final inspection & road tax

i got my car inspected and paid my road tax yesterday, all within 20 minutes. i had initially wondered if i could do it as i had lost the road tax renewal notice send by the local transport authority. but decided to proceed to the inspection centre as i had some time to spare. the process turned out to be so efficient. here's what happened.

i arrived at the inspection centre and was received by their staff at the door. told him that i wanted to have my car inspected but didn't have the letter. smiling, he said it was ok and that they did not need the letter. he took over the car and proceeded to drive my car to the start of the test stations as i paid the inspection fee. once done, he started to drive the car through 5 stations where the brakes, lights, exhaust, undercarriage, etc were checked. all these happened as i walked beside the car. the results (of whether the car passed the test) appeared on the board immediately as the test was completed. once he completed the last station, he alighted and printed out the slip for me. passed all stations, it read. the whole process took less than 15 minutes. 

and with the done, i proceeded to pay my road tax at their office. no letter of notice required, the staff said when i mentioned that i had lost the letter. everything from records of my insurance to completion of car inspection had been updated to the local transport authority automatically, i was told.  this inspection and road tax payment was also the last for my current car as it will reach it's 10-year life cycle next july. good smooth experience to cap the decade of ownership.

:-)