Adventures in car inspection

[JST]

Va requires a safety inspection every year, which is done by the guys at the local gas stations.

"What kind of car is this, a Maserati?"

"No, it's a Tesla"

"Huh. Glad I asked."

And then: http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/01/20/477b9e70133eed60cb15273cecf04e8c.jpg

[FC]

Well, at career day, those guys weren't struggling to choose between NASA, DARPA, and inspection bay.

Funny though.

[wdc330i]

Inspires confidence in their abilities to perform a proper inspection. ;)

[JST]

I suppose there is no check box for "logo." Or "name written in big letters on back."

[Plaz]

Did he fail you on emissions?

[lip277]

What about the engine? I am sure they found it. lol

[3LOU5]

My g/f's dad is like that.

He can't spell worth a crap, nor does he have an extended vocabulary, but man, can he diagnose a problem with anything mechanical.

I remember he bought Harley parts from various swap meets. He must have had 10 or so big boxes in his garage, with pistons, con rods, transmission gears, etc. splayed out all over.

A few weeks later, he had built himself a really cool rat bike with the old school foot clutch/jockey shift setup. He rode that bike to a motorcycle rally about 150 miles and parked it in a sea of other newer, custom-built garage queens.

Guess which bike had the most attention ??

I think there are some people who are wired different from what we consider the norm, kinda like musicians.

[clyde]

I think there are some people who are wired different from what we consider the norm, kinda like musicians.

Well, at career day, those guys weren't struggling to choose between NASA, DARPA, and inspection bay.

[Terri Kennedy]

Va requires a safety inspection every year, which is done by the guys at the local gas stations.
Here in Joisey, inspection is free and performed by the state. It consists of looking at your registration / insurance and plugging into the OBDII port. That is all.

You can have visible smoke, a headlight out, a cracked windshield, and no brakes and still pass... :?

[Plaz]

Here in Joisey, inspection is free and performed by the state. It consists of looking at your registration / insurance and plugging into the OBDII port. That is all.

You can have visible smoke, a headlight out, a cracked windshield, and no brakes and still pass... :?

Really? When did it become that? I'm still on the 5 (6?) year new car pass on my car, and my wife has paid a private garage for the last few years on her older car.

I remember the state inspection stations being serious ball-busters... a friend of mine once failed inspection (many years ago) because his after-market shift knob didn't have the gear pattern displayed on it.

[Terri Kennedy]

Really? When did it become that? I'm still on the 5 (6?) year new car pass on my car, and my wife has paid a private garage for the last few years on her older car.
August 1st, 2010 (http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Inspections/Understanding.htm).

Effective August 1, 2010, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission made changes to the New Jersey Vehicle Inspection Program eliminating the mechanical defects (safety) portion of the inspection process for passenger vehicles. Most passenger vehicles will be required to be inspected biennially (every two years) for emissions only.

I remember the state inspection stations being serious ball-busters... a friend of mine once failed inspection (many years ago) because his after-market shift knob didn't have the gear pattern displayed on it.
The NJMVC is a combination of patronage appointees (top), civil service and contract employees (rest). Nobody wants to do anything.

[Plaz]

August 1st, 2010 (http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Inspections/Understanding.htm).

Effective August 1, 2010, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission made changes to the New Jersey Vehicle Inspection Program eliminating the mechanical defects (safety) portion of the inspection process for passenger vehicles. Most passenger vehicles will be required to be inspected biennially (every two years) for emissions only.


The NJMVC is a combination of patronage appointees (top), civil service and contract employees (rest). Nobody wants to do anything.

Wow. When I first moved back from CA I started going to private stations so as not to fail due to my window tint, and continued doing so with my wife's car as I bought new car after new car. I missed this whole change.

[kognito]

The inspection station in Randolph were real ball buster's too. There was a station on rt10 in E. Hanover (along side Sleger's motorcycles) that would pass just about anything

[John V]

Well, at career day, those guys weren't struggling to choose between NASA, DARPA, and inspection bay.

Clyde wins the Internet this morning.

[FC]

Clyde wins the Internet this morning.

:?

[bren]

:lol2:

Tesla even got a presidential shout-out last night.

I wonder if it's an option in the computer system they use(?)

[TD]

:?
Yeah, um, FC said it first a few posts up.

