Inspection Sticker Question (York, Trooper, Rochester: appointed, car insurance, how much)

[rousseau34]

Dear members,

I am currently driving my aunts car, while living in PA. She is from NY, the car has NY plates, inspection sticker from NY, car insurance from Ny, etc etc.

The inspection sticker will expire this month. I took it to a inspection station, and paid for a safety and emissions inspection, received documents proving that I did that, but couldn’t receive a sticker because the car has NY plates.

Does anyone know if I would be okay in this situation if I stay in PA (I will use the car here for around 1 year), and if there is a way for me to get a sticker from NY? It would suck to have to pay for another inspection.

Thank you!

[Wells5]

What you did doesn't make sense. The only reason for getting a PA inspection for a car with out of state plates is for registering the car in PA. You would need a PA driver's license in order to register the car and receive PA plates. Your aunt is not a PA resident and couldn't get a PA driver's license.


Drive the car up to NY and have the car inspected there. It's not that far. Many people live in PA temporarily and keep their out of state driver's license and plates. It's legal.

[briantroutman]

Let me make sure I understand your situation correctly. You took your New York-plated car to a mechanic’s shop in Pennsylvania (one that hangs the keystone-shaped “Official Inspection Station” sign), you paid for a PA safety and emissions inspection, but then the end of the transaction, the mechanic said that he or she couldn’t put an inspection sticker on your car because it didn’t have PA plates? Is that right?

If so, the mechanic wasted your time and money. Actually, I’m not sure how an inspection could have been performed in the first place. Every repair shop and dealership I’ve ever visited requires that you produce your Pennsylvania registration card and valid Pennsylvania insurance card prior to beginning the actual inspection—and I’ve been told by dealers’ service advisors that “verify valid registration” and “verify valid insurance” are line items on the official inspection checklist. Emissions inspections are only required in some counties (and that’s based on where you reside, not where the inspection takes place), and the registration card will be marked “emissions inspection required” if it is necessary. Without knowing the official address of residence listed on the registration, the mechanic wouldn’t know for certain that an emissions inspection was necessary at all. Regardless, he or she could easily see that the car was plated in another state and should have declined to perform the inspection at the outset.

I don’t know how much you spent on the inspection ($70-80?) but the mechanic’s actions are questionable to the point that I’d consider bringing the situation to the attention of PennDOT. If he or she was willing to take your money for a useless inspection, was an inspection even performed? Is the mechanic performing thorough inspections on the other vehicles he or she “inspects”? I don’t have a specific contact for the Vehicle Inspection Division, but you could at least call the number on PennDOT’s Contact Us page, try to get a live person, and explain the situation.

But back to your original issue—inspections are a state-by-state matter. Each state has its own standards, its own stickers...and if a NY State Trooper pulled you over for a traffic stop, he or she wouldn’t accept another state’s inspection sticker as satisfying New York State’s inspection requirements (and vice versa). You’ll have to drive across the border to a mechanic in New York State and have your aunt’s car inspected there.

If you don’t, will a PA State Trooper pull you over or cite you for having an expired NY inspection sticker? I doubt it. Perhaps anyone reading who’s in law enforcement can chime in, but my understanding is that states generally don’t enforce other states’ inspection and registration laws. But regardless, once the car gets back into New York, it will definitely need to be inspected right away. If I were in your position, I’d get it inspected in NY before the expiration date just to be safe.

I hope this helps!

[rousseau34]

Hello, thank you all for the answers,

Yes, that is exactly what happened. I didn’t know much about the subject, and when I went there, he didn’t tell me at first that he wouldn’t be able to put the sticker on, he told me that I should send the results to NY and ask for a sticker from there.

Now I feel that I wasted time and money (~$70 as you said)

I went to the Monro in Wayne... they usually do a good work, but this really disappointed me. I will travel to NY to get this done.

Once again, thanks for the informative reply!

[briantroutman]

Since it was a Monro (and not a local independent shop)—and since Monro has many locations in New York (they’re based in Rochester)—I think the least they can do for you is to arrange for a Monro location in NY to complete the inspection at no additional charge. There may be a “sticker fee” to cover the hard costs they pay to NYS for the sticker, filing fees, etc. but they shouldn’t charge you for the mechanic’s fee to inspect the vehicle. I’d speak with the manager in Wayne first, and if he or she doesn’t help you, call Monro’s corporate offices.

Good luck!

[ddavidv]

Working in the car business I'm not a fan of chain auto centers like Monro and Pep Boys. You really don't save any money there. Labor rate is nearly as high as a new car dealership. In the future find a highly rated independent garage and establish a relationship with them.

As to the original subject you'd have to get a NY registered car inspected in NY state.

A final thought: though it MAY not come up should you have an accident in that car and it is being 'garaged' in PA you may have an issue with coverage. Insurance is charged on the 'garaged' location of the vehicle and if it is residing in PA you are essentially lying to the insurer about where it is. You also want to be a named driver on the policy if you are using it for more than a brief period.

[ahmom]

A mechanic can inspect your car to see if it's good enough to drive on the road according to the PA DOT. They can charge you a mechanics fee.
I don't think the garage did anything wrong. You wanted to know if it was roadworthy and they said yes/no.
They asked for your registration and insurance before you got it inspected, are you sure they didn't say I can't give you a sticker but I can check it out?
My DH is an inspection mechanic, your story is lacking something here. $70 for an inspection is too much. Did they perform some type of repair?