TÜV tales... Let's hear your inspection stories!

[Woodski]

lol inspections

[JettaGT8V80]

I once went to get an inspection, I even pulled aside on the road outside to check my bulbs. I pull in, and the front parking light had gone out. In MA at the time, a full emissions inspection, whcih is what I was getting, which was every other year, was $35, and a safety inspection (yearly) was $25. I didn't even get to the emissions part but they still charged me $35.

I drove home, and changed the bulb, and when I went back, suddenly my plate lights were out. Another $35 please, and still failed. Turns out when I changed the parking light, I opened the trunk, which the hinge of then severed the plate light wires. Twisted the wires together and went back, and failed AGAIN (for something else, can't remember), another $35, and I went somewhere else.

I since learned that in MA, if you fail, you do have to pay, but a re-test is supposed to be free (you get 3 chances to fix problems). I was pissed at this shop and would never ever go back. It was a mom and pop.

umm WHAT mass inspection have been $29 since i was able to drive in 1997 sounds like someone was trying to make money off you

[rawk]

lol inspections

Exactly what I was thinking.. CT FTW

[.:bigred12]

I go to school in New York. My friend that lives with me is from Texas and has a Volvo S90 that he got from his grandfather after he passed away. The car needed to be reregistered from New Jersey (where the grandparents live) to Texas. He was able to do a visual inspection over the phone where he was asked if certain things looked ok. Two weeks later he gets his Texas inspection sticker.

Meanwhile, I (a NY resident) failed my inspection for minuscule ****.

[Klim18]

They really need to have these kind of inspections in the US, mainly in Chicago... some of the **** on the road you see is just ridiculous. Just the other week I was driving on I-94 heading towards Downtown and I saw a POS rusted out Cavalier lose a wheel while going thru a little bend on the expressway, hitting the guard rail then bouncing off into the shoulder...

[Woodski]

They really need to have these kind of inspections in the US, mainly in Chicago... some of the **** on the road you see is just ridiculous. Just the other week I was driving on I-94 heading towards Downtown and I saw a POS rusted out Cavalier lose a wheel while going thru a little bend on the expressway, hitting the guard rail then bouncing off into the shoulder...

that's awesome.

i wish i could see cool **** like that.

[absoluteczech]

it would be nice to having something like that here in CA

[urbanrocketeer]

Most states are doing away with safety inspections. Studies show they aren't all that effective in "increasing safety".

There are literally a dozen or more small garages within a mile of my house (being right by a large university will do that). Most state in one form or another that you'll pass your inspection or your money back. Feel free to draw your own conclusions.

[NJRoadfan]

There are literally a dozen or more small garages within a mile of my house (being right by a large university will do that). Most state in one form or another that you'll pass your inspection or your money back. Feel free to draw your own conclusions.

NJ has state run inspection stations that are completely free to use for inspecting your vehicle. They can't do repairs, so there is no profit motive in them failing your car for something stupid. There are also private garages that will do inspection for a fee.

[Iroczgirl]

Luxembourg has some though checks, some are even tougher than they are in Germany (wheel geometry check etc...) and it's a bit of a lottery. If they don't like you you lose. I love to go there after I've been driving like a maniac so the engine compartment and especially the manifold is cherry red, so they don't want to look at the car for too long. Oh, and tuning is a no-go...

Yeah, I had to go through quite a few inspections in Luxembourg.
I always brought the car to completely stock beforehand, which meant swapping out the suspension, doing an alignment, swapping lights, wheels and tires,...quite a pain. But I always passed and I never completely slammed the car so the gendarmerie always left me alone.

[71DubBugBug]

lol inspections

lol x2

so happy i live in illinois. wtf is an inspection? no idea!

[KeiCar]

For emissions, I can understand the frustration behind tests, which always seem to be more aggro than anything else. There are a small percentage of cars on the road which contribute to the lions share of emissions. When you ride next to that clapped out expedition with broken exhaust studs, that's misfiring like crazy, you're riding next to an offender. But the majority of folks who own these clunkers don't have money or don't care to fix em, which is why new cars have to be insanely clean. It's a trickle down theory that sorta works, however it's still frustrating. It doesn't help that states try all sorts of plans to rectify this, yet don't stick to them.

I had my cars registered in a county in PA with no emissions, safety only. I just went to the garage where the 'hillbilly handshake' made sure whatever I brought there passed.

Which county? Can your address be in one county but have the car registered in another?

[DzlDub]

Ahh Alberta, where you can insure and register any POS no problem. Never had to do an inspection, even on cars dating back to the 80s.

Of course, it depends on your insurance company.

