State inspection question

[aquariuscsm]

My car is registered in a non-emissions county. I`m temporarily living in an emissions county,but will be returning back to my previous residence,which is non-emissions. My car`s state inspection is due and I`m wondering how this works. Do I just need to get it done back in my hometown where it`s registered ($14.50) or since I`ts registered in a non-emissions county,can it be done here for that same price without charging the $39?

 

[sciphi]

Check with the motor vehicle bureau/department. IIRC, at least here in NY, if you get it inspected in the NY Metro Area it's $37. Other places outside NYC and surrounding counties it's $21. Residency does not matter. I'm assuming you'll get swacked for the full $39 if you get it done where you are now.

 

[hsd]

Generally you have to get get it inspected (smog check) in the same county as its regestered in, but check with your DMV as it may be different.

 

[Kruse]

It's been a few years since I lived in Texas, so maybe not everything that I mention is now true....
Follow my posting at your own risk.
If you live in a county that has emission inspection, LEGALLY you need to have your address changed on your driver's license and you need to have your car go through an emission safety check. (sounds like you haven't changed your driver's license) LEGALLY, you have about a month to change your driver's license to your current address, and your car needs to follow the same rules as the county that you live in. So then you would need an emission inspection. If you have NOT, your car just needs to have the inspection done at any county that does not need emission inspection.
IIRC, there are some Barney Fife cops in that state will make an example of you if you have not changed your license after the required time and you happen to get caught.

 

[The_Jeff]

Generally you want to update at a minimum your registration because of excise/ personal property taxes. You'd figure it's all a wash: there's someone living where you used to who's registered where you live now, but every town wants their fifty bucks.

Do you have any reason to believe you'd fail emissions, or is it just the money?

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Do you have any reason to believe you'd fail emissions, or is it just the money?


Nah,car is perfect,I just don`t want to hand over $40.00 to please the environmentalists.

 

[Mustang2008Z]

Texas does not have a personal property tax, value tax of, nor an excise tax on automobiles like other states just the sales tax. When one county has that pesky emissions test that adds extra money to the inspection it affects counties that adjoin/border it. To be exempt from the extra emissions test cost, an automobile must be 25 yrs old or older.

 

[Kira]

Hello, Clean air=absence (or reduction in the number) of dirty cars.
Your state has variation in inspection details county by county.
"I don't want to...please the environmentalists"

That sounded real intelligent. Kira

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: Kira
Hello, Clean air=absence (or reduction in the number) of dirty cars.
Your state has variation in inspection details county by county.
"I don't want to...please the environmentalists"

That sounded real intelligent. Kira
I guess you have never had to do $2500 worth of cats because you failed by 3 ppm.

 

[Brybo86]

perhaps kira would like to donate the 40 bucks? it's a worthy cause... hey it may even be tax deductible...

 

[DBMaster]

I just went through this on my daughter's 99 I30. Her "home" county is Collin (emissions), bit College Station is in a non-emissions county. Her CEL has been on for a year due to one or more of the coil packs being "bad." The car runs decently and, most likely, is not producing excess emissions as a result. A local shop wanted $1,000 to replace the coil packs. I could easily do that myself for less than half the price (using OEM brand coils). I learned that she just needed to sign an affidavit saying she would fix the issue if she returned to her home county. There you go. $1,000 saved. I replaced ALL six coils last year with aftermarket. Just because the ECU doesn't like them doesn't mean they are not doing the job.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: Kira
That sounded real intelligent. Kira


It sounded intelligent because it *is* intelligent. I`m guessing you`re either a liberal,fear global warming,or just enjoy making certain county`s wallets fatter than yours.

 

[01rangerxl]

Not sure how TX works, but when I lived in NC, the inspection was for the requirements of the registered county, regardless of where the inspection was done.

So if you had a vehicle registered in a county that did safety only (required statewide), but you took it in for an inspection in a county that does emissions, you would still only need to pass the safety inspection. Likewise, if the vehicle was registered in an emissions county, and you had it inspected in a non-emissions county, it would still need to pass emissions. It may be different in TX, but I would bet they test to the requirements for the registered county, not the county where the test is done unless they are one in the same.

