car inspections

[inahandbasket]

Good place to get a car inspection done quick and painlessly?

Comments

[julishka.livejournal.com]

any gas station w/an inspection sign, or the inspection place on mystic ave. (they're kinda kranky) i've gone to teele square auto many times, they're nice & it doesn't take long but if the station is busy, well, it'll take longer. (on broadway past teele, towards arlington.) i've also gone to the gas station on the corner of 28/broadway, and the muffler place on 28 near twin city plaza. really just found a place by driving by & remembering to stop in.

hope that helps somewhat.

[inahandbasket]

anything helps, just got a car for the first time in three years. thanks!

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

I've gone to the gas station on Mass Ave on the Somerville side, heading towards Arlington...name escapes me but it's across Mass Ave from a paint store and next to a fuel oil place. They were good + fast.

[inahandbasket]

cool, that's right up the street from me, I'll try them first.

[ifotismeni]

thank you -- i need to get my car inspected soon and was thinking of going to that place. great to hear it recommended.

[ron_newman]

Jack's Gas?

[teratomarty.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's Jack's Gas, and they're awesome. It's independently owned; odds are that Jack himself will do your inspection; he did mine. One of my licence-plate lights was out, and the inspection standards dictate that all the factory-installed lights be in working order before the car can pass. Jack gave me the option of paying him parts and service to fix it, or fixing it myself. Since I happened to have spare bulbs in the trunk, the choice was easy and saved me $40.

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

I've gone there for inspections the last two years. They're really nice and very fast. Try to go early on a weekday away from peak inspection times (the beginning and end of the month).

[inahandbasket]

I just bought a car, have to have it inspected before friday, so I don't have a lot of choice in timing this go-around. ;-)

[ron_newman]

Actually, shouldn't you wait until Saturday so that you get a September sticker instead of an August one?

[inahandbasket]

They told me i had a week, and that was last friday. Guess I should go hunt around on the RMV site and see what that really means.

[inahandbasket]

called 'em, I have exactly 7 days from the date of registration, which was last thursday. Guess I have less time than I thought.

20/20 hindsight, I should have waited a bit to register it, but I needed it for last weekend, so... meh.

[nathanjw]

Enforcement of expired inspection stickers is pretty mild, and this goes double for newly-purchased cars where the existing sticker isn't obviously invalid (assuming it's an in-state car you bought). I'd say that the risk to you of waiting is pretty low.

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

There is also no fine/late fee for a late inspection, at least when you do it after your existing sticker has expired. Jack's gets pretty busy for inspections on Saturdays, but I don't mind waiting since I'm happy to give them my business.

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

Don't count on it!

I got pulled over a couple of years ago for a lapsed-by-a-month inspection sticker by 2 state troopers who were bored and pissed off (what else is new... I swear it's a reaction to the horrid uniforms they have to wear). Not only did they give me a ticket but it added points to my insurance for 6 #$@#% years.

(and this was a one year old car - not a smokestack on wheels spewing "I'm not legal clouds)

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Did you appeal the ticket? I heard tickets for expired registrations and inspections are pretty much dismissed automatically if you do the renewal and appeal the ticket right away.

[inahandbasket]

well the current sticker is good until August '08.
While I'm tempted to let it go, I think I'll be a good little citizen and just pony up.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

The gas station across from Trum field.

[ron_newman]

I've tagged your post "cars". Click on the tag to see some previous discussion of this topic. You may need to scroll back in time a few pages.

dodadkin's

[edmokeski.livejournal.com]

I've always gone to Dodakin's on the corner of Beacon & Park near Porter. I love the fact that they don't do repairs, so they have no financial incentive to fail me. (They're a used car dealer, not a garage.)

I come from a state where inspections are all done ("free") by state-run facilities, so the idea of paying a mechanic to inspect my car when he's the one who gains from my failing has always sort of bothered me.

ps - They've also cheerfully never given me grief for consistently (five years in a row, now... which reminds me: I've done it again, so make that six!) coming in a month or two after my previous sticker expired.

Re: dodadkin's

[edmokeski.livejournal.com]

OK, I should have read more carefully the first time.... Dodakin's does state inspections, but what they don't do is "insurance inspections" that are often required when you buy a car. (At least a used one... dunno about new.) I got my insurance inspection done at the Gulf on the corner of Mass & Garfield just south of Porter. It's basically like the automotive version of that "what was already broken when I moved in report" you do when you move into a new place in order to save your security deposit. They do a walkaround, take some notes on the insurance company's form, & take a few digital snaps, and that's all. No pass/fail, no sticker, etc. They also do state inspections, but as I said, I'm not thrilled about going to a garage for those, so have always had mine done @Dodadkin's.

Re: dodadkin's

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

I think what the OP was asking about was the initial state inspection you have to have done within seven days of registering a car in Massachusetts, so Dodakin's would be fine.

Re: dodadkin's

[inahandbasket]

That is, indeed, what I was talking about. The car isn't worth enough for the insurance to really care about an inspection. ;-)

Chico's Sunoco

[gigantor-nc.livejournal.com]

I personally liked this place:

http://www.yelp.com/biz_link?biz_id=_Qyu15eQBcvpPFOkNH-tIA