[bren]

Over your head too eh?

hint: some guys want to be mechanics. really.

[dan]

only the morons though

[John V]

Over your head too, eh?

I'm glad someone caught it.

[clyde]

I'm glad someone caught it.

I'm sorry, but I'm the one most glad someone caught it. :D

[TD]

I am usually multi-tasking when I'm here during the day. I really ought to stop "trying to help".

[rumatt]

I'm sorry, but I'm the one most glad someone caught it. :D

Do I get at least some points for knowing there was something to get, even though I wasn't getting it?

[JST]

It's ok. At career day, not everyone is struggling to choose between NASA, DARPA, and word play.

[clyde]

Do I get at least some points for knowing there was something to get, even though I wasn't getting it?

It's ok. At career day, not everyone is struggling to choose between NASA, DARPA, and word play.

:bustingup

[ZBB]

Do we need a "career day" thread now?

[rumatt]

Do we need a "career day" thread now?
I could use one.

[Pinecone]

I want to see the part of the form where they state they checked the exhaust system and that is OK. :)

I remember when we lived in VA, EVERY inspection ended up needing the headlights aimed. It was an easy extra few bucks in their pocket.

A friend of my Dad's complained about it, that the headlights had just been aimed, etc. He ended with a list of about $500 worth of repairs (in the 60s). And the law was, if you got your car inspected, the original station that did the inspection had to pass it.

[John V]

Headlight aiming is included in the cost of the inspection.

[JST]

Headlight aiming is included in the cost of the inspection.

In VA? I am not sure that it is. We had the same experience Pinecone did with one of our cars.

[wdc330i]

I want to see the part of the form where they state they checked the exhaust system and that is OK. :)

I remember when we lived in VA, EVERY inspection ended up needing the headlights aimed. It was an easy extra few bucks in their pocket.

A friend of my Dad's complained about it, that the headlights had just been aimed, etc. He ended with a list of about $500 worth of repairs (in the 60s). And the law was, if you got your car inspected, the original station that did the inspection had to pass it.

So slimy! Not to mention I would despise having those criminals touch my car.

[John V]

In VA? I am not sure that it is. We had the same experience Pinecone did with one of our cars.

In Maryland, where Pinecone lives.

I've never been to an inspection place that charged me extra for a headlight adjustment. It's always been included in the base "inspection" fee.

[lupinsea]

In WA we don't have safety inspections. We have emissions testing every other year in urbanized counties but not safety inspections.

I haven't seen anything noting that we're lacking in road safety or that we have a higher accident rate because of a lack of safety inspections. So . . . . I'm glad we don't have them here. It seems like such a racket.

[JST]

In Maryland, where Pinecone lives.

I've never been to an inspection place that charged me extra for a headlight adjustment. It's always been included in the base "inspection" fee.



I remember when we lived in VA, EVERY inspection ended up needing the headlights aimed. It was an easy extra few bucks in their pocket.

[clyde]

.

What a clyde/bono/jv thing to post.

And glad someone beat us to it. :lol:

[kognito]

In WA we don't have safety inspections. We have emissions testing every other year in urbanized counties but not safety inspections.

I haven't seen anything noting that we're lacking in road safety or that we have a higher accident rate because of a lack of safety inspections. So . . . . I'm glad we don't have them here. It seems like such a racket.

maybe these are not considered safety issues, but it seems to me that I can't drive 2 miles without seeing a car with a damaged windshield or failed headlight/taillights :dunno:

[lip277]

maybe these are not considered safety issues, but it seems to me that I can't drive 2 miles without seeing a car with a damaged windshield or failed headlight/taillights :dunno:

Welcome to Washington.

Each of my cars (except the E9) has a damaged windshield. I hate it.

[John V]

:lol:

It's never too late to move!

I guess I need to go back to having my afternoon cup of coffee. Yikes.

[kognito]

:lol:

It's never too late to move!



We are already discussing our next home

[3LOU5]

Here in NV, all we have is a yearly smog test, and from what I've heard, it's pretty "lax".

I have a coworker who also owns 2 smog shops, so he gives me a substantial discount and saves me a good $12 per vehicle. And when you have 4, that savings add up to close to $50 !! :)

I used to live in NJ where they had yearly inspections. It sucked.

