Vehicle Inspection Checkpoints (Spring Hill: inspector, shop, assess)

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

Its the private guy who is likely to want to correct faults that may or may not need correction.
He gets his $30 state fee for the inspection and whatever else he can cajole out of the owner.

Some people do feel that more government controls in their lives is good as it is good for everybody then.

So how do you think that would work? Would they have to create state owned/run inspection stations? How would those get funded initially? Where will they find all the facilities they need, in enough locations to work?

In Massachusetts, where we lived for quite some time, they had private businesses (usually gas stations) with the equipment to do inspections as well. The inspections were regulated by the state, but the state did not own the businesses. We had probably about 40 inspections there with all the vehicles we owned, plus the amount of years, and not once were talked into repairs in order to get the inspection sticker. They simply did the inspection and collected the fees. It was far cheaper for the state to pay the gas station owners a cut of the fee, rather than having to actually own and run inspection stations themselves.

For what it's worth....I am in favor of mandatory inspections.

[Not_liking_FL]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

So how do you think that would work? Would they have to create state owned/run inspection stations? How would those get funded initially? Where will they find all the facilities they need, in enough locations to work?

In Massachusetts, where we lived for quite some time, they had private businesses (usually gas stations) with the equipment to do inspections as well. The inspections were regulated by the state, but the state did not own the businesses. We had probably about 40 inspections there with all the vehicles we owned, plus the amount of years, and not once were talked into repairs in order to get the inspection sticker. They simply did the inspection and collected the fees. It was far cheaper for the state to pay the gas station owners a cut of the fee, rather than having to actually own and run inspection stations themselves.

For what it's worth....I am in favor of mandatory inspections.

North Carolina does it the same way and it works fine. I never had a problem with the inspectors trying to sell me something I didn't need. The last thing they want is to have customers complaining to the state.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL

North Carolina does it the same way and it works fine. I never had a problem with the inspectors trying to sell me something I didn't need. The last thing they want is to have customers complaining to the state.

Exactly. It's not difficult to do, it has been proven to work and we can make the roads safer by ensure cars are safe enough to actually be on the road.

[Spring Hillian]

How what would work? Some states that had inspections had state owned/operated locations. Others, like NY for instance, farmed the work out to garages who were "qualified" to be an official state inspection station. Again, states dropped the programs as soon as they could do without loosing federal money for highways.

It is the nature of business to "up sell" any chance you can. Thus a car in for an inspection may be a good customer for new tires, a new fan belt, windshield wipers, etc.

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

So how do you think that would work? Would they have to create state owned/run inspection stations? How would those get funded initially? Where will they find all the facilities they need, in enough locations to work?

In Massachusetts, where we lived for quite some time, they had private businesses (usually gas stations) with the equipment to do inspections as well. The inspections were regulated by the state, but the state did not own the businesses. We had probably about 40 inspections there with all the vehicles we owned, plus the amount of years, and not once were talked into repairs in order to get the inspection sticker. They simply did the inspection and collected the fees. It was far cheaper for the state to pay the gas station owners a cut of the fee, rather than having to actually own and run inspection stations themselves.

For what it's worth....I am in favor of mandatory inspections.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

It is the nature of business to "up sell" any chance you can. Thus a car in for an inspection may be a good customer for new tires, a new fan belt, windshield wipers, etc.

Odd how that never happened with Not_Liking_Florida and never happened with me either.....

[Spring Hillian]

I guess those NYC shops were better salesmen.

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

Odd how that never happened with Not_Liking_Florida and never happened with me either.....

[Dallas Kitty]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

It is the nature of business to "up sell" any chance you can. Thus a car in for an inspection may be a good customer for new tires, a new fan belt, windshield wipers, etc.

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

Odd how that never happened with Not_Liking_Florida and never happened with me either.....

"Up selling" was often an issue in the Dallas area. It's highly aggravating when the station/shop rips off your current sticker before telling you the car needs repair. They're not supposed to do that but they will. The most agreeable place I found before leaving Dallas was a car wash in Plano that also did inspections.

[Spring Hillian]

Where can you show that it has been proven to work when states decided to drop them because they were proven not to work?

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

Exactly. It's not difficult to do, it has been proven to work and we can make the roads safer by ensure cars are safe enough to actually be on the road.

[Spring Hillian]

I would think that this would be a wide spread practice. It is very common in most businesses.
That rip off the sticker thing sounds like a rip off, no pun intended.

Originally Posted by Dallas Kitty

"Up selling" was often an issue in the Dallas area. It's highly aggravating when the station/shop rips off your current sticker before telling you the car needs repair. They're not supposed to do that but they will. The most agreeable place I found before leaving Dallas was a car wash in Plano that also did inspections.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

Where can you show that it has been proven to work when states decided to drop them because they were proven not to work?

In Massachusetts, where we lived for decades. They didn't drop them, because they work.