Text 13664, 109 rader
Skriven 2011-01-18 17:07:31 av Roy Witt (1:387/22)
  Kommentar till text 13624 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: Taxes
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15 Jan 11 10:19, Robert Bashe wrote to Roy Witt:

 RB> [In California...]

 RW>> If your vehicle doesn't pass inspection, you're obligated to take it
 RW>> to a state-authorized referee facility that will determine the
 RW>> cause. Once you go thru this process, your vehicle will then be
 RW>> checked every year instead of every other. If it can't be fixed, the
 RW>> referee will make a determination of whether or not it needs to be
 RW>> scraped.

 RB> Here in Germany, where a good deal more than merely a computer
 RB> analysis is made (brake tests, lighting, play in the steering
 RB> mechanism, wheel suspension, oil leaks, exhaust leaks and a lot
 RB> more), your car is either passed "without defects", passed "with
 RB> minor defects" (which you are legally required to correct immediately
 RB> after the inspection, things like burnt-out light bulbs), or not
 RB> passed when "major defects" such as play in the steering system or
 RB> wheel suspension are determined.

That's a safety test. I was referring to an emissions test above. Here in
Texas, the same safety test is performed on our vehicles once a year,
whether they need the test or not. Other than flat spots on the tires
(which will go away once the tire is warmed up by driving it), the safety
of the vehicle hasn't changed since it was last tested in 2008, as she is
a garage queen (stays in the garage). I've gotten away with driving it
under an expired safety sticker, but if I were caught, it would cost about
$160 in fines plus I'd still have to have it safety checked. I intend to
do that in between times I take it out, but that always gets put off until
another time.

 RB> Then it's only a question as to whether the inspector thinks the
 RB> defects are so serious that they would endanger you and other
 RB> drivers. If they're considered repairable and not life threatening,
 RB> you are not passed, and are required to return to the testing
 RB> facility within, I believe, two weeks with the repaired car for
 RB> re-inspection.

Texas allows three months before you're supposed to park it until it can
be repaired.

 RB> It's generally the best idea to appear for an inspection without
 RB> previously having anything repaired or inspected at a commercial
 RB> garage, since the latter could "repair" things that don't really need
 RB> repairing, at your expense - it's usually best to just let the test
 RB> inspectors do their job and then make necessary repairs. That way you
 RB> can specify precisely what you need repairing (on the basis of the
 RB> test results), which is cheaper than a simple "Hey, just make sure
 RB> this heap passes the inspection".

Regular maintenence would aliviate any of that repair headache as things
can be spotted along the way. Unfortunately todays oils and low
maintenence supension parts makes it easy to forget about it. Just change
the oil and filter, Joe. I'll worry about the shocks and that tie rod end
later.

 RB> If the car is in a truly dangerous condition (frame rusted through at
 RB> critical places,

Doesn't happen here in Texas. Didn't happen in California either, but I've
seen some rust-belt cars that had that problem.

 RB> brakes ineffective, suspension totally broken and the like), the
 RB> inspector will take it out of service then and there, and you can
 RB> call a cab to get home. This is quite rare nowadays, as people
 RB> generally know when a car is in such poor shape that it won't
 RB> get through an inspection, but it does happen occasionally.

Texas is more concerned with do the lights work, do the brakes work, are
the tires safe to drive on, does the horn and wipers work and if not,
who's going to fix them, you or the inspection station?

 RB> After that, you must remove the car from the testing facility by
 RB> having it towed away. You are not allowed to drive it and if you were
 RB> to try, you could be arrested.

 RB> You naturally can repair it, if possible, and have it re-inspected,
 RB> but if it's dangerous enough that the inspectors take it out of
 RB> service right at the testing facility, the condition is generally so
 RB> bad that a repair is not economical.

In this economy, I've seen people put a few thousand dollars into repairs
rather than buy a new vehicle. Then, as the economy got worse they didn't
repair anything unless it was broken enough to make it undriveable.

 RB> The inspectors are engineers specially trained for the job, and are
 RB> quite pragmatic - if they say something is dangerous, you can usually
 RB> take their word for it. I might add that they are rotated from
 RB> testing facility to testing facility, so that you only rarely will
 RB> have the same inspector twice. That's to prevent any "friendships"
 RB> between those being inspected and the inspectors, that could possibly
 RB> lead to an influence on the test results. It also prevents
 RB> animosities between those tested and the inspectors, which also could
 RB> affect the test results.

California eliminated that 'friendship' deal by connecting their emissions
testing facilities to the central office. If your vehicle passes, its
recorded at the central office and their machine spits out the paper
required to get a registration from the department of motor vehicles. It
was possible to buy a positive emissions test early on, but no more. I
don't know if they're gone to safety inspections, but that should be one
of their priorities.

                R\%/itt

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