Self car inspection…any experience?

7 comments

1. Are you talking about shaken (車検)?

2. Done it plenty of times. Cost wise is 8万円 or so roughly for a regular car and maybe like 5万 for a kei. If you have the time then just take it there once as is and run it through the line. If it fails anything then just fix it and take it back the next day. If youre going to check things prior then check brakes and the grease boots on the axels. Also youll probably be nervous the first time pulling up to the line but if you tell the guy that you havent done it before then theyll usually help you out. Its a piece of piss.

3. There is a non avoidable cost Basically 2 taxes重量税 and 自賠責保険 depending on your car it should be around 4~6man. (Much cheaper if you have a Kei)

   Then on top of that you have the fee that the garage put on top of it and the “repairs”. For most people you can expect 8~10 man for everything.

4. If your car is boring (stock) it’s not hard. I haven’t done it because my cars are illegal, but I used to work at Honda and did it the right way. Check all rubber boots and mounts, no leaks, good tires, full fluids, no dashboard lights on, lights work, no cracked lights even if they work, good wiper blades on the front (rear bad can still pass), and other stuff you can’t check yourself like emissions and stuff.

5. [Here’s an archived japanlife post](https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/hxm9j1/written_guide_with_photos_to_doing_your_own/) on user shaken. Two years old, probably still a good guide.

6. Do it every year for my truck and every 2 years for my wife’s car.

   It’s not hard, but you either do it correctly, or leave it to a mechanic. Car safety it’s not where you want to be cheap.

   Google 点検整備記録簿. That’s what mechanics check during the shaken, and that’s what you should be checking in the user shaken. Realistically, almost nobody does it, but I recommend you to do it.

   The shaken goes like this:

   1-You do the reservation online (try to get the first slot in the morning.

   2-Before going to the shaken center, be sure to go through a 予備検査. They do a quick checkup, fix the headlights position, etc. Absolutely necessary if your car isn’t new.

   3-Go to the shaken center, fill the forms and pay the inspection fee that it’s like 2,200 yen.

   4-Get in line for the inspection.

   5-First thing they check is the chassis number. Then all the dashboard lights, external lights, horn, emergency flare, wiper fluid, tires, wheel nuts and the external dimensions if they see anything suspicious. Next is the gas fumes inspection. They/you stick the inspection machine through your exhaust pipe and rev the engine. Next is the high beams inspection. After that they chevk the side slip, front/rear/emergency brakes. The final inspection is a guy in a man pit hammering the bolts to see if there’s anything lose, as well as checking for torn boots, oil leaks, worn out bushings etc.

   6-After the above is over, they will let you know if you passed or not. If you reproved, they will let you know what you need to fix. Fix it and go again. If you passed, enter the office and pay for the 重量税 and 自賠責保険. This varies wildly depending on your car type and engine size, as well as on where you live. After tou pay for all that, hand over all the forms and after waiting they will hand you the new sticker for the glass.

   Congrats, it’s over now.

7. I have been doing it on my own kei car and motorcycle for 10 years. It’s so easy and dirt cheap that I could never imagine paying someone to do it. ~Y30,000 or so, for either a kei car or motorcycle. Something like a 300ZX, old 3 liter sports car, is like ~75,000.

   You make a reservation online, show up, go through the pain in the ass routine of going to 4 different counters and waiting in line for the inspection, then done. Get new stickers and go home.

   I did forget, get your headlights adjusted before hand. There are always head light shops right next to the shakenjo. It’s like Y1000 to have them do it.

   If there is something wrong, like not having wiper fluid, you will finish the test but be told to go fix the problem and come back. In this case, just went, put water in the fluid tank, went back to the parking lot, they checked that fluid was indeed coming out of the sprayers, and that was it. Done.

   As long as you know your car will pass then you will pass. 🙂

   Good luck!

   Final note: you can go to any shakenjo you like to renew shaken, but for first registration I believe you have to do that at the shakenjo designated by where you life. I think.