Hamilton-based inspector suspended

The NZTA has immediately suspended vehicle inspector David Watt and his Hamilton-based inspecting organisation David Watt Auto Services.

"The NZTA is concerned that non-compliant vehicles may have been given warrants of fitness and that important safety systems such as brakes and tyre tread may not have been checked properly," said the agency in a statement.

"In addition, there is also concern that Mr Watt has not been undertaking road tests that normally include several safety checks."

"Due to the concerns around the quality of Mr Watt’s inspections, there is a strong possibility that some vehicles may have been incorrectly passed."

The NZTA is strongly encouraging people who have a current warrant issued from David Watt Auto Services to get their vehicles rechecked.

The agency will contact around 1,700 affected vehicle owners individually as soon as possible to advise them on recheck options - vouchers will be provided.

Timeline of events

- Late August: Dargaville Diesel Specialists suspended – 1,956 vehicle owners urged to get WOFs rechecked. 

- Late September: NZTA hires law firm Meredith Connell to review its open-compliance files and regulatory function. 

- October: Orient Motors – 3,494 affected owners. 

- October: Te Aroha Automotive – 613 affected vehicle owners.

- November 23: Westland Mechanical and Tyre – 3,721 affected vehicle owners.

- November 30: Auckland’s Jet Tyres and Wheel Alignment – 993 affected vehicle owners.

- November 30: Onehunga’s Church Street Motors and Tyres – 4,053 affected vehicle owners.

- December 4: El’s Auto Services in East Tamaki – 3,783 affected vehicle owners. 

- December 5: Super Cheap Tyres and Auto Services in St Johns – 2,443 affected vehicle owners.

- December 10: NZTA chief executive Fergus Gammie announces his resignation. 

- December 14: Stephen Upson and Sunnybrae Auto Services - 747 affected vehicle owners. 

- December 20: Sayad Hussein and Frankton WoF and Tyre Station - 2,836 affected vehicle owners. 

- December 21: Patrick Chu of Transport & Structure Ltd – numbers of potentially impacted vehicles yet to be confirmed. 

- December 21: NZTA appoints former Chorus CEO Mark Ratcliffe as interim chief executive until a permanent replacement is found.

- December 21: Consulting firm Martin Jenkins hired to provide support for the Ministry of Transport’s review into the NZTA’s regulatory function. 

- January 25, 2019: NZTA extends expiry date of all unused vouchers

- February 4, 2019: Manufacturers call on the NZTA to pay for customers’ towbar re-certifications. 

- February 7, 2019: NZTA announces it will cover costs for towbar recertifications.

- February 12, 2019: NZTA welcomes findings of an independent report on regulatory compliance.

- February 13, 2019: Donald Steward McLean and The WOF Man Ltd. - 3,515 affected vehicle owners. 

- March 22, 2019: Rajesh Singh and Gravity Services Ltd - 5,740 affected vehicle owners.

- April 8, 2019: Patrick Chu of Transport and Structure Ltd - 300 affected drawbars and draw beams on heavy vehicles and trailers.

- April 12, 2019: Mohammed Hussein and Autozone Services Ltd - 1,607 affected vehicle owners.

- April 12, 2019: Graeme Jordan, Peter Flannery and Michael Urquhart and Peninsula Motors - 1,170 affected vehicle owners. 

- April 16, 2019: Sun-Jin Kim and World Motors - 1,556 affected vehicle owners. 

- May 3, 2019: David Gundry and A-1 Auto Spares and Repairs - 932 affected vehicle owners. 

- May 3, 2019: Nassir Habib, Litesh Gounder and their respective inspecting organisations - Carbine Automotives and Manurewa Auto and Tyre Centre - 2,607 affected vehicle owners. 

- May 8, 2019: Wei Shi Du and his Mount Eden-based inspecting organisation Cityside Automotive Limited - 2,200 affected vehicle owners. 

- May 17, 2019: Chris Luo and his Mount Roskill-based inspecting organisation Auto Link - 3,100 affected vehicle owners. 

- June 4, 2019: Hamza Hamza and his Auckland-based inspecting organisation Super Cheap Tyres and Auto Services (2016) - 297 affected vehicle owners. 

- June 7, 2019: Paul Murray and his Christchurch-based inspecting organisation Walker Brothers 2016 Ltd - 2,150 affected vehicle owners. 

- June 12, 2019: Antony Homan and his Lawrence-based inspecting organisation Win Engineering and Mechanical Services Limited - 460 affected vehicle owners. 

- June 25, 2019: David Watt and his Hamilton-based inspecting organisation David Watt Auto Services - 1,700 affected vehicle owners.