State Motor Vehicle Inspections----How Do Yours Work?

In New Hampshire it's safety every year, and emissions testing every year on 96 and newer.

 

Here in New Jersey, the inspection is free if you go to a state facility. If you go to a private garage there is a charge. No idea why anyone would waste their money like that, but some people do.

When they instituted dyno emissions testing along with safety inspections about 15 years ago, one guy I spoke to paid to have the inspection done at a local shop, figuring they'd go easy on him since he was a paying customer. Was he ever wrong! The shop nit-picked every little issue they could find, and still charged him for the inspection.

 

Good. I'll be moving back to metro central Illinoizee.
If you look close I already have my old Illinois tag on front. All I need to do is find the rear one.

 

In New York the fee is set by the state depending on what type of vehicle. As far as a car no cracks in windshield in wiper area. No broken light lenses. All light must work. With OBD 2 cars they plug into the cars computer and car can not have any monitors in the not ready mode-so you can't get the light turned off a block away from where you are going for the inspection. Brakes must be good, stuff like that.
N.Y. Also started as of 1/01/2015 an issue with cat. Converter sales. All cats sold in NY must be California certified emissions. So what that means is if you need a cat and try to by one on line. It must be a certified one or else most retailers will not ship to NY unless you buy the more expensive California certified one. Some of the web sights say when looking at a cat something like NOTE: Not for sale in California or New York.
I needed a cat for my 2000 Subaru with 275,000 miles as I had the PO420 code. Ordered the cat through an out of state relative and put it on my car and had no problems with light staying off. Inspection is done yearly and the whole deal is set up by NY DMV rules and monitored by NYState.
Pass or fail you still pay the fee which is $37.00
Inspections are done at liscensed Inspection stations with an approved machine that the repair shop has to buy-and we are not talking cheap.

 

I think Michigan doesn't have inspections. Is that so?

 

No inspections on my island for personal cars but commercial vehicles weather a car or a big rig need them every year. The police though have the power to make your car/truck go for a safety inspection and if that happens you mite as well kiss your ride goodbye. For mechanics is a cash grab as once it's a police inspection for safety and only a select few shops can do it, lets just say you could by a brand new car for less by the time a mechanic deems it "road safe"

And for the Canukastans....Ironically Canadian Tire is one of them licensed for vehicle inspection :confused:, the worst place on earth to even let them check the tire pressure... "Sorry Mam, your tires PSI were 5lb low, by law we can't let you drive away or we have to notify the police(and the DO, do that), but we have a tire sale on rite now......OMG, you also need a complete brake job, Mam= $$$$"....."But sir, you replaced the tires and brakes 6 months ago!?"......."Sorry Mam, car is not safe"................

 

Tedy I was considering moving into your basement apartment and paying you double the rent. Plus I'd feed and walk the dogs every day. But after some things you've written I don't think so.

 

We had emission testing till maybe mid 90's sometimeish.

 

Maybe on the east side. They talked about starting emissions testing on the west side in the late 80's/early 90's and even built a few test stations, but never actually implemented it.

We have no other type of inspection. All you need to do to register a car is take a signed title to the Secretary of State.

 

That is correct for most of Oregon. But Portland and Medford do have smog inspections for cars with smog control devices. Stuff older than '76 are exempt.

The only inspection DMV does prior to issuing a new title is the VIN to confirm it's the vehicle the prior title says it is.
They don't check for safety, emission, working lights and signals, horn, windshield, wipers, splash and spray devices (fenders).
In general, one could title a riding lawn mower in this state, because all they want is the title fee.

It's also easy to apply for a lost title if one were to pull a wreck from the weeds.

On one hand, that grants a lot of freedom to the rod builder. But on the other hand, some older cars are only as safe as the guy who drives it.

