Drivers looking to get their small vehicles safetied can once again do so without leaving the Pontiac, after a local garage was named as an official inspection location by the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ).
Daniel Belair’s garage in Mansfield-et-Pontefract was mandated by the SAAQ in June to do safety inspections for small vehicles (less than 4,500 kg gross weight) after the Centre d’auto Amyotte closed permanently in April.
After Amyotte’s closure, drivers were forced to travel outside the Pontiac region to Gatineau or Maniwaki to have their small vehicles inspected. Now, drivers will be able to stay within the region to have the inspections done.
Garage owner Daniel Belair said the SAAQ reached out to him to see if he would submit a bid to take on the small vehicle inspections, in addition to the large vehicle inspections he has been doing since around 2010.
“We were really happy,” Belair said of the news, adding that the mandate will increase his business by at least 40 per cent. “I’m going to hire another one or two more [mechanics],” he said.
Safety inspections are required by the SAAQ in a number of scenarios, including with hand-crafted vehicles, used vehicles from outside the province, vehicles stored for more than 12 months, and severely damaged vehicles that have been rebuilt.
Riley MacGregor, owner of Bristol Auto, said that he has been in conversations with local officials to have his shop named as a second inspection location.
“Shawville is a more central location,” he said, adding that having a second location would help reduce backlogs and wait times for the public.
For now, Belair’s garage is the only location in the Pontiac where drivers can have their vehicles inspected. He may be reached at 819-683-3017 or 613-633-9358. His garage is located at 3 chemin des Bûcherons in Mansfield-et-Pontefract.
