brake caliper and assembly was causing it to not function propery and uneven brake wear.

Now heres the real kicker. Not 700km'* ago this car passed a safety inspection and all the components above were indicated as being "safe". There was not even an advisory issued for anything above. There is no way, that in 700km could a brake line rust to the point of failure, rotors damaged, pads paper thin, and rusty calipers could occur.

How do you think I should pursue this? I have the safety sheet with all the information of the place and person that issued the document. I have the old parts as evidence, and my mechanic who told me there was no way in hell this would have passed a safety inspection. Not only that, but I could have been seriously injured as the brakes went out when I was driving.

BTW, the place I brought it is just awesome. The mechanic there spent 15 minutes explaining to me what had gone wrong, what was done, and he even looked over the safety sheet and showed me how they measured brake wear, the criteria certain things need to meet, etc. He has agreed to back me up if needed. First I think I'm going to go talk to the place that issued this and see what they will do for me. If they laugh at me and send me off I'm going to go straight to the BBB and any other organization I can. I'll let them know that I will as well...

Sorry for the huge post, but what should I do in this situation?

I dont have a lot of advice, BUT this place you bought it from, if they had a mechanic why didn't they check over the car before they sold it??

yeah that is pretty bad, they dont have saftey or emissions or anything here, straight pipe with a blown headgasket, missing brake pads not a problem.


I would go back to the dealer WITH THE BRAKE PADS and show them.

Follow through with the plan that you have outlined here. It is a good starting point. Good luck with it.

Cap'n... Place A issued the safety report and Dealer B sold you the car?

Place A has some answering to do then. Your plan of action sounds good, since place A issued the report they are the responsible party.

Tell them fix/refund, or be reported.

Sounds like Inspector A is in bed with Dealer B.

Up here, "inspector A" could be anyone with a mechanic'* license, which leaves it very open for abuse.

As I understand it; the inspection is required by the government. There must be a government agency to report this to. My sense of humor ends when scammers start messing with peoples lives.

The inspecton station could face a fine, plus losses of their liscences. Make sure you take pictures, note the location and time, and mileage the brakes failed. Note the mechanic who inspected and passed the car, and provide the inspection slip as well.

I'd definitly take it to the department of motor vehicles, insurance companies of theirs, and whomever else you can find, if the mechanic shrugs you off.

If the Province of Manitoba is anything like the Province of Ontario in regards to Safety Certification, the notice is only valid for an certain amount of time. I would contact the place that did the original safety, as well as the findings from the place you went to afterwards, and compare the two documents, I would bring that to the Ministry of Transportation.

Its not in the governments interest to have "certified" shops giving away Safety certificates.

Time is crucial here.

To bad Ontario doesnt have public insurance