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My experience getting my 2009 Maruti A-Star's RC renewed at KA-03 RTO

11th December 2024, 13:02 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

Though I spoke in Kannada, at no point in time did I feel that language would be an issue. The RTO officers were open to other languages.

BHPian rajathv8 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

My 2009 Maruti A-Star was up for its RC renewal this year at KA-03 RTO. I decided to start the car prep works 2 months before the expiry and get the inspection done 1 month before the expiry.

Car prep:

The A-Star was in fairly good nick with no major dents or scratches on the body panels. The bonnet had a few scratches and the roof had a few small dents (thanks street dogs!) but nothing one would lose sleep over. All lights were functional without any major cracks/damage. Passenger side headlight had a bit of yellowing. One tail light had a 5cm crack but it did not have any water ingress and the crack was visible only at close quarters.

The front and rear bumpers took the brunt of Bangalore's close-knit friendly traffic. The front bumper had a few dog bite marks and paint chipped off in some areas. The rear had a 2-inch tear in the lowest center region. A rear-ending incident had left very obvious and nasty-looking scratches on the passenger side of the rear bumper. Both bumpers were mended and repainted.

While the IND plates on the car were fine, to avoid any scope for trauma, I installed HSRP plates post-bumper repaint. Made sure to get the windshield sticker fixed as well.

The 15-year-old OEM horn was weak at best. It occasionally squeaked like a mouse but remained in silent meditation the majority of the time when I needed it. It was replaced with a MindaUNO D95 horn pair.

The Oct 2018, 28K run MRF ZLX tyres had sufficient tread left.

The mirror caps had many visible scratches on them which I left unattended.

All glasses were in good condition and without any sun film.

The A-Star had no aftermarket accessories apart from a Pioneer HU and a dashcam.

During the car prep phase, I met some interesting folks, had some nice conversations and engaged in some DIY. All part and parcel of a healthy long-term car ownership.

Paperwork:

The process is fairly straightforward and has been described in sufficient detail in previous posts. I applied and paid Rs.6762 online. Got all the papers in order with a file and envelope.

Form 25 - printout with chassis number pencil imprint at the bottom
Fee paid receipt – 2Nos, printout
Receipt of online application - printout
RC card - original in a small zip lock pouch
PUC - copy
Insurance - copy
Aadhar - copy
Self attested envelope
RTO file

I carried a bunch of additional documents since I didn’t know what to expect. PAN/Aadhar/marriage certificate/horoscope the lot!

Drinking water, snacks and a cap go a long way to make things pleasant while waiting for the inspector in the blistering heat.

Inspection:

The big day! Where every beloved car owner is made to feel powerless!

Washed the car in the morning, prayed to the powers above and headed to the RTO.

This is how the stars aligned:

10:25am:
Bought a file/envelope, arranged stuff. Made my way to 2nd floor - all paperwork was restricted to 2nd floor only.

10:35am:
Counter 5. Docs were checked.

10:55am:
Counter 3. Docs were checked again against entry in computer, file handed back. Was asked to proceed for the inspection.

11:00am:
Reached inspection area. I was 13th in the row on a Saturday. Count went up to 20 by the time I left.

12:05pm:
Two-wheeler inspection starts

12:10pm:
Four-wheeler inspection starts

12:40pm:
A-Star passed with flying colours. No comments, no questions, file handed back to me. Was asked to head back to RTO room 20.

12:50pm:
I am No.3 in the queue for room 20. This is the Vehicle Inspectors office.

1:15pm:
Inspector arrives. I present my file. Inspector signs and seals the Form25. Assistant inspector checks the file, makes notes in his notebook and hands the file back to me.

1:20pm:
Submit the file at Counter 1. Details were entered in the computer. I was asked for any other document which could be stamped as acknowledgement. I handed the extra fee paid receipt. It was stamped, signed and handed back.

Less than 3hrs and I was done!

Details about the inspections:

The inspector and his assistant approached the car. The bonnet had to be kept open. The assistant inspector peeked in the engine bay, he closed it and asked me to start the car. At this time the inspector took a walk around the car and checked the file. He had a notebook in which he would jot down any irregularities/fines. This notebook was later checked before signing the form-25 in room 20. When the car was started, the inspector glanced at the tailpipe. In my case, the electricals, tyres etc. were not explicitly inspected. The inspection was done in under 5 minutes!

Every single car before mine had some or the other questionable qualities - I believe this greatly helped my cause. The defects ranged from broken bumpers, cracked lights, massive tyres and alloys popping outside the bodyline, visibly faded paintwork patches, bald tyres, bright-red horns visible through the grill, aftermarket aux-lights, rusting on fender/running board, rusting on the shock towers under the hood, rusted out chassis number (could not take chassis imprint on form), shabby paint touchups, painted stock alloys. You name it, they had it!

The wait:

After the inspection on 18th May, the application was approved on June 25th. Vaahan reflected the updated expiry date. I received an RC dispatch SMS with a tracking number on 19th July, but the tracking number was incorrect. I was unable to retrieve the details from Speedpost. I decided to wait it out. Finally, I received the RC card on 25th Aug - 3 months and 7 days later.

Other points:

Though I spoke in Kannada, at no point in time did I feel that language would be an issue. The officers were open to other languages.
The flow and proceedings were smooth, no confusion.
Majority (if not all) other four-wheelers came with agents
I did not at any point feel I should have enlisted the services of an agent
The RC arrived in an envelope without any tracking number on it and it was not in the envelope I had attached in the RTO file!
Throughout the whole process there were only two phases of strain - 1. Getting the car ready – identifying what should be fixed and what is acceptable. It's anyone’s guess really and all boils down to the mood of the inspector on that day. 2. Waiting for the RC to arrive post inspection. This took an unusually long time.