[atomicalex]

I never completely slammed the car so the gendarmerie always left me alone.

Ha! That's what the TÜV guys said to me. "Oh, you have a sensible amount of lowering, don't worry about this. We just need the paperwork, it will be fine." Then they proceeded to count the coils in the springs.......

[HwAoRrDk]

I know they have silly rules over there, but do they make amendments like that retroactive?

Changes are generally retroactive, but not to cars older than a certain age. For example, I believe that - like in the states - if you owned, for example, a '50s car that didn't originally have seatbelts, you don't require them. No emissions test for old cars either.

[AKADriver]

Rolled into the little local garage in Killington that lives off stupid winter touron business the last day of April needing an inspection sticker before I left for the summer.

Oh man, I hadn't heard the word "touron" since leaving my little upstate NY beach town.

Maryland has the stupidest safety inspection in the United States. They require inspection when a car changes hands. Most sellers of crappy old cars are, of course, not motivated to do it themselves. Also Maryland is a tiny state and it's hard to pass up used car deals in Virginia, DC, and Pennsylvania.

Best things I've had cars fail for:
- Suspension too low (H&R Sports... not stance status). At that time Maryland allowed no suspension modification at all.
- No shift pattern on the shift knob. Let me repeat that: No shift pattern on the shift knob. Drawing it on a business card was sufficient to get it to pass.
- Every single old car supposedly had a leaking P/S return line. I wonder if shops used this as an easy scam.
- I've had a car fail for tread depth at a tire store, then pass at a different mechanic.

[NoDubJustYet]

One good thing about the TÜV inspections is that they are done by a few licensed agencies... A dealer or mom&pop shop don't do the inspections so they can't try and pawn off BS things that need fixed.

That being said, there's no leniency from DEKRA or the equivalent.

[Aonarch]

No inspections at all where I live, which IMO is a BAD thing.

Too many completely dangerous, polluting ****boxes in my area.

[MK5golf]

Ahh Alberta, where you can insure and register any POS no problem. Never had to do an inspection, even on cars dating back to the 80s.

Same here in Quebec, but apperantly, their going to start phasing in tests for emissions and safety. Knowing my province, this means more $ and more time wasted... for which will probably amount to some reduntant test that does not make vehicles any safer anyways.

[DrivinAW8]

I'm conflicted on this. On one hand, I'd very much welcome living in DE and dealing with the TÜV inspection knowing that my car (and more importantly, everyone elses) is up to a standard that would hopefully prevent some of the ridiculous **** I see on the roads around here.


OTOH, I know that if the same practices are implemented in the US, it would be fraught with fraud by the inspection stations, bitching and moaning from the conservative 'freedom' squad, and poor people wouldn't get the work done anyway because they simply can't afford it.



Maybe I'll just bite the bullet and move to Germany. I can read Deutsch to a small degree and can ask where the nearest restroom is, so I should be fine?

[atomicalex]

I appreciate the TÜV, but it is pretty funny to see it in action. I ARE SRS INSPECTOR!

Seven years in MI taught me that you can really drive anything there. There was a reason my bunny moved from PA to MI.... The quarter rule and all....

[irsa76]

Years ago I had to take a brand new, >40km on the clock. Rav4 in for an inspection as the car was purchased new interstate. Took it to the state inspection center and the very first question I was asked was where the compliance plate was! They then went over the car, remember brand new car, with a fine tooth comb until it was time for the brake test. They asked us to put it on the brake test rollers until the head inspector realized it was constant 4wd.
Last car I had inspected nearly failed due to overwattage bulbs in all my front lights, lucky for me the headlight test machine was broken.

[Lupo TDI]

Ha! That's what the TÜV guys said to me. "Oh, you have a sensible amount of lowering, don't worry about this. We just need the paperwork, it will be fine." Then they proceeded to count the coils in the springs.......

I literally can see the scene before my eyes

Yeah, I had to go through quite a few inspections in Luxembourg.
I always brought the car to completely stock beforehand, which meant swapping out the suspension, doing an alignment, swapping lights, wheels and tires,...quite a pain. But I always passed and I never completely slammed the car so the gendarmerie always left me alone.

Interesting you've been there. You lived there a couple of years? It's ridiculous. When I lowered my Lupo with a Koni kit with complete paperwork I had to go there for 3 consecutive days and wait and argue. And it takes so long to get through there; right now people wait up to 4-5 hours...

link 1

Still; I prefer it this way than having rust buckets running around.

[Air-over-water]

Still; I prefer it this way than having rust buckets running around.

Whats this rust you speak of?
We have cars still on the road from the 40's, no rust.
Speed limits of 80+MPH and a lot of people that do not read/write/speak English.
I am more worried about the ones on the road without insurance or the ability to understand English than I am worried about cars which have not been up kept.

