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I have had thorough but fair vehicle inspections done by these people and recommend them.
By contrast, I had two experiences with tire stores which failed my car for trivial reasons. I will not do business with those places again, not for inspections, not for tires, not for anything.
Last edited by RedZin; 11-20-2013 at 07:27 AM..
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A lot of good advice has been given here so far. Regarding inspection, they WILL inspect the underside of the vehicle...even at Jiffy Lube type places because they have to inspect the exhaust system. Jiffy Lube does have small lifts on the bays to raise the vehicle off the ground, so just because you don't see a huge lift doesn't mean they can't raise the vehicle.
Get the new/used tires put on and take the car for inspection and see what happens...either it will pass or not but it's not the end of the world if it doesn't pass and you also have to consider your family's safety regarding the CV joints which are an important vital component of the vehicle drive train. You'll get one re-inspection at the same shop if it doesn't pass the first time and then after that you'll have to pay the full inspection fee again. If you go to a different shop for re-inspection then you also have to pay the full inspection fee as well.
You'll be hard pressed to find a decent used vehicle for less than 3K that doesn't need some kind of repairs (trust me...I've been looking myself) so if your car runs good with no major issues other than the CV joints then it would be crazy to junk it. I go to LKQ a lot to get parts and it amazes me how people junk cars in almost pristine like condition that probably could have easily been repaired....which is a sad statement towards our environment even though many parts are recycled, but I'll bet about 60% of those cars could be easily fixed and put back on the road, it's just people don't want to spend the money and would rather have monthly car payments instead. I'm going off topic a bit now, but it just irkes me what cars I see people throw away.
Im not really sure what to do. This money I have now is not pocket change for me. If I go and use it for tires and it fails the inspection then Im really done for.
I should note that the cv joints dont click all the time. They only click when I make extreme right or left turns. Im not even sure if its both of them to be honest. Im only ever shown the driver side one. So if its just that one and the diy kit is cheap I could probably get away with that.
I have been told to take it to just a pure inspections place. I guess really at this point I just have to spend the money and chance it.
I really dont wanna get rid of the car but at the same time if it doesnt pass I cant have it sit in the complex parking lot.
Call the place and ask them. They aren't going to know its you if and when you pull up later. As someone said, an inspection only store that has no interest in selling you added work is your best bet.
Im not really sure what to do. This money I have now is not pocket change for me. If I go and use it for tires and it fails the inspection then Im really done for.
I should note that the cv joints dont click all the time. They only click when I make extreme right or left turns. Im not even sure if its both of them to be honest. Im only ever shown the driver side one. So if its just that one and the diy kit is cheap I could probably get away with that.
I have been told to take it to just a pure inspections place. I guess really at this point I just have to spend the money and chance it.
I really dont wanna get rid of the car but at the same time if it doesnt pass I cant have it sit in the complex parking lot.
Don't waste your money on the boot kit that is for axles that have split boots that are not worn. Your joint is clicking which means 99.999% chance it's done for.
By the time you buy the boot kit and time to install you are $20-$30 away from a reman axle, they range in price from $40-$55 for your car. But like was said earlier no reason to replace if you pass inspection at this point IMO.
Don't take this the wrong way but if you even worried about the $13 to inspect it, do you even have insurance?
Don't waste your money on the boot kit that is for axles that have split boots that are not worn. Your joint is clicking which means 99.999% chance it's done for.
By the time you buy the boot kit and time to install you are $20-$30 away from a reman axle, they range in price from $40-$55 for your car. But like was said earlier no reason to replace if you pass inspection at this point IMO.
Don't take this the wrong way but if you even worried about the $13 to inspect it, do you even have insurance?
I have insurance. Im not worried about the $13 for inspection. I have all the money needed to get tires on it, inspections and the registration renewed. Its not that worried about it. Its more or less I dont wanna put $140 worth of tires on a car that I wouldnt be able to drive when I could take that $140 and sell some other things and figure out something else. If its a sure thing its gonna fail why put $140 worth of tires on it?
I just got done looking at axles on autozone for my car before replying to this and watched a video. It honestly looks like something I could do. It looks like all the guy did was take his tire off and reached in and took off four bolts and slid the old axle out and put the new one in. If thats the case thats not a big deal at all and I could do both myself and Id only be $100 and some tax in.
I just called apex inspection and I just flat out said would it fail if its clicking and the boot is split. He said no as long as its not leaking. As long as its been split Im not sure theres anything left to leak. So I guess I'll take it to those guys
If I were you in your position this is what I would do -
The axles can be a quick fix but take it from me, sometimes on old cars other things break at the same time. It's just the way it is. With you being in the position you are in right now, I wouldn't touch anything under there right now if you can avoid it.
Get the car prepped for inspection doing all the BS cosmetic things like wipers, tires, lights, etc and have it pass. The axles have lasted this long I highly doubt you will get stranded with a broken axle. It happens but it's pretty rare. This means you are on much less of a time crunch to get your car fixed.
In addition, it means your car is good for 12 months and that just added a huge amount of $$ to it's value if you decide to cut the cord and sell on CL.
Ok thanks anyway. Ill post the same offer on craigslist. I'm sure a 42 inch tv will entice somebody to do it. I can't stress enough how important a working car is for me. Seeing as my entire job revolves around it working and having to drive all over.
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