I have a question for a state liscensed inspector. Had some trouble getting my sticker and I think these guys are just fucking with me now after the fourth visit. It seems like a hot rod rolls in and they get a kick out of failing it because their peice of shit 86 irock camaro never got past the wet dream stage of a project so they want to ruin our fun. If there are any Texas inspectors on here, please pm me so I can find out if I should report these cock suckers to DPS.
Maybe your hot rod isn't really passing the inspection? Not trying to cause drama but what do they fail you on? If they're failing you on the same things after all four visits then the consistency should be a sign.. I know plenty of Texas State Inspectors and not all of them are cock suckers.
You've been to the same inspection station four times and flunked? So what problems have they found? On older cars its just a Safety Inspection. Lights dont work? Brakes pull to one side? Tires slick? Exhaust leaks? Maybe its not safe.
Geez, 4 times? You're more persistent than I am. I usually spend my time finding a shop that will pass me, and let's face it, those are probably the guys that need to be reported....
I have found over the years that the biggest offense Inspection Stations that are also service garages make is making inspection customers wait while they do other than inspection related work. Part of the deal in becoming an Inspection Station is that Inspection work supercedes all other work since the Inspections are required by law. The only exception I know of is IF they have specific Inspection hours posted. In the old days of Inspection some would get a little additional dealer profit from charging for headlamp adjustment(the number one favorite), topping off fluids(charging the price of a full can for a 1/2 ounce) and replacing wiper blades(the number two!). I think these days the State Inspection business is a generally honest and straight up business. There are always exceptions. It sounds like your car is not passing because YOU are not complying or the inspection station has found them a sucker. Take it somewhere else.
I am usually a calm natured person but these guys are really pushing my buttons. I'll just lay it out here for yall. I go in for inspection, he comes back and hands me paper work that says it failed for no mufflers. I explained that I have baffles in my collectors and I have tools so I will drop the pipes off of the collectors and show him. No dice, I already failed it in the system so bring it back with mufflers. I go home and slap an old set of glass packs on it and take it back the next day. He does a reinspection and comes back saying the glass packs "will pass but barely", and then tells me that the wipers dont work good enough so he is failing me for that. I said they worked good enough for you yesterday to which he said "that that must mean they are going to crap at at rapid pace then". I asked him if there was anything else that needs attention so I can take care of it all before I come back. He says "nope, thats it".I go home and pull the vacuum motor apart and re grease it, put a little stretch in the wiper arm springs since they are a bit to tight and head back the next day. He does the re inspection and says the wipers are better but he can't pass the seatbelts. I tell him that being a 55 chevy, it didn't come with seatbelts so they are not required. He tells me that since I have racing harnesses instaled, it has been retrofitted to accomodate them so they are required, but racing belts are not approved for highway use. This was my breaking point. I told him he was just making shit up now and asked what the hell his problem was. His only reply was "I have been working on cars for over 20 years and don't have to justify myself to you". I went to my office and printed all docs I could find about seatbelt regs and went back to talk to the manager. I show the stuff to the manager and says "you have to take it up with the inspector". I said call him in here then and we can all discuss it. He says " I can do that but I know my son and he probbably won't change his mind". I just got up and left. Sorry for the long post and i'm sure the spelling and grammar suffer since just typing about this gets me more irritated about it. I find it funny that so many people have already formed the opinion that I am an ass hole and that is what is causing all of these issues, without knowing the circumstances. Hopefully you will get to deal with one of these guys in the future. I knew while typing my original post that those kind of comments would come up which is why I asked to be PM'ed by an inspector, but some have a little trouble restraining themselves from putting their .02c in where it is not needed. It's OK guys, I understand your condition and I am tolerant of it. Sorry again for the long post everyone. Now is the time for sharing since it is all in the open now, any thoughts?Mabey I am a prick and life will just be hard for me.
Dude, just go somewhere else. This isn't even worth your time. I have antique plates and don't have to be inspected. They're easy to get and ends all the bullshit. And the plates are kinda cool.
X2. Take your car elsewhere. It sounds like no matter what you do, this specific individual just won't pass you..
I would start by finding a different place to get it inspected. Minnesota doesn't do inspections so pardon my ignorance, but I would find a old car friendly shop and explain the trouble you had at the other place.
He's right (and he's jerking you around). If the vehicle didn't come with seatbelts, they aren't required. However, if you install seatbelts, they have to pass. So, take out the harness, go to a new place, pay your $12.50 and be done with it.
The other problem that you are facing is that since the DPS headquarters is in Austin almost every inspector in town gets inspected on a regular basis. If you think that you are having a hard time now be glad that you do not have a comercial vehicle or a car that is less than 25 years old with an OBD I system! I feel for you man, I took my 94 Suburban, that had no codes stored and no check engine light on in 6 times before I had changed enough parts that it passed the sniff test. On my 86 D250 I had to change the engine to get it past the sniff test. For these reasons, among others I moved out of Travis county. Your best bet is to find another inspector at this point.
