Can someone message me with a place to take my van? I'd rather not get my ass handed to me on a platter. The lights all work, the brakes work, the horn works and there's no pieces falling off. But it's also a 22 year old vehicle and I'm sure a shop that wants to generate revenue will find one reason or another to fail it.

 

fork out a hundred dollars and tell him you want a sticker, not an inspection.

 

I don't think shops make a killing on state inspections. If they fail it then I am sure there is good reasoning to it but I am sure they are not going to fail it cause they want you to come back to them to make an extra buck.

I know some shops are more lenient than others but I believe you may be looking at the situation entirely wrong.

...waiting for joey to enter thread...

 

I know in Hawaii in you went to a muffler shop for an inspection it was very likely they would say you have exhaust leaks, if they sold windshields they would say any ding or chip was line of sight and if they installed brake pads, well.... you know.

But they would also pass you for $20 extra at most places. I'm more than willing to hear all the issues an inspector can find, I'm not willing to be required to jump through 1,000's of dollars worth of hoops just to get a sticker. I'll register in another state before doing that.

 

most shops make about $1.78 profit on the job by the time its all said and done. we have to pay the mechanic to do the inspection, pay the overhead on the shop, pay for the sticker we use (in addition to the fees of having the station liscense) pay for a minimum of 1.0 million dollar liability policy, and listen to the people bitch the whole time about it going up a dollar in the last few years.

if the shop is rejecting it for something that is not failed, then report them. dont bitch about them to others, call the local state police headquarters and file a complaint. that is the only way to take care of shady inspectors like that. granted, there are several things in the manual that are up to the discretion of the inspector, but most everything is set in writing.

 

Is the manual/inspection guideline available online?

I've known a few guys that just go shop to shop until they hit one that will pass 'em. The failing points are rarely the same.

 

yep. google it and you will find it.

 

Just make sure you get rid of all the shady guys that try to screw people, If it wasn't for shady inspectors I'll never be on the road.

 

yea i bought my truck last year that had 33k on it with original bald tires. but the inspection was brand new. so i reported the guy. found out that the independent car dealer who deals with this certain inspector, told him that they were going to put new tires on it before it sold. needless to say the inspector lost his license. then i go to the dealership and tell them about the situation and they gave me a 600 dollar check for new tires.

 

its hard to fail for tires...they must have been really f***** up