THSCC Forums

Forgive me if this was discussed, but NC has changed the State Inspection requirements for 1995 and older (pre OBD-2) vehicles. The tail pipe sniff is now history ... safety inspection only - $9.
I'm not sure if they do a visual for smog gear or not ?

1996 and newer still require the OBD-2 test and safety - $30

Frank

Sweet. I just saved $42 a year - AB

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'14 Toyota Sequoia Platinum 4WD
Super Westerfield Bros - '93 Integra - LeChump Du Jour
STX 93 - Scion FR-S

Yes, they will do a visual for smog gear. Even on a '73 Celica.

Scott

Do "they" "all" do that?

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

I'm sure that they don't, but many do.

Not sure how far a 6 pack/pint/5th will get you at certain shops.

Scott

Looks like Scott is correct. Here's a link to a .pdf with the various inspection procedures:

http://tinyurl.com/6jhmg

Pages 50 and 51 of the .pdf are relevant to required smog equipment in a safety inspection.

I would imagine that the service centers are glad to see the sniffer go away. Of course for the $8 they get to keep for a safety inspection they can afford about eight minutes of tech time ... I'd swear mine never saw the lift.

Frank

guess all stock SRT-4's will fail

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2001 Honda S2000 - SOLD
2012 Boss 302
2003 BMW 330i

i went and got the 95 miata inspected the other day at a small inpection-only place in downtown Holly Springs. i asked the guy what he thought aobut it...30 minutes later, he was still talking (and dropping a lot of f-bombs in the process).

basically, it's putting him out of business. he said that pretty much all inpection-only places will go under unless they do crazy volumn. apparently the actual amount of time it takes to do a safety inspection isn't that much less than doing the sniff test with the safety inspection. i guess that makes sence...i remember in years past, they stuck in the sniffer, and then did the rest of the stuff. the computer did the work while they checked the lights, wipers, tires, etc.

he also said that he was "supposed" to put it up on a lift...and then promptly added taht all the legislators could go #%^& off, if they thought he was going to waste his time on that.

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05 MCS

I would suspect you'll see a lot more "fails" for easy money makers at the less honest places. Headlight alignments for $30-$35 , Wiper blades for $20-$30.

Remember that have the option to fix it yourself.

Frank

The first thing I learned after moving to NC was NEVER have a real service station do your inspection - it's amazing the stuff they'll find to replace. I'm sure that's especially true now. I've had reasonably good luck with the Jiffy Lubes in N and NW Cary. But I still make sure to replace my wipers before bringing a car in - regardless of how good they still work!

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Dustin Fredrickson
-- I'm a nobody --

Let me weigh in on this as an inspector. '95 and older cars are safety only now. The emissions control equipment has to be in place and appear to work. You are still supposed to check the wipers, all lights, horn, tires exhaust, suspension, etc. It takes just a little less time than a sniffer test did. But the station gets to keep $8.25 instead of $23.50 for the old sniffer test. I would expect the inspection only places to go under because they were working with a very small margin after paying overhead before. Also cars that are 36 model years old or older are now exempt from state inspection.

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George Bright Member # 141
One of the youngest of the old farts.
Yes I voted against you joining the club.

Yeah, I had my 91 Miata inspected a couple of months ago. I thought it would be quick and dirty but they didnt have anything else to do so it went on the lift, got the headlight alignment check and the whole nine yards.

It was worth it though, to see those big dummies try to get in and out of my car was worth the price of admission. It was real fun to watch guy #1 get fooled by the ACT clutch as well

Needless to say, next time I'll venture a little farther out of town to try and find someone who doesnt care.

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02 Focus SVT
STF 9

So, George, does that mean my 1962 Chevy truck won't even need an inspection sticker? Or do you have to go get something to stick there anyway?

Would be way cool to not need one.


--Donnie

Donnie - the "antique" exception actually went into force a year or two ago - your Chevy truck needs no inspection or sticker - just like my 66 Mustang. I scraped the old sticker off just to make sure a cop didn't get ideas about an "expired" sticker, but I also made a copy of the law and put it in the glove compartment just in case.

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Marvin McBride
Spec Miata #62

Cool, and good idea about the law. Eric Peterson had to do that with his fully marked Mustang that was a former Florida Highway Patrol car.

I'm also planning on putting an original 1962 license plate on the truck, which is legal but apparently man cops don't know about that, either. You do have to have your real plate *in* the vehicle and again, it's a good idea to have a copy of the law on you. Not sure what year they stopped making those stamped year plates, but I did find my '62 already...


--Donnie