vehicle inspection rant

[LBrown59]

I feel for you. getting inspections is just a pita. you never know what to expect and everytime I think car is fine, they always find one little thing and charge me for a "failed" inspection. the words "failed" hurts. I really wish they would just us a grace period to fix things ourselves without paying for inspection fee again. Heck even 24 hrs is enough for me to get things fixed and reinspect.

These inspection gimmicks are to increase govt revenue
and keep garages and inspection stations in business.

 

[keegs]

They've been cutting back on car inspections in NJ for years ..I think we're down down to every 4 years now. They check emissions, horn, lights,signals, brakes that's about it.

Overall, since they went online, DMV here has been no problem. We do all the registration renewals online with a credit card. We do have to go there every 4 years for license renewal since realID was enacted. I did my license renewal in November ...with adequate credential it took about 30 minutes.

 

[20 20]

Thanks for all the comments folks, I do agree for the most part{90%+} that these inspections are just another government money maker. The one I see most that screws up inspections is the O2 sensors. That piece of _____ is nothing more then an all around money maker. They're built to go out, cause non-passing inspection, cost like heck to replace and do absolutely nothing.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Virginia will not drop safety inspection for the lobby of car shops. But every mechanic I ever talked to says they don't get more business because of the inspection - I worked in a car shop for a while and even we didn't inspect, we had a lot of shops around us who did.

And VA requires to check brake pads and shoes and such, makes the mechanic actually do some work - but they don't check the ovality of brake drums for instance.

The most absurd inspection is in MD, the vehicle has to be inspected once in the lifetime. Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot? - that's just plain dumb. You buy it new, it passes inspection, than you never ever have to have it inspected.

 

[Bird]

I'm sure you know that only high-density metro areas must have the smog inspection. I take my Diesel in for inspection here in Montague County and it is $14. I believe my Vibe is even less. I just make it a practice to change wiper blades every year before the inspection.

Yep, my last one before I moved back to town cost me $13 in Corsicana in 2001. That was for a 2 year old Ford Escort sedan. I didn't know how much they've changed since then. I don't have any regular schedule like you, but do replace wiper blades pretty frequently.

I get my inspections at the same place I get oil changes, so they know me and treat me right, but I've never tried to get them to inspect a car that I thought had a problem.

Me, too. Bill Utter Ford.:laughing:

In 1974, I happened to notice one day that my inspection sticker expired that day on my 1973 Winnebago Brave motorhome, so I drove it to work that morning so I could stop on the way home that afternoon (got off work at 3 p.m.) and get it inspected. I got to Lewisville at a car dealership, waited a half hour, then found it would not fit in the door to their shop. Back then each inspection station had a specifically marked place to park inside, had to be level, to check headlight alignment. So then I went on to Denton to a truck dealer. By that time, it was just about closing time and only one man left in the shop. Sure enough the A/C on the roof made the motorhome about 1" too tall. I told him, "Well, we can let the air out of the back tires (duals, of course) and it'll fit through the door." He brightened up and said, "Yeah, that'll do it!" And I said, "Of course, you have to let the air out, drive it inside, air up the tires to check headlight alignment, let the air out again, back it out, and air up all 4 again." Now I had stopped on the way out of Dallas and bought a case of beer to take home and set it just inside the door to the motorhome. So at that point, I said, "It's gettin' late and I think it's time for a cold beer. Would you like one?" He looked around, then looked inside the motorhome, and decided he'd like a beer and that he thought it was level enough with just the front end inside the building.:laughing: It was actually on quite a slope, but we had a beer and he did the inspection and put a sticker on it.

The next year, I decided to avoid that problem, so I took the motorhome to what was, at that time, the biggest RV dealer in Dallas. Of course, I inspected it first myself and found one little clearance light bulb out, so I replaced that one bulb, went to the RV dealer, told the guy I'd replaced that one bulb and it was ready for inspection. He got a sticker ouf of his desk, went out and put it on my windshield and didn't even look at anything at all.:laughing:

 

[grsthegreat]

state inspection....whats that. this is Idaho......we dont care.

When i lived in Texass we had those state inspections...what a rip off. they can always find a way to fix something and charge me.

 

[keegs]

My wife and I always joke about the Pennsylvania state auto inspection authority... It seems whenever we see an old jalopy, it's always got Pennsylvania plates. Not sure what they inspect at the Pennsylvania DMV ...but it sure don't seem like much. :laughing:

....old ..smokey... loud .. banged up... dirty... shebangs ..and they drive them like they're stolen....

Wonder how they ever get home in some of those things.... :laughing:

 

[Taylortractornut]

In MS we have to check the lights and wipers basically. I have a friend that owns a tire shop and hes pretty lenient if he knows you. Im the worlds worst about forgetting about it and getting a ticket for it. He will call and get it taken care of.

I back in the 80s I was 7 or so and had to go with my dad to the Cheverolet place to get his company truck. They had an old lady in the shop showing her car on the rack telling her that the muffler clamps need replacing and the fan bearings needed going over. I remember it well as the old lady told told him that she was old not stupid that in the 60's she worked with her husband in the family garage. That lady used words a sailor shouldnt have used much less a grandma lol.

 

[not2old]

In the 60's I lived in the suburbs, but needed a city inspection within their limits and the fine was substantial if caught. The first time I went, they failed me because my license plate was held on with wire rather than screws. On the way home, while making a sharp right hand turn, the driver's side wheel fell over on to the hubcap. The two bolts holding the control arm to the frame had snapped. I fixed that, and the plate, to get my sticker. The next year, my car passed everything they tested. On the way home, a brake hose burst when I was using them. With a lot of luck, I didn't hit anyone. After that, I learned how to do my own inspections, and have not relied on anyone else to make sure my vehicles are safe ever since.

 

[niemeyjt]

Here in UK we have 12 monthly checks (6 monthly for taxis) after 3 years (1 year for bigger vehicles). Smaller vehicles are tested by an approved local garage that can also do the repairs. Larger vehicles have to be done at government centres.

Tests cover emissions as applicable for age, suspension, lights, windscreen and wipers, seat belts, structural corrosion, steering and suspension, brake corrosion and a rolling road test.

Oil leaks are not part of test - which is lucky for Land Rover owners like me!

Cost - from £55 ($90).

It is now all computerised - the database is checked during the annual taxing of the vehicle (along with insurance database) as well as by suitably equipped Police cars as you pass them on the road.

J