Ray, I am not "blaming" anyone for anything. I only stated that I found the responses humorous. My intention for posting was not to recieve sympathy, It was to get a question answered by an inspector which I have already accomplished via PM. In an attempt to keep the thread on topic let me just go ahead and post this,NOTICE TO ALL: Ray can pee further than me! Lets try to keep the thread on topic now. I am going to go else where to get an inspection, that is a given. I am somewhat new to the area I live and work in now so I am talking to a few people to find out where the better inspection stations are. If anyone has a recomendation for the Round Rock, Georgetown, Liberty Hill area I am all ears. Thanks guys,
Yep, the car is never going to pass at that shop no matter what you do. I didn't find any photos of what you have at first look so I can't say but my guess that the car may have a hard time passing inspection anywhere. Now is this the 55 Chevy car with the tube axle or the 55 pickup with the homemade tube axle that you are trying to get through inspection. No matter what state or country a guy or gal is in it's always prudent to have a copy of the states motor vehicle code on hand to study to make sure that the vehicle will pass inspection. Those things that you think make your car cool may be the same things that cause it to fail inspection.
It does sound like the inspector's son sucks cock -- you might do others a favor by letting those on the HAMB know the name of the inspector / shop.
Mr Chevy, this particular vehicle is neither of the two you mentioned. It is a 55 chevrolet pickup on stock suspension. I commend you for researching my threads though. If I were to roll in for an inspection in a friggin tube axle gasser, and get upset when they fail me I would be the jack ass. By the way, what difference does it make if it is a home built axle or not? Is there a problem with my TIG welding that I am not aware of? Just curious. Guy w/ a coupe, I will gladly throw up a warning but I need to wait and see what is going to happen with DPS first. I have reported these guys and they said they will have someone get in touch with me to take a statement. Let me see how this process works out before I make it personel by throwing out the name of the station.
Ok, you took your old car in to a state inspection shop and got denied once for not having the required mufflers. Then you go back and get denied for not having operating wipers. Then you go back again, and this time get denied for not having DOT approved safety belts. Now you're reporting the inspection shop because they are just covering their asses and doing their jobs? Did I miss something?
If the inspector keeps finding new stuff he missed them the last time. He should present you with a list of what needs fixing, not just stop the inspection as the first thing is found. This is just my opinion, based on common sense and what happens here in the UK. Good luck with getting it through the inspection. Mart.
Isky did ask...see above quote...but the whole thing read to me like the inspector certainly was jerking him around... Some of you guys seem to want to jump on the smallest of things before you know all the story... R-
I have no problem getting failed on an inspection, that is part of driving old vehicles. This guy is just toying with me though and that is something that I am not willing to put up with. I have decided to not go elsewhere for my inspection. I will keep returning to this shop, each time repairing what is asked of me. Sooner or later, this guy will runout of crap to fail. I am however documenting all of this. Then once I have a good inspection I will turn all of this over to DPS. I promise you that when all is said and done, I'll be cruising around in my hot rod having a blast and this guy will most likely not be loving life. I will also make it a point to stop by there every day at lunch to clean my windshield and use the crapper. I'll be damned if I buy any fuel there but will still stop by as often as I can.
There is an exception in Sherman, TX! There is a shop HERE that will tear your wiper blades while they're out "testing" the brakes. Had it happen to me TWICE at the same place. The first time I took it there, I just figured it was time for new blades and hadn't noticed, so I let it slide. The next year, it had rained the day I took the vehicle in, and I KNEW the wipers were good (only a year on a set of good-quality blades). I had to wait for the inspector to finish putting wiper blades on the lady's car in front of mine. When the guy doing the inspection took a really long time on the test drive in my Jeep I got suspicious. Sure enough, he said it failed because of torn wiper blades. I called him out, and he got REALLY pissed. I was a little hot, too, so I went inside, talked to the manager about what the inspector had done (loud enough for ALL the people waiting for inspections could hear). He put on a show of being SURE his staff would never do anything dishonest or do anything to a customer's vehicle. I walked out, got a set of wiper blades down the street, and put them on in the shop's parking lot. Then I went in and told the manager I would report his shop to the DPS if the inspector messed with my car or didn't pass it. He went out into the shopand talked to the inspector, who immediately walked out to the lot and stuck on my sticker. The manager came back in and apologized for the "inconvenience". I wanted to punch him in the eye, but I told him I'd be sure and warn everyone I knew to check their wipers before they took their cars there instead.
The only way this could work, is IF you can prove all the defects he found were bogus. That could be hard to do. Especially if you fix them all. And are you prepared to spend X amount of dollars and time on one a-hole? Sometimes, we just have to take one on the chin. It's not giving up, it's moving on. Take your car somewhere else and spread the word. Don't buy from him and tell your friends to do the same. Places like this need repeat business. Hurt him by not going there anymore. Take some of his income away. And if I'm not mistaken, don't they still charge you if the car fails, while giving you time to fix the defect? I think they do. If so, your way isn't even economical.
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