7 ms·

I live in Virginia, and we have annual vehicle inspections. Yes, headlights are among the test-points. It doesn't help; tons of vehicles have poorly-aimed hea

by magduf 7y ago

I live in Virginia, and we have annual vehicle inspections. Yes, headlights are among the test-points. It doesn't help; tons of vehicles have poorly-aimed headlights. Doing vehicle testing for $16 doesn't actually help anything when the testing places don't bother to test anything except that the lights all turn on. What incentive do independent garages have to do the tests thoroughly, instead of doing a quick half-assed test to get it done and maybe make some money if there's a burned-out signal marker bulb?

u801e 7y ago
I see many vehicles on the road where the bulb in one headlamp is not properly seated, which leads to a lot of glare from that particular headlamp. One would think that state inspection would catch that problem, but they ignore it.
- magduf 7y ago
  State inspections are generally useless. They'll probably catch simple things like a burned-out bulb (because then they can charge you a huge markup to replace it), but not-so-obvious stuff like that will probably be missed. Here in VA, the private garages doing these inspections are only able to charge $16; obviously, that's not much incentive to spend a lot of time thoroughly checking a car out.
  - u801e 7y ago
    I'm in the same state. One year, I had to spend $600 for a new ABS module because the parking brake light kept flashing on and off and that was an automatic inspection failure (despite the fact that the parking brake had no issues). Another year, I took my car in for a brake fluid change and state inspection. They failed the inspection because the rear brake rotors were below the minimum thickness. I replaced the rotors and pads and took it back in. They passed it and put the sticker on. On the way home, I get the low brake fluid warning light and find that one of the front calipers was leaking brake fluid. So I had to replace the caliper as well. Essentially, they'll fail inspection even if it's not a real safety issue (blinking parking brake indicator light), but miss actual safety issues (leaking caliper during a brake fluid change service).
    - magduf 7y ago
      Sounds typical: they fail inspection for easy-to-see things (e.g., lights missing or warning lights showing), and miss not-so-easy-to-see things (a small amount of leaking fluid). One things I've heard people say, and which I would agree with, is that one of the reasons to keep your engine bay clean isn't for it to look pretty, but so that problems (esp. leaking fluid or oil) are more obvious. On older cars with dirty engine bays or undersides, it's a lot harder to see some problems because of all the grime. I have no idea if that was an issue with your car, but I can see it being a problem with a lot of inspected cars.
      - u801e 7y ago
        > one of the reasons to keep your engine bay clean isn't for it to look pretty, but so that problems (esp. leaking fluid or oil) are more obvious That's a very good point. But, in my case, I would counter it with the fact that the car had a brake fluid change performed and that they inspected the braking system as part of the inspection process (hence how they determined the rear rotors would not pass inspection). An essential part of a brake system inspection is to check if there are any leaks by examining the brake fluid reservoir, master cylinder, brake lines, and calipers. I would understand if they missed a power steering fluid leak or a coolant leak since they weren't directly dealing with those systems as part of the service I paid them for, but they should have definitely spotted that leak before giving me the keys.
        magduf 7y ago
        Wait, they did brake work at the same time as the inspection and missed a brake fluid leak? That's sheer incompetence. This kind of thing is why I never like letting other people do car work for me, and try to do everything myself. You just can't trust mechanics in this country to be honest and competent.
ISL 7y ago
The incentive to do a good job is dual. 1: The very first thing the inspecting mechanic does is remove your tag. If they find a fault, they get first dibs on selling you the repair. (yes, you can get a temporary pass) The VA inspection fee, at least through the early 2000s, was minimal. I always assumed that shops did the inspection as a loss-leader, with the profit on the needed repairs. 2: I suspect that if they are found to be passing cars that should not, there is government/administrative hell to pay. (Also, after leaving Virginia, it blew my mind that other states didn't inspect. It is nice to know that every car on the road has at least one brake with enough brake-pad left to come to a halt.)

by magduf 7y ago

u801e 7y ago

I see many vehicles on the road where the bulb in one headlamp is not properly seated, which leads to a lot of glare from that particular headlamp. One would think that state inspection would catch that problem, but they ignore it.

magduf 7y ago
State inspections are generally useless. They'll probably catch simple things like a burned-out bulb (because then they can charge you a huge markup to replace it), but not-so-obvious stuff like that will probably be missed. Here in VA, the private garages doing these inspections are only able to charge $16; obviously, that's not much incentive to spend a lot of time thoroughly checking a car out.
- u801e 7y ago
  I'm in the same state. One year, I had to spend $600 for a new ABS module because the parking brake light kept flashing on and off and that was an automatic inspection failure (despite the fact that the parking brake had no issues). Another year, I took my car in for a brake fluid change and state inspection. They failed the inspection because the rear brake rotors were below the minimum thickness. I replaced the rotors and pads and took it back in. They passed it and put the sticker on. On the way home, I get the low brake fluid warning light and find that one of the front calipers was leaking brake fluid. So I had to replace the caliper as well. Essentially, they'll fail inspection even if it's not a real safety issue (blinking parking brake indicator light), but miss actual safety issues (leaking caliper during a brake fluid change service).
  - magduf 7y ago
    Sounds typical: they fail inspection for easy-to-see things (e.g., lights missing or warning lights showing), and miss not-so-easy-to-see things (a small amount of leaking fluid). One things I've heard people say, and which I would agree with, is that one of the reasons to keep your engine bay clean isn't for it to look pretty, but so that problems (esp. leaking fluid or oil) are more obvious. On older cars with dirty engine bays or undersides, it's a lot harder to see some problems because of all the grime. I have no idea if that was an issue with your car, but I can see it being a problem with a lot of inspected cars.
    - u801e 7y ago
      > one of the reasons to keep your engine bay clean isn't for it to look pretty, but so that problems (esp. leaking fluid or oil) are more obvious That's a very good point. But, in my case, I would counter it with the fact that the car had a brake fluid change performed and that they inspected the braking system as part of the inspection process (hence how they determined the rear rotors would not pass inspection). An essential part of a brake system inspection is to check if there are any leaks by examining the brake fluid reservoir, master cylinder, brake lines, and calipers. I would understand if they missed a power steering fluid leak or a coolant leak since they weren't directly dealing with those systems as part of the service I paid them for, but they should have definitely spotted that leak before giving me the keys.
      - magduf 7y ago
        Wait, they did brake work at the same time as the inspection and missed a brake fluid leak? That's sheer incompetence. This kind of thing is why I never like letting other people do car work for me, and try to do everything myself. You just can't trust mechanics in this country to be honest and competent.

ISL 7y ago

The incentive to do a good job is dual. 1: The very first thing the inspecting mechanic does is remove your tag. If they find a fault, they get first dibs on selling you the repair. (yes, you can get a temporary pass) The VA inspection fee, at least through the early 2000s, was minimal. I always assumed that shops did the inspection as a loss-leader, with the profit on the needed repairs. 2: I suspect that if they are found to be passing cars that should not, there is government/administrative hell to pay. (Also, after leaving Virginia, it blew my mind that other states didn't inspect. It is nice to know that every car on the road has at least one brake with enough brake-pad left to come to a halt.)