--- On Fri, 7/10/09, Jed Rothwell <[email protected]> wrote:
Jed,
New York state is never to be outdone in the stupidity department. You should
read the inspection manual for here; it is a three-ring circus.
1. If a car has a 1mm hole in a rear taillight lens, it fails. Because, you
know, that tiny bit of white light coming out of the red lens might confuse a
driver as to whether or not you're coming or going. My opinion: if a driver is
so blind or stupid as to not be able to discern that, should they really be
driving?
2. You'll love this one... if the gas tank is normally held on by two steel
straps, but one is just GONE, and the other is rusted so bad that it is
obviously going to break at the slightest bump...you are REQUIRED to pass the
vehicle. No kidding. One of my coworkers who is an inspector actually got
audited by the DMV for attempting to fail a car with this situation; the DMV
suit told him he had to pass it, and that if he didn't, he could be fined and
possibly lose his inspection license.
3. Exhaust rustouts fail... if it impacts the catalytic converter, that great
holy of holies. But if the rest of the exhaust...intermediate pipes,
premuffler, muffler, tailpipe... if that is rusted out and is going to do a
'missile away!' when making 65 down the interstate, it still passes.
4. The slightest bit of looseness in a tie rod mandates a failure. But a ball
joint that is moving in and out a quarter inch (meaning...BAD BAD BAD!!!)
passes.
5. Grinding, sloppy wheel bearings so bad that the wheel is literally ready to
fall off (this can and DOES happen) pass inspection. But a broken rubber boot
over a CV axle fails.
6. Brake rotors are not part of inspection. They can be gouged to hell, but if
the almighty pads are okay, it passes. I guess no one at the DMV realizes that
it takes TWO surfaces for friction to work.
As they say, there's life. And then there's New York life.
--Kyle
