Who has failed a NC state vehicle inspection and why? (how much, home)

[DeanJ44]

I have been working on my car getting it ready for the annual inspection which I dread every year at this time. It has never failed a safety inspection but every year gets more difficult as the car gets older and I get older. I had just finished getting all bruised scratched and bleeding last night after adjusting the rear brakes when some guy sees me sitting there with my hands all black and asks if I was OK. I explained. He said he worked at a shop that does inspections and said - as I already feared - that it varies wildly from place to place and then depends on who is doing the inspection at each shop and how busy they are, how much they care, how much experience they have, whether they want to scam you and about 100 other variables which just makes me thing the whole thing is a scam opportunity for shops run by the state. He took a walk around my car and even though the wiper blades are in fine shape and only a year old, he said that I could easily fail because of the half-inch or so of the ends of the rubber separating at the edges, even though they clearly would still perform just fine. Now I have had blades in much worse shape - so bad in fact that one was practically cracked all the way to the middle and scratched my windshield in an arc shape before I noticed it. Those passed but now I figure I have to put new blades on there just to be sure.

Was wondering what everyone's experience has been with things like this as I am now days away from my inspection next week.

[greatblueheron]

Since there's no way to tell what business is slack or not, just go in and get the inspection. (I've never heard of anyone having a wiper issue or anything insignificant...)

if there's something you need to fix then do it.

Just had mine done this week....while I didn't watch all they did, it sure was over with quickly....

[Jowel]

Years ago (20+), my car failed inspection the first time around because my headlights supposedly were angled too high and I had to have something done that was rather expensive to be able to pass inspection.

I wish I could remember more specifics about this but for what it was, it seems really nitpicky with all the modified exhaust/mufflers and super bright headlights driving around today (many aftermarket but many factory high intensity LEDs are getting popular).

[DeanJ44]

I totally agree about the insane headlights. It has got to the point where I can barely drive at night anymore because it seems like everyone on the road except me has some kind of nuclear-powered crazy bright headlights either right behind me or directly pointed in my eyes so I can't see an effing thing unless I put my hand up to shield my eyes. I must simultaneously adjust both my drivers outside rear-view and the inside rear-view mirrors about 100 times every time I am out at night.

It could be also that I also seem to the the only car on the road that doesn't have secret-service-level dark tinted windows. I cannot understand how all these people are allowed to have seemingly completely blacked-out (way beyond the % limit for the state) windows. I have eyes that are extremely sensitive to light and if I am outside anywhere from sunrise to sunset without darkly tinted sunglasses on the whole time - I am blind by the end of the day and for the following day and can't read or see anything. I am sure I could get a medical exemption for tinted windows but things like going to the doctor and going to a mechanic are for people not as poor as I am.

[BrighterDays]

Originally Posted by Jowel

Years ago (20+), my car failed inspection the first time around because my headlights supposedly were angled too high and I had to have something done that was rather expensive to be able to pass inspection.

I wish I could remember more specifics about this but for what it was, it seems really nitpicky with all the modified exhaust/mufflers and super bright headlights driving around today (many aftermarket but many factory high intensity LEDs are getting popular).

I had the same exact scam pulled on me about 20 years ago. Nothing was wrong with my car but the inspector insisted my headlights were not "pointed correctly" and extorted $50 out of me to "repair it".

[BrighterDays]

Originally Posted by DeanJ44

I totally agree about the insane headlights. It has got to the point where I can barely drive at night anymore because it seems like everyone on the road except me has some kind of nuclear-powered crazy bright headlights either right behind me or directly pointed in my eyes so I can't see an effing thing unless I put my hand up to shield my eyes. I must simultaneously adjust both my drivers outside rear-view and the inside rear-view mirrors about 100 times every time I am out at night.

It could be also that I also seem to the the only car on the road that doesn't have secret-service-level dark tinted windows. I cannot understand how all these people are allowed to have seemingly completely blacked-out (way beyond the % limit for the state) windows. I have eyes that are extremely sensitive to light and if I am outside anywhere from sunrise to sunset without darkly tinted sunglasses on the whole time - I am blind by the end of the day and for the following day and can't read or see anything. I am sure I could get a medical exemption for tinted windows but things like going to the doctor and going to a mechanic are for people not as poor as I am.

Glad I am not the only one! I avoid driving at night whenever possible due to the headlight situation.

I also agree about the tinting issue, how do these people pass inspection? I would hate to be in law enforcement and have to approach a vehicle in which I cannot see through the windows.

[ucctgg]

I had a 23 year old Ford Ranger that had a licence plate light bulb go bad because of some short circuit in the wiring. The inspection guy would not pass it. ...... But his boss did.

[cowboy_wilhelm]

I can't remember the specifics as far as paying, but you can fail an inspection and leave. You are not required to have the issue fixed by the shop where it's inspected. If it's something simple like wipers or a bulb, just go home and fix it yourself and take it back. Of course, it's easier to do a walk-around before the inspection as you've done to make sure nothing simple will fail.

I try to go to places that are busier and doing other paying jobs. Typically they just want to get you in and out as quickly as possible since they're not making much money on inspections. The smaller places that don't have much work are the ones that are going to look for anything and everything so they can get some work and money out of you.

[nita0312]

I failed the emissions test on an old car because of a faulty O2 sensor. I would've failed on multiple occasions with another car for safety reasons (bad tires/struts) if I hadn't found a special auto shop that would give me a pass.

[DeanJ44]

What is also annoying is the total lack of consistency. Some years, the car gets barely a glance and one guy does it all in 5 minutes. Other years, an army of guys come out, they raise the car, spend 30 minutes examining every square inch under the hood, the axles, the wheels, steering, leaks, every detail. Not to mention - just like states that expand medicaid (or don't), you get a huge break just by virtue of what state you live in. If I lived in a state with expanded medicaid, I could actually go see a doctor - likewise, states like Florida don't have any inspection requirement. I need to find a state that has both expanded medicaid and that also doesn't have any inspection requirement because I cant afford to take care of my sick car or my sick body anymore in NC.