State Inspection / Safety Inspection (Austin, San Marcos: live in, shop, vehicle)

[TurboD]

You will find a map showing the counties having emissions testing on the Texas Dept. of Public Safety website.

[johnrex62]

Originally Posted by Cougar31

what cars are exempt from the Texas State Inspection?
any info on matter?
Thanks

No personal vehicles are exempt unless possibly State Government Owned vehicles. I know that the govt vehicles are exempt from taxes, not entirely sure on the inspection side of it however.

[lonestar2007]

Originally Posted by Bowie

There is no emissions testing (yet) here in Bexar County.

That is very surprising about Bexar County, I would have thought for sure they would have emissions testing with the size of SA. Tarrant County had emissions testing for years before Johnson County finally joined in. I worked just across the county lines in Tarrant County and about half the people who worked there lived in Johnson, which upset the other half who had to pay the bigger bucks for inspection while we were still at the twelve dollars plus change, yet we drove as much in Tarrant as we did in Johnson. I know it was sad when they started making us get the emission testing and pay the higher price for an inspection sticker. Of course, then everyone in Tarrant laughed and told us, about time! You know how misery loves company.

[texdav]

I just now thought that maybe he is from out of state and needed to get his vehicle inspected before registratuion by a officer. They inspection is to verify that the vehicle is the same one as on the out of state title by confirming the VIN number.

[TexasHorseLady]

Actually, when I was getting my oil changed and my truck inspected recently, there was a gentleman there getting his vehicle inspected prior to going immediately to the county clerk's office to get it registered in Texas. Just like everything else we do with our vehicles these days, it had to be inspected before he could get it registered in Texas. It was the regular state inspection like I was getting (but with the emissions test included, since his wasn't a diesel).

[5stones]

I just moved here and had to get my car inspected, registered licensed etc ...BEFORE I could get my drivers license.

anyway this is from the txdot website...

First-time Registration
If you are registering your vehicle for the first time in Texas, there are two things you need to do:

Get your vehicle officially inspected for safety at an approved station and receive a Vehicle Identification Certificate of Inspection. Approved stations and garages will have a sign posted stating that they are an official inspection station.
Go to your local County Tax Assessor-Collectors office with proof of ownership (i.e., the title) and insurance, and apply for your registration stickers. These stickers show the expiration month on the left and the expiration year on the right, along with a serial number. They cannot be transferred to any other vehicle and must stay with the car you registered.
These registration stickers are valid for one year. But to save yourself time and trouble, you can prepay for two or even three years. In this case, you will automatically be sent the new stickers each year.

Texas Car Registration Guide - Forms, Locations & Hours - DMV.ORG

I believe you have 30 days to get your car registered and licensed when you move...but don't quote me!

[jimboburnsy]

Unless they have changed something, the emissions test is a total sham. Basically, if your "check engine" light is on, you fail. If not, you pass. Its a total joke. Classic cars manufactured prior to 1972, to the best of my knowledge, are exempt and are not required to have emissions tests NOR are they required to have a catalytic converter.

[catman]

It doesn't have to be that old. My brother has a 1981 car that only has to have the safety inspection. My car is a 1990 and has to pass the emissions test by having a sensor in its exhaust system plugged into a computer. After 1995, it's done with a plug into the car's computer which reads out.

[tstone]

When I was managing this type of racket...

'84+ require catalytic convertors to pass ''visual emissions'', which is part of the safety check. '68+ require PCV/breather systems to pass, too. (If you bypass PCV/breather, you're an idiot in my book.)

25 yrs old or older ('83 & older this year) don't require an emissions TEST. When '95's become 25 yrs or older, the dyno machine shops have may just become a $40k paperweight. Though, they are still valuable as real-time, 5-gas analyzers to diagnose running/tuning problems, or optimum drag-racing settings. I think the dyno can be run to test horsepower with the right software, and that type of dyno time is expensive.

When '84+ models become emissions exempt, they still have to have a cat attached to the exhaust system to pass safety! How to bypass this? Hollow out by scraping or shattering. Shattering works with some persistence... pretty soon the honeycombs will start flying!

[vegasedge]

I live in Austin, TX (Travis county), and desperatley need an inspection sticker. In my county you need to get an emissions test not to mention the whole hook it up to a computer and not being able to have the engine light on or reset to get an updated inspection sticker. My car's engine light is on and to fix it so it goes off is a prohibitive cost for me, and essentially total's out the car.....
My question is where can I get an inspection sticker in Texas, whether it's Bexar county in San Antonio, or some small county? ANYWHERE!! Obviously I don't want a ticket, but I don't have the thousands of dollars it's going to take to get my car to pass. I figure if I can find a county that doesn't have rules that are as strict, I can do a change of address to whatever county, then drive it there, where it would easily pass inspection (at least like they used to do it a few years back), and then I could drive w/o the fear of getting a ticket that is prohibitively expensive. I, for one, don't have the disposable income to get my car to run like new or able to afford the ridiculous price that tickets have become in this day and age. I have insurance, I have good tags, I just can't get past this inspection dilema. Any suggestions on where I could go....as far as what county in Texas that I could bypass the emissions and computer hook up test? I figure I could set up a P.O. Box and do a change of address. That would be legal, right? I'm pretty much at my wit's end. And, by the way, my car isn't some dangerous piece of c___. It's a 2000 Toyota Avalon with 147,000 miles that I purchased new, but the blue book on it is maybe $5,000, but it's worth much more to me....I've taken excellent care of it. However repairs to make it pass in my county would be comperable to the value of the car......just not possible for me.
Thanks for any input!!

Frustrated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!