Car inspection in your state?

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Hello again. The good ole' "commwealth of PA" has lied to us all once again. For over 2 decades I had just to mail back a letter saying I checked "yes" to re certify my PA State Inspection License or no. Now, cause our state like others are flat broke, we have to pay $60 to take a 30 question exam and you are even allowed to use the regulations manual or other aides. If you fail 3 times (you take exam and pay online) you have to take the state inspection certification exam and hands on part of test all over again. Does your state have inspection on cars? Hopefully if they do, your state won't pull this bull ah** on vehicle inspection mechanics. Rant over
 
We have emission tests in Phoenix and Tucson metro areas for cars 6 years and older but no vehicle inspections.
 
Yeah, they are talking like in 5-10 years doin away with the emissions "test" and goin by visual or make sure the emissions stuff is there and it's "passed"
 
Originally Posted By: car51
Does your state have inspection on cars?


No. There is no emission testing either.
But my state is in pretty bad financial shape, so if they think they can make money by starting a vehicle inspection, they probably will.
 
We have had vehicle inspection for way before my folks were born. PA wants and will get money by doing this "re cert" for inspection mechanics. It's a joke and real sad to victimize one trade such as mechanics but oh well
 
My inspection license is $1 for 5 years.

But I have to pay another $12-ish bucks for a manual (even though I can print a PDF myself) and another $20-ish for the State Police to use their own computer to do a criminal background check.

I keep it current, as it took the dopes six months to get me a test date the first time around. Glad I wasn't unemployed.
 
Hello fellow Pennsylvanian!

I heard my motorcycle mechanic complain about something with inspections but don't know if that relates to this situation.

Would this by chance raise prices for inspection? My jeep is due december. I kind of get tired of having yearly inspections but can understand the benefits of having cars that shouldn't be on the road, off the road.

In my county there is no emissions testing although I know in some nearby counties there is, sorry for them. Also I was glad to be informed that window tint in my county isn't an inspection requirement either. Really would like to keep my tint to help with my headaches from studying at college all day and then have it strained with bright glaring LED car lights on the drive home grrrr lol.
 
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Eljefino: do they make you take a hands on test or online test?

Jeepwj19: yep, any motorized vehicle inspector has to take this test. Unless: u have had your license before January 3, 1982 and not changed vehicle class types you inspect. You get a letter and says to pay $26 and then you get nailed a new inspection card. Basically they're saying "f*** younger mechanics, and we will pity the old mechanics" is what I take it as or a blatant slap in my face. Yes, your registration for ANY vehicle even motorcycles will be jacked up starting in January so get ready to bend over
 
Prices for inspection I have been told by a fellow mechanic will go up like 5-7% also. Brother was in accident where vehicle was totaled cause some 17 year old punk was textin and driving. Guess what; he got like 8 technicalities on car and paid the fines and put 4 new tires on cause old ones were bald. Basically unless someone is killed in auto accident with faulty parts, tires the offender won't be penalized badly at all. PA would rather screw me over even though I've properly inspected cars for over 14+ years.
 
Let me get this straight... the state requires every vehicle to be inspected every year. People drive cars to your location for the sole purpose of an inspection, in which you look for potential problems. If you find a problem, you are also able to sell your services to repair said problem.

You get paid for the inspections. You get paid for any repairs you're able to sell.

For this privlidge, you have to pay the state $60 every 5 years for recertification. That's about $12 a year, little more than the cost of dinner at a fast casual restaurant, you pay to be part of a state required program in which customers drive their cars to you, not because they actually think something is broken, but because the state tells them to, and you get to sell work.

Seems like a pretty sweet deal to me.
 
Originally Posted By: MrHorspwer
Let me get this straight... the state requires every vehicle to be inspected every year. People drive cars to your location for the sole purpose of an inspection, in which you look for potential problems. If you find a problem, you are also able to sell your services to repair said problem.

You get paid for the inspections. You get paid for any repairs you're able to sell.

For this privlidge, you have to pay the state $60 every 5 years for recertification. That's about $12 a year, little more than the cost of dinner at a fast casual restaurant, you pay to be part of a state required program in which customers drive their cars to you, not because they actually think something is broken, but because the state tells them to, and you get to sell work.

Seems like a pretty sweet deal to me.



You get it! The fewer techs licensed to perform state inspections means you're worth more.

PA state inspection is a pretty good idea, it keeps all the rust buckets off the road.
 
State of Connecticut has a $20 mandatory emissions test for all newer model cars. There might be an exemption for more than 20 yrs old. My emissions center plugs into the OBDII port and reads the codes, etc. He even checks under the car to make sure all the exhaust parts are physically there. I think they did away with most or all of the vehicle inspections. Not sure on that one. When I bought my 1999 in 2012 there was no inspection required.
 
In NJ we get inspected every 2 years. Emissions only via OBDII port. Pre-OBDII cars do not have to be inspected at all, and just have a little card that goes in the windshield stating that they're inspection exempt.

Inspection is free if you do it at a state facility.

It also seems, if I remember correctly, like they have a camera that looks under the car to see if you have a catalytic convertor. Maybe not the best bit of tech, considering the fact a lot of cars have them up in the headers where they can't be seen from the bottom.
 
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I was aware of the law enforcement of window tint but my mechanic told me it is not inspected for in my county. I could be wrong though.

Sorry to hear about PA shafting you on state inspections although it doesn't surprise me how financially doomed this state is considering how long it took just to get a budget to pass.
 
It wasn't until just 2-3 yrs ago that my emissions guy told me that OBDII cars no longer need to "run out" hot before showing up at the emissions center for testing...sometimes with a can of fuel additive dumped into the tank. That was always mandatory back in the 1990's and early 2000's when I owned 5-10 year old cars. So what's the difference today? Does the OBDII tell them average running pollutant levels (NOX, CO) or just that sensors are installed/working...or both?
 
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