Virginia governor proposes eliminating vehicle inspections

[Clipper]

wcyb.com/news/local/local-reaction-about-inspection-elimination-proposal

It is a subject that has been kicked around ever since Northam took office and started proposing possible budget cutting measures. Personally I favor vehicle inspection laws. Yes, there ARE places that will simply scrape the sticker, put on a new one, take your money and send you on your way, but there are also legitimate inspection providers that identify and force the repair of dangerous mechanical defects.

Tennessee doesn't have a vehicle inspection law. It becomes quite evident whenever you look around you on the roads here. You can't go very far at night without encountering one or more cars with only one headlight working. Some people run a set of tires until the wires show on the shoulder of the tread. Others drive with turn signals and brake lights out, or cracked windshield glass. I have a friend who is a mechanic and runs a small auto repair business and inspection station on the Virginia side of town. He once told me about a guy that came in with a car with only front brakes that wanted him to just put a sticker on the car for an extra 20 or 30 bucks. The distribution line to the rear brakes had rotted out and broke so the guy had just plugged the rear brake line at the master cylinder and was stopping the car with just the front brakes. Not long after we moved here I had the rear brake distribution line on my 97 model pickup rust out and fail. I was lucky that I was able to stop the truck with the parking brake and was only about a mile from home and limped home using the parking brake and had a tilt bed take the truck to the garage because there was no safe place to get off the road and wait for a tow truck. If Tennessee had an inspection law, the rusted lines would have been identified and replaced. I could have been involved in a bad accident had circumstances been different.

Some of the cars you see on the roads here are just an accident waiting to happen, and when combined with the number of people here that don't have insurance, just going out on the road is a crap shoot. I imagine that the high incidence of uninsured motorist accidents is partially to blame for the high price of collision insurance here.

Whatever you pay now for a NY State inspection sticker, be thankful that the state HAS a program requiring an annual safety inspection.

[clarencebunsen]

When I had Barb's car inspected last month I was told that it passed but that the tread depth on her front tires was marginal. Tires are expensive but having her start the winter with worn tires seemed like a really bad idea. She follows too closely and I need her around to take care of me.

[Clipper]

I hear ya. Kathy follows too closely to when she drives. She doesn't drive often any more. I still a waiting for my new tires to come in at Sam's Club. It is becoming frustrating. Hopefully this week. They are already paid for and the deal is too good to pass up, otherwise I would just request a refund and go elsewhere. My tires still have 10 or 15 thousand miles left but I want good deep tread for winter also. The Goodyears that came on the truck are stiff and hard, and with the torque developed by the v-8 engine, the truck spins on wet roads.

[BHU]

I agree inspection should me mandatory. I'm also a firm believer in vehicle maintenance. Some people tend to ignore that facit of vehicle ownership. One of the reasons is cost because repairs ain't cheap, but problems ignored can end up biting you more in the ole wallet. I've owned my Frontier almost 3 years & I've gone thru the maintenance schedule for fluid changes. Tranny, front & rear diff, transfer case, coolant & i do my own oil changes, full synthetic only. I do need to flush the brake lines & I'll let a shop do those. I also polish & wax it twice a year. Spring & Fall. Truck is a '12 runs like a top with no rust & I've had people ask me if it's brand new. Nope, but it's paid for!

[Clipper]

It is difficult up there in snow country to keep a vehicle clean and rust free with the frequent and heavy use of road salt. It is not often that we get weather that requires salting and brining the roads, and when we do, it is normally warm enough for the roads to dry within a day or so, and I am able to wash the truck.

I too keep up with all the required maintenance on my truck BHU. I don't work on my own vehicles anymore but I DO take it to the dealer whenever there is recommended maintenance due and maintain it faithfully. I also do the wax twice a year. I have it professionally detailed and waxed in spring and have it waxed again in the fall before the cold weather comes. If we see a storm that requires salt on the roads, I take it to a nearby car wash within a day or so because they have a strong powerful under wash as you enter their touch free wash.

I can't afford NOT to maintain the truck. I have normally traded at about 40k miles but with the price of trucks now I will be keeping this one a bit longer and will enjoy not having a payment. I can't believe how much the prices have gone up on pickup trucks. The 2016 was about 32K. The new RAM 1500, comparably equipped to the one I have is over $10,000 more than I paid for the 16 model. $40K+ is a bit much to pay for a pickup truck in my estimation.

[Ralph]

  The way vehicles are equipped these days, with all the complicated eletronics, along with the fact I hate laying on the ground working on them (and having no time) it's just not practical for me to do the work myself anymore.
  while I cringe taking the truck for inspection, almost as much as I hated going to the dentist, I'm glad for it.   Caught many problems when they were small, instead of them growing into a catastrophe when driving down the road.

[clarencebunsen]

One of the first luxuries I allowed myself when I had $20 more than I actually needed to buy groceries and pay bills was to pay someone to change my oil. It was so great not to lie on the ground in Minnesota to remove a drain plug. Everyone should know how to change oil but I mostly let other people do it now.

[BHU]

I'll do maintenance on mine & the wife's when the weather is warm, and nothing major. This time of year, forget it. I went down that road a long time ago. Lol.