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Old 02-06-2015, 11:22 AM   #41
John V
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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."

I'm in favor of safety inspections, but how do you set them up so they're not just a money extraction service?
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Old 02-06-2015, 11:33 AM   #42
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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.
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Old 02-06-2015, 11:44 AM   #43
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John V View Post
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."

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.
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Old 02-06-2015, 11:57 AM   #44
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Why not take it to a Maryland State inspection station? Or is that only MoCo that runs them?
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Old 02-06-2015, 12:09 PM   #45
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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.
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Old 02-06-2015, 12:25 PM   #46
John V
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Yeah. There are no state run facilities in Maryland.
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Old 02-06-2015, 12:33 PM   #47
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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.
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Old 02-06-2015, 01:09 PM   #48
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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...
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Old 02-07-2015, 11:45 AM   #49
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JST View Post
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.
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Old 02-07-2015, 05:35 PM   #50
John V
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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.
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