My Car Failed It's "Emission Test"

[r_w]

Everyone here is making valid points. I DO like the idea of safety inspections. (wipers, lights, brakes, tires) I DO NOT agree with "emmisions" testing. This is another government bend over to the global warming crowd.   

Safety inspections should be done by the DRIVER on a regular basis. 

[tombogan03884]

Safety inspections should be done by the DRIVER on a regular basis.  

Yes they should, but they are not.
If, like many of us you are on a tight budget, do you pay the rent, or replace that tire that is getting smooth ?
State mandated safety inspection, having the authority of law, makes that choice for you.

[jaybet]

Safety is one thing... emissions another. We've had emissions inspections in NJ for years and years. When I was young and had old crappy cars (which situation I'm in again. Not the YOUNG part, the crappy car part) I failed every time and had to spend money on emissions. Years ago they let gas stations who paid the license be "Re-inspection stations". You'd pay $50 or $100 for a "Clean and Rebuild Carb" and you'd have your new sticker courtesy of the tailpipe on the other car they stuck the sensor in. So your car did not emit less, but it did help the economy a little.
Now when you fail for emissions you have to come back to the state inspection station after a repair attempt. But now if you spend a certain amount (last time I think it was $550) they officially declare that "You Tried" and they give you a sticker anyway.
Still not emitting less, but they got to harass you.

They should do away with all of that and just let the LEO give you a ticket for a smoky exhaust.

[billt]

One of the reasons Arizona doesn't have "safety inspections" for non commercial automobiles is the fact there is so little weather out here that causes the rust and corrosion related failures that effects a car so badly in the East and the Midwest. With all of the rain, snow, and salt they put on the roads there, things start rusting and failing in very short order. After one Winter exhaust equipment and shock absorbers need to be cut off with a saw or torch. In contrast out here you can remove your shocks after 18 years of driving with a Crescent Wrench. I say that because I've done it.

Back there road salt gets dissolved with snow, splashes up, under, and into everything. Salt is also an excellent conductor of electricity, and causes countless shorts in the electrical system that causes lights, wipers, flashers, and all kind of other things like brake system components to corrode and fail. We, on the other hand, can easily go 100 days without a single measurable drop of precipitation. You don't realize it until you've lived in both places. There simply is no comparison. Yes, things still wear out, but the difference is unbelievable.

The freezing Winters back there screw up engines and cooling systems and their components like water pumps and the like. When you have a V-8 engine block sitting overnight in -5 degree temps, then start it, and in 10 minutes it's up to almost the boiling point, then shut it off and it freezes back down, all of the constant expansion and contraction can, and will cause leaks over a short amount of time. I can't count the cooling system leaks, water pump failures, stuck thermostats, leaking hose connections, leaking gaskets, I've experienced back there. Each and every single one was in the Winter.

Out here I've yet to have a problem or a leak of any kind in 20 years driving the same 2 vehicles. The constant warm temperatures I know are the majority of the reason. Yes, I drain and flush my cooling system every 2 years, but I did that back there as well. Even in January it rarely gets below the 40's. And that is only until the Sun comes up and it's in the 60's before you know it. The weather back there is about the worst possible environment for anything mechanical.  Bill T.

[Timothy]

The weather hasn't changed our here but the quality of the cars has. 

I have two Fords, a sedan and a small PU both of which have lived their entire lives in the Northeast.  Both are seven years old, have their original exhaust systems (a small bit of welding repair), and all I've really done is change the fluids, replace the tires when they were in need of changing and rotate and balance.  The truck just had a major brake job both front and rear but that had more to do with a shitty mechanic and shoddy workmanship than the winter damage.

Anything made since about the mid nineties has been dipped at the factory in a galvanized bath so corrosion is far less than it used to be.  Winters here do suck but it's not impossible to put 200,000 miles on a car if you keep it clean and do an undercarriage wash on a weekly basis.  Granted, it's not gonna be a Arizona car ready for the Barret Jackson auction but you can get your monies worth.

I live amongst the BMW's, MBenz, Lexus, Infinity, Range Rover, et al.......it's kinda funny to see a five year old "E" Class Mercedes starting to rust...maybe they should save a few bucks next time and buy some common sense instead of another overpriced car!

[Sponsor]

[Timothy]

If, like many of us you are on a tight budget, do you pay the rent, or replace that tire that is getting smooth ?
State mandated safety inspection, having the authority of law, makes that choice for you.

I used to spend my weekends in the local bone yards buying used parts to keep my rust buckets running.  Spend the day tearing apart cars and rebuilding them in the driveway.  I had an 82 Ford Escort that a friend of mine gave me when we're dirt poor, it was 9 years old then.  I drove that POS for six years and other than the roof of the car and the back end (hatchback) there weren't two body panels the same color but that little shit kept on running and passed inspection every year.  It became kind of game with the yearly inspections.

I wish I still had it!   

[blackwolfe]

The muffler on our 1993 Chrysler Town and Country finally gave out this spring.  The rest of the exhaust system is original.  This is in the lake effect snow belt in Michigan where tons of salt are used daily in the winter.  The cars are better built these days.

[philw]

Both vehicles still look good, run good, and drive good.

they are Fords though!!!!    at Least They Circled The Problem   

[Hazcat]

At least they aren't using my taxes to keep their business alive!

[philw]

At least they aren't using my taxes to keep their business alive!

Thread drift for something different


did you see  us Aussies  looks like we are building the new cop cars for LAPD   ( fingers crossed )


http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/news-and-reviews/car-news/holden_us_police_car_orders_open?utm_source=ndmhouse&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=newsfooter