[John V]

My latest adventure in inspection... I took the white car to my new favorite place for its state inspection. I suspected it would fail, but it's not worth my time to go check anything beyond the easy things (tread depth, lights, horn, etc); I just rely on the shop to tell me what's wrong and I go fix it and bring it back for the re-inspection.

The shop called me and said it failed for all four brake rotors under the minimum thickness spec, bent front wheels, wiper blades and alignment.

When I pressed them on it, they admitted that the front wheels being bent is not technically a failure. When I asked them for the measurements on the rotors I pointed out that those measurements are not under the BMW specified minimum thickness. They conceded but said, "they really need to be replaced." :lol:

I'm in favor of safety inspections, but how do you set them up so they're not just a money extraction service?

[bren]

The local corvette specialist place facilitated my inspection. When I picked it up he told me that mine was the first one he could remember where the shop they use didn't ding them for wiper blades.

[JST]

My latest adventure in inspection... I took the white car to my new favorite place for its state inspection. I suspected it would fail, but it's not worth my time to go check anything beyond the easy things (tread depth, lights, horn, etc); I just rely on the shop to tell me what's wrong and I go fix it and bring it back for the re-inspection.

The shop called me and said it failed for all four brake rotors under the minimum thickness spec, bent front wheels, wiper blades and alignment.

When I pressed them on it, they admitted that the front wheels being bent is not technically a failure. When I asked them for the measurements on the rotors I pointed out that those measurements are not under the BMW specified minimum thickness. They conceded but said, "they really need to be replaced." :lol:

I'm in favor of safety inspections, but how do you set them up so they're not just a money extraction service?

You can't, unless you do what DC does and have them all at a government run facility. Otherwise, there's no way a shop is going to overlook the "business development" opportunity that comes with some poor sucker bringing their car in and asking what's wrong with it. I mean, your experience is probably the best you can hope for--at least they were identifying legitimate issues that should be fixed, even if they don't constitute a failure.

[wdc330i]

Why not take it to a Maryland State inspection station? Or is that only MoCo that runs them?

[bren]

Why not take it to a Maryland State inspection station? Or is that only MoCo that runs them?

Those are emissions testing facilities - not used car safety inspections.

[John V]

Yeah. There are no state run facilities in Maryland.

[wdc330i]

Ah. I was lazy when I sold the M3 and just went to the stealer with the car since it was still under CPO warranty.

[ZBB]

Like a lot of other Western states, AZ only requires emission inspections in the urban counties (i.e. Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties -- basically the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas...). New cars are exempt for 5 model years, and then they are required every 2 years after that. EVs are also exempt... Emission inspections are done at state facilities and they charge a small fee. If you fail, repairs can be done by any shop and then you go back for re-inspection. The only cars I've had to do that for were the E39 and Boxster -- but only once each as I sold them after their first inspection was required.

But there is a safety inspection required when transferring a title on an out-of-state car to an AZ title (doesn't apply to new or used cars purchased in AZ...). Those inspections are done by the MVD at no charge and take about 5 min -- they do some visual checks with the car on the ground. If this inspection is failed, then there is a more in depth inspection also done by a state facility, but they charge a fee. Repairs are handled by private shops and the car must be re-inpspected after repair...

[clyde]

You can't, unless you do what DC does and have them all at a government run facility. Otherwise, there's no way a shop is going to overlook the "business development" opportunity that comes with some poor sucker bringing their car in and asking what's wrong with it. I mean, your experience is probably the best you can hope for--at least they were identifying legitimate issues that should be fixed, even if they don't constitute a failure.

Meh. That's part of the problem, but that's not the biggest problem with the MD system. When I lived in CA, smog inspections were done at gas stations with service shops that clearly had the same motives...but the state didn't give them the same opportunity.

Unlike MD's completely subjective safety inspection criteria that almost entirely leaves it to the opinion of the person performing the inspection, CA's smog testing was almost entirely objective. You stick the probe in the exhaust, plug in ODB if applicable, enter the car info into the test gear and the results spit out pass/fail. The subjective part was the tech looking to see if the required emissions parts were present and connected.

[John V]

The "needs wiper blades" thing is hysterical. I mean, I don't mind spending a little money on wiper blades. But there's nothing wrong with the ones on the car.

That's about the only subjective thing about the MD inspection. Unless they choose to lie. Which is more of an ethics argument rather than a subjectivity argument.