I can give you more or less what Maine looks at, and Maine is fairly tough
as I understand. However, while the official standards are tough, in
practice the actual inspection varies considerably from shop to shop. I
have had everything from "turn on the lights and toot the horn" to up on a
lift for 45 minutes poking and prodding. It is kind of a racket, because
the shops that do the inspections also do the repairs...
This is annually - fees range from $6.50 to $9.00, depending on year - the
newer the more expensive, except diesels get the cheaper rate always. When
I was a kid it was TWICE a year - what a pain!
But here is what they should look at:
-No structural rust, and no ragged rusty edges that could harm a
pedestrian. No rust holes into the passenger compartment at all
-No excess play in suspension\steering components
-No tears in CV joint , ball joint, or steering rack boots
-No major fluid leaks of any kind (this is interpreted leniently by my
mechanic for the Spit!)
-No exhaust leaks, and even if it is not leaking they will fail for being
very rusty - I think the standard is that it must reasonably be expected to
last to the next inspection
-Brake pad wear - again, technically should be good until next inspection
-All the lights must work (oddly enough this includes aftermarket
fog/driving lights if installed!)
-Technically headlight aim is on the list, but I have only ever had one
shop check it
-Seatbelts if equipped with originally
-No cracks\no bullseyes in the glass bigger than a dime
-Tires must have 3mm (I think) tread all across surface, no bulges, splits,
etc.
-Front and rear license plates
-We have this goofy gas cap test for newer cars - they pressure test it.
The official test gizmo has no adapters for any of my Peugeots, so they
skip it!
-If you buy a car from out of state that has some kind of state inspection
sticker, it is good until that sticker expires. If you buy a car from a
state with no safety inspection, it must be inspected "immediately".
-Maine has no emissions testing - we almost did, but had a People's
Referendum and killed the program before it started - got to love us crusty
Maine'ahs!
I am not an inspection tester by any means, but owning four older cars and
performing most of my own work I like to know what is expected.
While I am at it, here is a few other things on car ownership in the Great
State of Maine:
Maine only titles cars 84 and newer - 83 and older all you need is a
handwritten bill of sale to register a car. Caused all sorts of fun when I
bought an 85 Peugeot in NH a couple years ago - NH only titles 10 years
rolling, and won't give you a title on an 11 year old car for love or
money... Took the little old ladies in the Town Office a while to figure
that one out!
Lastly, Maine is one of the few states with a personal property tax on cars
based on the cars original value when new - this is tax deductible on your
Federal Tax return if you itemize! Unfortunately it can also be a shafting,
if the car was REALLY expensive when new, and not worth squat now - i.e.,
an 85 Peugeot 505S Turbo Diesel! $150 tax on a $750 car - every year - ouch!
So there you go, most of what you would need to know to own a car in Maine! ;-)
Kevin Rhodes
Portland, Maine
3 Peugeots and a Spitfire
At 08:56 07/11/2000 -0500, Eric A. Yates wrote:
>In Illinois, we don't have any safety inspection whatsoever. The state
>doesn't care if your car falls apart at speed, killing all occupants... as
>long as it has clean exhaust emissions as it careens off the highway. :)
>
>My question is this: is a safety inspection a good idea? I am confident that
>all the major systems on my car are in good working order, and I believe the
>vehicle is safe, but I may not be aware of some things that a detailed
>safety inspection might find to be amiss.
>
>Can someone from a state with strict safety inspections put together a list
>of all the things that are checked? I'd like to go over my own car and be
>sure all is well.
>
>Eric.
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