[McBanagon]

The closest service station to the house has the WORST inspection tech ever..

He failed me once because he said my (recently installed) rear shoes were installed backwards. I raced home and pulled the drum to figure out how the hell I could have done it.... Once I had it all apart, I realized what I had done wrong.. nothing.

Never went back.

Then just this year, a neighbor's car didn't pass inspection with the same inspector. One of the items were side markers that did not work.

This was the side marker that didn't work. He failed a car because turn signals did not come on with the headlights. How the hell can a guy who's been inspecting cars for 10+ years not know this?



I almost wanted to take their car back myself and let him try to fail it again, and either.

1. Put him in his place, or
2. Have him fix it, and see what happens, then apply #1

[Lupo TDI]

Whats this rust you speak of?
We have cars still on the road from the 40's, no rust.
Speed limits of 80+MPH and a lot of people that do not read/write/speak English.
I am more worried about the ones on the road without insurance or the ability to understand English than I am worried about cars which have not been up kept.

What is this english you're speaking of? (BTW, I don't know where you're writing from, update your profile )

Other than that, I can see your point. But that's not really a problem here. Language is not really a barrier in Luxembourg (check wikipedia, the country has 3 official languages, two of them being french and german and you learn english at school) Then, the insurance gets checked yearly when you pass your inspection. No insurance? No inspection, you lose your driving license and your car gets impounded. Police comes to your house to check for the car if you haven't presented it in due time for the inspection. Of course there are people driving without insurance, but there are few of them so normally your insurance company takes over for him. So what remains are unattentive drivers and road-unworthy cars to be afraid of.

[Air-over-water]

BTW, I don't know where you're writing from

Sorry, that was about Texas(central to west Texas).
I know about Luxembourg, I have friends from Switzerland which has 4 official languages(only 3 though are used).

[Lupo TDI]

Sorry, that was about Texas(central to west Texas).
I know about Luxembourg, I have friends from Switzerland which has 4 official languages(only 3 though are used).

Ok, gotcha

[NJRoadfan]

Then just this year, a neighbor's car didn't pass inspection with the same inspector. One of the items were side markers that did not work.

This was the side marker that didn't work. He failed a car because turn signals did not come on with the headlights. How the hell can a guy who's been inspecting cars for 10+ years not know this?

It shouldn't have been an inspection item to begin with. Side markers are not required on cars sold in the USA and Canada (unlike the rest of the world).

[McBanagon]

It shouldn't have been an inspection item to begin with. Side markers are not required on cars sold in the USA and Canada (unlike the rest of the world).

Unfortunately, one of the requirements in VA is that all lights work - factory or not.

I also failed a motorcycle inspection once because I had recently blew a fuse (which I didn't realize until the inspection) for my light bar. I argued that they were not stock, and that's when I learned this requirement.

[VDub2625]

It doesn't help that most manufacturers who kept those lights before about 2000 (and still many after) turned them into side markers, possibly confusing people who don't know any better.

[Iroczgirl]

Interesting you've been there. You lived there a couple of years? It's ridiculous. When I lowered my Lupo with a Koni kit with complete paperwork I had to go there for 3 consecutive days and wait and argue. And it takes so long to get through there; right now people wait up to 4-5 hours...

I lived there for a number of years, also lived in Belgium. I have to say the inspections there weren't as bad as the ones in Luxembourg though. I did have a Mk1 Jetta fail in Belgium because of quarter size rust spots on one of the doors and the trunk lid...it was "high mileage" too as it just passed 200k kilometers.

Edit : The longest wait I had in Luxembourg for an inspection was about 3 hours.

[atomicalex]

He passed!!

Last night, I kind of went crazy with the brake cleaner again, worried sick that they would put it back on teh rack to check the tyres and the rusty brake lines. Instead, the engineer walked out to the car, poked at the tyres a bit, asked me if I fixed anything else (yes, I used a brass brush to clean the rust from the brake lines and sprayed them with corrosion protection wax, and I replaced the broken reflector, and I untwisted the tie rod boot), and then stuck the sticker on the sticker on the car.

Totally non-eventful.

And truthfully, they could have failed me on the snow tyres - they are right at the limit, and one is partially past it. Whatever. I just paid another 12.90€ and got me a sticker. Here's to two more years of dripping oil all over Germany!

[NoDubJustYet]

Here's to two more years of dripping oil all over Germany!

Success!

[unleashedd]

inspections in czech are pretty tough. nothing like in the states. however, slip the guy some cashes, and my car passed without me even bringing it in