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Hi
I have recently brought a car and yesterday I took it for the first WOF inspection since owning it. My car failed the WOF inspection for "cracked bump stops" on the front shocks. I am not entirely sure what bump stops are but I have seen that the plastic covers on the front shocks are badly broken/cracked so I'm assuming that's what failed. However, these have obviously been cracked for a very long time and the car has probably passed multiple WOF's with them in the current state. I would like to know if these components, which don't seem to affect the way the shock absorber functions, are in fact necessary for a WOF. How do I go about doing this?
Thanks for your help.

Hi there,
This can be a tricky one and often overlooked or not able to be easily seen at wof time.
On front shocks the cushion (also called bump stop- to stop the shock bottoming out over large bumps or impacts) can age and crumble - it sits inside the rubber dust boots for protection. Not all shocks have this stopper on the outside or have dust boots. But if is there it must be in good condition. https://vehicleinspection.nzta.govt.nz/virms/in-service-wof-and-cof/general/steering-and-suspension/steering-and-suspension-systems