Vehicle testing

[taranaki]

How much do you pay to have your vehicle inspected?How often are you obliged to do it?Who carries out the inspection,and do they make a fair job of it?

Here in NZ,the Warrant Of Fitness inspection is every 6 months,and can be carried out by any authorised garage.I've had bad experiences with garages issuing fail notices on minor items for the sake of extra profit,so my car goes to a specialist testing company who don't offer a repair service.Fees for the test are set by the testers,so if you shop around you can get a cheap inspection,but the risk is that you will end up with a harsher result.I pay $35 for a test,and if you drive in late on a Monday afternoon,and the place is quiet,you get the benefit of 4 inspectors working on your car,and the test is complete in about 10 minutes.The Skyline should have failed[top of windscreen obscured with duct tape],but the inspectors very generously applied some common sense and issued the ticket on a verbal assurance that I'd only just accquired the car and would strip the tape off at home that night.

[TheNotoriousMogg]

We have mandatory emissions and testing every 4 years they are a bitch also...I failed 3 times

1st time...check engine light kicked on...
2nd time...their was paint on my engine from the junkyard where i got the engine swap...
3rd time...I cant remember

teh cost is $55 if you fail you dont pay...so thats nice

either way they are bastards

[2strokebloke]

Every four years. The Toyota won't have even the slightest chance of passin the emissions test when it's due. But, luckily when it's due the Toyota turns 25, and as such is a "classic" exempt from emissions!
2-strokers built before 1980 are also exempt from emissions but still need to be inspected. The regular items checked: windshield cracks, lights, horn, wipers.

[Amish_kid]

Well in Nova Scotia all I know is that my father charges what the Governemt tells him to, which is $14 + Tax Haha some of you by the sounds of it are getting hosed big time since we don't have any emission laws and such throughout most the country.

[turbo2nr]

i taught we had to do a emmisions test every year in nyc. maybe im thinking of somehting else

1

[lordvektra]

good ol Alabama. no test. but sometimes I think there should be there are some POS things that should not be on the road here.

[Polygon]

You have to have your safty and emissions inspected every year here in Utah. Both tests cost about $25.00 and I've never failed. I did get a verbal warning for having pretty bald tires on the LeBaron.

[Heep]

In Ontario, you have to have your car emissions tested every year (if it's Ontario registered, which mine is not, thankfully). Never done it so I'm not sure of the charges. You also have to have your vehicle safety inspected when you first register it to your name in Ontario, but again I've never done that and I don't know how much it costs, or if you need to do it again.

In New Brunswick, there is no emissions testing, but annual safety inspections covering basic stuff like the front end, lights, horn, wipers, overly large body holes, etc. The test costs $15 (mandated by the provincial government). While my car is in Ontario it does not need a current inspection (well they can't enforce it anyways), but as soon as an expired car comes back into NB it's illegal until it's inspected. As I have no current plans to take the car back and it can only get an NB inspection in NB, it's currently expired, so I removed the sticker. I'd rather have a cop not see any sticker and be none the wiser than to see an expired sticker...

[esp]

no emissions testing here in wisconsin

[Jay!]

California: Smog Check

Required every 2 years for any car over 4 years old, and when ever the title changes hands.

http://www.smogcheck.ca.gov/

Costs around $40. If you don't pass, make repairs and re-test.

We're tested for emissions of hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). But, in addition to that, we also have an under-hood inspection, and any parts the tech think aren't stock must have an exemption number from the California Air Resources Board.

WTF? If emissions are okay, who cares what parts are there?

[2strokebloke]

Another reason that California sucks. Buy a 360, I've heard that they're emissions exempt (under 50 cubic inches, and 2-stroke engine, does Cali exempt classic cars?)

[Jay!]

Diesel cars and pre-1975 cars with intact emissions equipment are exempt.

And you're spot-on:

Additionally, vehicles with diesel engines, vehicles with two-cycle engines, vehicles with engines smaller than 50 cubic inches of displacement, electric vehicles, and motorcycles are exempt from the Smog Check program.

[audi&benz]

in Georgia you have to have your emmisions checked every year. it is a pain in the ass and costs about 20-25 bucks. but it is pretty easy to pass.

[DMC12]

California is a good example of legislation gone wrong. Smog checks were good in theory, but much like you've experienced Mr. T they are a little crooked & will try to get some other repair income from you. Either that, or they don't care and will pass anything if you slip them an extra $40. Either way the environment suffers as more people bribe to pass, or believe their car is safe when in fact the mechanic just took $200 for "repairs" and passed the car anyway.

And if you fail they will start sending you to "test-only" stations that cost a little more. If you fail there, then you're in some pretty deep stuff because "test-only" means no repairs... which means you're a "gross polluter" and out of luck.

Of course I'm being very general here...

[speediva]

Shit, you all get off LUCKY!!!

PA has State Safety Inspection AND Emissions EVERY YEAR!!! I think it's often around $30 for both, pass or fail. There's like a $2 charge if you pass for each sticker.

Safety Inspection is pretty damn rigorous. Tires must have over 2/32 tread, EVERY light on the body must be fully operational, wipers must work, body must be in good shape, suspension in full order (I failed safety last year b/c of what is essentially the Upper control arm on the driver's front wheel), cracks in the windshield must be less than 8" and not cause problems in the Driver's view... I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of it off the top of my head.

Emissions is also every year, and not very lenient. They test HCs and CO2 both at idle and 2500rpm's. My car failed last year. However, if you show you've put over $150 into trying to correct the problem you can get a 1 year emissions waiver. You then have that year to get it fixed. BUT, if you don't get it fixed in that one year, you can't get another waiver the next year.