some inspection info

I don't know how it goes in other states, but here is some info on NC state inspections.  Every year you have to get a safety inspection, or emissions if your in the 48 county's that do that too so it can be annoying i understand that however its not just some one looking at your car and pushing some buttons like most of you think.  The DMV watches what all inspectors do, if we don't do something we are supposed to or let something slide we are hit with a $250 fine at first, then the second time we can be put into federal prison.  If you have window tints that is below 32% it will fail, I'm sorry, and stop rolling your windows down we know if there down you have tint we are going to roll them up.  For the more sneaky ones that pull there window fuse out with them down, yeah we have fuses in our tool boxes, or better yet we are allowed to deny an inspection until you fix your windows.  If your vehicle fails an inspection that means its not safe, and the standards for the inspections are pretty low so if it fails then your car is really really really not safe.  If you tires are bald, but only half are bald it will fail.  Yes there is still some good tread, but the side is not going to wear down as fast as the rest, and the part that is will wear down and have a blow out before the good tread does. When we hook a car to the machine to test the emission side of the vehicle it can tell if you just cleared your check engine light and will abort the inspection.  If your vehicle fails don't get mad at the inspectors, the state is cracking down and giving out fines, and arresting people left and right for not doing them how they want.  How will the DMV find out?  Well I will tell you.  First the DMV officers are police officers and they will sit near shops and watch and see whats going on.  If they see a car with tint, or notice the tires low on tread, they  will look on there laptop and see if it passed or failed.  If it passed they will pull you over and reinspect you car, if it was supposed to fail you will have you inspection revoked, get a ticket for improper equipment, give the inspector a $250 fine, give the shop a $500 fine, and suspend the shop from doing inspections for 6 months.  So if you try the "I spend money here all the time" line then guess what, you can cost us a lot more money if we let things slide.  also most inspectors will quite and move to another shop that doesn't make them pass stuff that shouldn't.  There is no way around a emissions test, the computers reads the vin number so if it is hooked to the wrong car to pass something, which is called clean scanning, the DMV will know and arrest the inspector.  So if your car is going to be inspected look over these items first to make sure it will pass.

1.  make sure the check engine light if off

2. low beams, high beams, left and right turn signals, both tag lights, brake lights, 3rd brake light, wipers, tire tread(google the penny test for tires), horn, and the high beam indicator

3. make sure the check engine light come on when you first turn the car on, this is called the bulb test if the check engine light does not come on during bulb test it will fail

4. no suspension noise, most of the time this means loose parts that will cause you to fail

5. window tint is below 32% on front windows, and the back window.  window tint cannot be blue, red, amber, or mirrored

6. if you have window tint as a sunshade make sure it is not below the AS1 line (there's a mark on the windshield that says AS1) if you do not have an AS1 line then call your DMV

7. make sure that your brakes are not metal on metal, if they are making metal on metal sound it will fail

8. make sure you have all your rear view mirrors

9. make sure none of your lights are cracked or busted, the rule is if you can see the bulb through the crack it will fail

10. no exhaust leaks at all, and exhaust must exit behind the rear axles

11. all lights are properly mounted, not duct taped, zip tied, or glued in.  they have to be adjustable

if you check these things before you get your vehicle inspected and they are ok then you should pass.  

so long 2011

2011 was filled with so many things.  My first son was born, got married, etc..  It was a year of busting my knuckles every day at work, and blowing up my race car.  Wondering was awaits me 2012, not really going to end the year with a bang or whatnot.  No just going to sit with my loved one drinking some booze like every weekend.  It seems like another year, but it seems like yesterday I was buying 100 chicken nuggets at McDonald's with my friends to celebrate 2005 coming to an end.  The years keep moving by so fast that some just seem like a blur only to remember the good and bad times, and not the in betweens.  Well so long 2011 and hello twenty twelve

It happens all day everyday

Everyday i'm working I pull cars in and out of my bay all day long.  It amazes me that even though i have a sign that reads "do not block bay doors" people still park there cars there.  If I have a car in the bay that means I'm going to pull it out, and if there is not a car in my bay that means I'm about to pull one in.  If you get your car worked on i'm sorry, but your not always the next one in line, that's life.  Please I ask for all techs all over the world, if you get your vehicle worked on do not expect to be the next one, or get in our way.  Techs get paid for how many hours the book says that the job takes.  For example if the book says that a job takes 2 hours then we get paid for 2 hours, even if we work on it for 5 hours.  So if there's a car in front of my bay that means I have to waste time to find you, or your keys to move it, walk all the way back to my bay to pull the car in.  So that's pretty much like taking what little money we make out of our hands.