I hate taking my truck in for inspection

File a complaint with local DMV.
Ask around, neighbors, coworkers and find a good local mom 'n' pop garage. They are the best.

 

I might be showing my age here but as a lifelong PA resident I can tell you that when I first got my license PA had semi-annual state inspections on all cars and light trucks. Had to go through this BS twice a year! It was a HUGE uproar when they cut back to once a year inspections with many garages warning about how accidents were going to increase and people were going to die. Obviously that didn't happen. Certain vehicle still have twice a year inspections, school buses are on that list. For years I held a PA state inspection license but never worked in the field doing it, I got it as a fall back when my job got slow.

PA inspection code is pretty large and covers an awful lot of stuff from lighting, tires, brakes, suspension components, exhaust, and rust issues. At one point it was also quite contradictory. The section on tires would call out on one page that the tires on a vehicle must match manufacturer specified sizes in order to pass. A few pages later the code book would say the tries must fit "within the wheel well" of the vehicle. Read a few more pages and the same codes allowed for the addition of fender flares and that all tread surface of the tire must be under the fenders or flares. There was a lot of room for interpretation.It was pretty easy to ask around and find out what shops were "strictly by the book" and who was primarily concerned with making sure the vehicle was safe to drive. It's also pretty simple to find someone who would put a sticker on anything that managed to limp in under it's own power.

I've dealt with a small local independent shop for years now and have no issues with them but I count myself lucky. In some areas that's really tough to find. I've also dealt with a few places that were just absolute crooks and rip offs. Took a car in once to a shop and they told me my brake lights didn't work. Odd because as I've mentioned I had my inspection license and had looked over the car just a few days before and all was fine. They told me I would need their electrical guy to go over it and find the break in the wire and repair it. No idea how much this could run. I went out and looked up under the dash and found the wire unplugged from the brake pedal switch. This was a plug that required you to press a tab to pull it off so I know it didn't fall off. I clipped it back on and went inside to speak to their service manager then showed it to him. Needless to say I never returned to that shop and they've been out of business now for quite some time.

Good luck with having the shop do anything about their shoddy work!

 

I find this fascinating that some states inspect brakes like that. The standard in Texas is that the inspector takes the vehicle for a short lap around the parking lot, during which they have to be able to stop from 20 mph within a certain amount of distance.

Not sure whats worse actually, an inspector wrenching on my truck or one that has to drive it....

 

Technically in PA the old state inspection code used to call for the inspection mechanic to take the vehicle on a test drive after completing the visual inspection. Unsure if that provision is still in place but very few shops ever did this to my knowledge.

 

Thank you. It’s damage. A truck that I spend countless hours taking care of goes in for a simple state inspection and comes out with damage. Yeah, not a big deal. I’ll just move along. Nah, not gonna happen.

 

My dad got abs state inspection in texas where they fucked with the e brake and wanted to charge him to fix it

 

Your acting like the truck was beat with a ball bat and needs a full repaint lol.

 

It’s not just a cosmetic issue on the back side of the wheel. He stated there was ground aluminum on the hub. It’s obvious from the pic that the wheel is no longer hubcentric. If the wheel wobbled around that much, guaranteed that the lug holes are wallowed out. With all that slop everywhere, there’s a very high probability that the wheel could fall off.

 

Aren't those just stock 5 spoke alloys? Just buy one on craigslist, swap the tire over and bring them the bill. Whats the big deal?

 

95% of the used 5 spoke alloys are corroded and pitted. I actually take care of mine so they are like new.

 

OP , can't argue with you. I hate when u get ur vehicle back and there's a new nick on ur alloys from the lugnut socket or when/if they pull ur wheel it fall down on the face and scratches, nicks it. Then the greassy hands on the wheel,paint,inside..... I guess some shops are worse than others. Finally found a shop that peeks through the front wheels to see the pads. I to remember the semi annual inspections. And yes the emissions, another money grab. SMH

 

Wow I never heard of any state inspection where they take the wheels off. In Louisiana they just check your headlights, brake lights, reverse lights, blinkers, and horn.

 

They pull one front & one rear wheel to check the brakes in Virginia. I'm OK with that check.

 

So buy a new wheel, swap the tire over and bring them the bill.

What else there left to do? Am I missing something?

 

Only missing the bitching..........

 

Lug holes look fine to me. They scuffed the center hub hole. Big deal. Mount the wheel and tire on the truck and move along. Better things in life to worry about than a hairs worth of metal being shaved off a wheel.

 

I’m sure that micro amount being shaved off didn’t change the hub centric ability of the wheel. You guys take stuff to the extreme. I thought the rust threads for trailer hitch’s were extreme, but Jesus was I wrong.