Utah Lawmaker Introduces Bill To End Vehicle Safety Inspections! (insurance, construction)

[griffin]

Today Rep. Dougall proposed a substitute bill for HB298 to end private passenger vehicle safety inspections in Utah. You can see the substitute bill here:

http://le.utah.gov/~2012/bills/hbill...ith_HB0298.pdf

The way I read it, the new bill changes the safety inspection laws so that newer vehicles will be inspected when they are 4 and 8 years old, and vehicles 10 years old will be inspected every year as they always have been. Presently vehicles under 8 years old are inspected every other year, and vehicles over 8 years old every year.

This is bad news for those that would like to see a complete end to these inspections, and good news for those who want to see them continue for whatever reason.

[griffin]

Yesterday the bill to end safety inspections Rep. Dougall sponsored in the House was substituted with a new bill. That means the safety inspection lobbyists and their lackeys in the legislature have been successful in keeping this scam alive. I briefly read over the new bill and it changes the inspection laws so that now a passenger vehicle will require an inspection when it is 4 years old and 8 years old, and all vehicles 10 years old and older will require a safety inspection every year. Won't do too much for me, as I own two 90's Jeeps and a 98 4-Runner. So I guess being free of these inspections was only a dream. You can see the substituted bill here:
http://le.utah.gov/~2012/bills/hbill...ith_HB0298.pdf (broken link)
Once my wife mentioned how I dislike this program to a former legislator she knows, he chuckled and then said "everyone, everywhere, makes so much money off of safety inspections in Utah that they'll never end." So here's the proof. Utah will remain one of only 14 states in the US, and the only state in the West, that still rips-off motorists with these unnecessary inspections. The nanny-state is alive and well in Utah.

[11thHour]

Sigh. Surprise, surprise. Oh well, it's not like this state is known for progress anyway.

[irman]

Originally Posted by 11thHour

Sigh. Surprise, surprise. Oh well, it's not like this state is known for progress anyway.

State legislation ...
Normally done by the Utah Congress ?

Whoaaa !

Pro-gress
Con- gress.

Two ideas that are 180 degrees away from each other !

Nuff sed.

[griffin]

To my mind DPS doesn't stand for Department of Public Safety anymore, should be called the Department of Public Scammers. We all know how the legislature does things here. That bill went to the Committee of Revenue and Taxation, that's where it was junked, and replaced with the present bill that does little except protect the program for another decade. I took a look at the legislators on the Committee of Revenue and Taxation, and , surprise, surpise, discovered the Chairman is Patrick Painter, a car dealer from Nephi, and that one of his three largest contributors is the Utah Auto Dealers Association. You can see it here:
Patrick Painter - Ballotpedia

Car dealer service departments make a ton of money selling repairs when they do their inspections, the few times I've had an inspection done at a dealers, I was blatantly scammed, once with an unnecessary brake job, and once they tried to sell me over a thousand dollars of exhaust system work. In the case of the brake job, for once the state actually stepped in and made the dealer give me the brake job for free, as far as the exhaust work, I took it to a mechanic and discovered there was no leak in the manifold. Time wasted but money saved. Now I always go to one of those inspection places that does inspections only, and suggest anyone else do to, unless they know their mechanic very well, or know an inspector they trust.

[griffin]

Anyone that wants to get the whole story, I suggest you look at the thread I started "Utah Lawmaker Introduces Bill To End Safety Inspections In Utah." You can read the thread here: http://www.city-data.com/forum/utah/...d-vehicle.html

[TCAS007]

Over a thousand dollar for a new exhaust? How is that possible with a stock exhaust? What car?

Brakes are important for your own safety though. Have them fixed it they're bad

[dcisive]

An exhaust system IF it includes a muffler can be outrageous. Reason is they mufflers have platinum in them which is through the roof in expense cost to manufacture. That's why a bit ago there was a rash of people stealing them off of a lot of SUV's because they could sell them to the scrap yards for big bucks. So no surprise there. If your car is less than 10 years old it is surprising that the exhaust system would need replacement as most are well alloyed to avoid rust and decay to at least that point.....if it's older then 10 years time for a NEW car

[griffin]

Originally Posted by TCAS007

Over a thousand dollar for a new exhaust? How is that possible with a stock exhaust? What car?

Brakes are important for your own safety though. Have them fixed it they're bad

They claimed there was an exhaust manifold leak. 2006 4-runner. Very expensive to fix. A lot of labor involved. V-8 engine. This was a dealer. I took it to my mechanic, he did exhaustive pressure tests. No leaks anywhere. Thank goodness. I was suspicious from the get-go as a 5 year old 4 runner shouldn't be having problems. The brake job scam, that was quite a few years ago, that dealer long went out of business, and they were notorious. If I said their name, some people would remember. The old shoes, they took off, were still quite good. They had just told me over the phone it needed doing to pass. Now when someone tells me I need a brake job, I look at and measure the pads myself, before they start the work. I also I never send my wife or daughter for an inspection, I always take their cars too. I'm afraid $1000 in car repairs is pretty common now days. At eighty dollars an hour (flat rate) or more, plus parts, it can add up very quickly. I haven't checked the flat rates for dealers lately, but I have Toyota's, and they charge megabucks. Maybe they all do. A few years back I had a Cherokee water pump go bad, and it also ruined the radiator. Just those two items together cost me approximately $1000 dollars to have replaced at a dealers. That is when I began looking for a repair shop that wasn't a dealer, and now I have a mechanic I am very happy with. I'm afraid most of my bad experiences have been at dealers. My mechanic (who is not an inspector) will perform a complete inspection for me, including removing the wheels so we can check out the brakes, anytime, and at no cost. I always have him do it, at least once a year, and if I see it needs brakes, he gets the job. Looking a car over, is so lucrative for a mechanic, that its silly anyone would have to pay to have it done. When I ask him why he doesn't include inspections and emissions at his shop, he tells me he doesn't want the expense of it-to pay for the extra equipment the state requires, he'd have to "sell repairs."

[TCAS007]

Originally Posted by dcisive

An exhaust system IF it includes a muffler can be outrageous. Reason is they mufflers have platinum in them which is through the roof in expense cost to manufacture. That's why a bit ago there was a rash of people stealing them off of a lot of SUV's because they could sell them to the scrap yards for big bucks. So no surprise there. If your car is less than 10 years old it is surprising that the exhaust system would need replacement as most are well alloyed to avoid rust and decay to at least that point.....if it's older then 10 years time for a NEW car

Isn't platinum only in the catalytic converter in a small amount?

If you have to get a complete new exhaust system it can be that expensive yes. But usually they are not broken (rust with holes) all over and it's enough to fix the muffler or the section that has the hole.

That is why I was wondering why they wanted to change it all.

Yes I agree most dealers charge too much. Find a smaller repair shop