 

for us car lovers, the US is still nirvana-Europe is aweful; full car inspection (top to bottom, lights,brakes, rust, dents, smog etc) every two years, around $100 each time plus abut 2-3 hours wait; cars will not pass for the slightest infractions; then you buy yearly now emissions stickers , about $8 each, for how your car passed; in some case if old car and smokes, you can not drive into towns. And they require this of each and every car, no matter how old or classic; In addition, they now want to install a km counter on top of your dash (can you imagine that in precious and real valuable cars) so you may only need to go to inspection based on your driving!!! Just aweful. Then there is a drive to prohibit classic cars in towns due to their emissions!!
On the other side, the yearly fireworks at New Years are so tremendous and the smog so thick-no one says anything, crazy!

 

Wow, I like the way Oregon sounds in the "Pull car out of woods" way. I'm guessing there are a lot of cars out there which could be very useful.

On another note, I say this instead of the end quote: Any car is only as safe as the driver using it. If the driver always avoids collisions and makes points to do so, there isn't a collision.

... Otherwise, Things like this happen which happened on I-80 pretty close to me (within 15 miles) just about a week ago:

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/tr...ills-at-least-one-person/stories/201501070185

... It looks like an ages-old case of "People driving too fast for conditions in near-blindness." Not only that but in my area I've seen many people at or above the speed limit traveling far too close together for reaction time in packs like wolves, rather than keeping enough distance and slowing down when necessary. Granted, I heard it was a snow-squall and I don't know all the details but should they have not slowed down in the first place? Two died (One who sounded as if he wasn't wearing a seat-belt though I don't know why and the other who left his big-rig with intent to aid injured people,) 18 to 30 were injured and a great number of cars were damaged along with that whole side of the interstate being closed for hours while semis and highway traffic drove by my house.



My advice: Don't let the car do the driving for you if it can't. Now, back on topic.

 

Very true 101. Many people drive far too close to the vehicle ahead at too fast a speed. All it takes is one accident ahead and things will end up like the photo.
That and driving fast when the weather is nasty and the visibility is bad.
I was a trucker plus pulled many RV's around. Saw it all and it wasn't pretty. Whether a big rig or an RV they rip apart in ways many can't believe.
They arrest people for being drunk and arrest people with defective vehicles. Many drunks are driving better than many who are tired and sleepy. It's not the liquer most times or the unsafe vehicle, it's the idiot behind the wheel.
Inspections are just another legal way to rob people.

 

I can believe that some people have made it safely for hundreds of miles in a few days with cars deemed unsafe, and that some people have found other cars deemed as safe (Which were brand new, even) weren't so safe. Someone at a salvage yard told me that when someone he knew got a 1970s Ford for a derby, the floors were Fred Flintstone-Mobile and then when they tried to take the seats out to prepare the car the floor fell apart. Not only that but the driver had driven that same car quite a distance. I'm not saying it's a good idea to go and drive such a car (unless it's more life threatening to not drive it and the car will hold up enough to get safely away from whatever; discretion is advised) but it did hold up long enough as the driver hadn't been injured. Though it does remind me of the Blues Brothers car.

 

Since we've wandered off topic I will wander a bit farther.
I once bought a 1980 Camaro without engine or tranny just for the subframe. The body actually looked decent and all glass and interior was okay for the cheaper body style.
My son was not more than ten at the time. Unbeknownsed to me he decided to start removing the subframe. He already knew a lot about cars and had it safely jacked and on stands. In no time he had the few bolts holding the subframe removed. I'm guessing these were 3/4" bolts with large washers holding the subframe to the firewall and under the front seat area.
The reason I mention this those 3/4" bolts had rusted to not more than 1/4" diameter left. They practically fell off when my son began loosening them.
This Camaro was scrapped only because the engine went bad. A young girl had been driving it that way a long time in the Tampa, Fl area.
If there had been inspections I'm sure the Camaro would have passed. Made me wonder how many more cars with subframes have bolts nearly rusted through? That's not part of any inspectin that I know of.