 

[The_Jeff]

In Maine one has to pass whichever's stricter.

A Cumberland county car has to pass OBDII emissions no matter where it's tested. If it's in another county and the inspection station doesn't have an emissions endorsement they turn the vehicle away.

A non-Cumberland car has to pass emissions if done in Cumberland county, but safety only if done in its home county or any other one besides Cumberland.

 

[DBMaster]

My daughter had to sign an affidavit stating that she was currently residing in a non-emissions county even though the car is registered in an emissions county. We don't have to feel guilty about it because it is true. Also, just because a CEL is on does not mean that the car is polluting more. It sure is a nice way to make money, though, since in my county a CEL = no sticker.

I will fix it when she returns home, but I will not pay a mechanic down there $1,000 to install coils just because their marked up price is $800 for a set. I can buy a brand-new set of Denso or Hitachi coils for $400 on Rock Auto and install them in thirty minutes. Given the age of the car my plan is, initially, to get a used set from a lower mileage Maxima or I30. That should be fine for a few years. Her car has 210,000 miles. Plenty went to the scrap yard with less than 150,000 on them.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: Kira
That sounded real intelligent. Kira


It sounded intelligent because it *is* intelligent. I`m guessing you`re either a liberal,fear global warming,or just enjoy making certain county`s wallets fatter than yours.


Huh? The person stated they did not want to give $40 to appease the enviromentalists. Not to appease a money-grabbing government; the person stated enviro's as their aim of blame.

Pretty sure it was the congress critters who wrote the laws requiring compliance. The money goes to them. Well, it goes to the state, who then probably squander it; but in an ideal world most of it somehow would go into the automotive infrastructure.

I know I've dropped at least $1k on passing OBDII emissions on my current car, and probably more (don't recall all the bills). Part of life. Comes with having not only a car but nice clean air.

 

[The_Jeff]

On the flipside if one gets pulled over for speeding in a county in which they claim to not technically be a resident, is the cop going to be understanding? I'd almost rather get the emissions inspection to be "super-legal" to edge my bets and get a warning over a ticket.

I say this as a motorcyclist who wore an optional helmet by my state laws. Also at the time I was pulled over inspection certificates were just a slip of paper and few motorcyclists even bothered doing this. Having satisfied the paperwork shuffle (and then some), the officer overlooked my going 12 over.

 

[DBMaster]

Prior to the emission testing debacle in Texas (look up the sordid tale of the aborted centralized emission program from 1995) the "safety inspection" program we had was a joke. Even with emission testing I still see plenty of cars fogging for mosquitoes and wonder how they pass any sort of inspection looking like they just fell off the back of a garbage truck.

Simply stating that a lighted CEL is an automatic fail is both simplistic and a money grab. CEL's can come on for a number of things that do not increase emissions or compromise safety. One example I can think off right away is the CEL my girlfriend occasionally gets in her 2003 Highlander for fluctuating O2 sensor voltage (post cat). I tested everything and with a little discussion here learned that Toyota actually had a software issue in which the tolerance for the O2 sensor voltage was set too low. The result is a CEL that means, virtually, nothing useful. It's not that hard to check the O2 sensor voltage and the temps at the front and back ends of the cat pack - this car has a VERY expensive twin-cat setup.

So, without my intervention - thank you BITOG folks - she could have easily spent a lot of money replacing the O2 sensors or cat unnecessarily.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Well,she passed with flying colors (of course :^)) But no,I totally dig the need to have a car that's non polluting,BUT I just don't see the need to charge $40 to wave a wand behind your exhaust to make sure everything is working. My emissions inspection took the same 10 minutes as my non-emissions inspection.

 

[The_Jeff]

The $40 amortizes the cost of the gear and keeps the authority having jurisdiction revenue-neutral.

In my state, an emissions inspection is $18.50. State gets $2.50, mechanic gets the rest. Mechanic is on the hook to buy "any SAE J1979 scan tool" and a $600ish gas cap pressure tester that I have never actually seen used. As of the latest handbook, it's "used" only on 1974-1995 cars.

At a labor rate of around $75 and 30 minutes needed to do an inspection, I actually wish the price were closer to $40 to not make it a "loss leader."