Too STIFF for a sticker?

[boxer3main]

Idiots. Being paid to make cars "safer" but they have no farking idea....

did I mention that Maine inspection laws are a Bad Joke?

They really are bizarre in some places. Especially about welding...

some may remember about my 87 sube story. It is a tank (not avoiding oem crumple zones) and I had one heck of a time...until a garage that does welding looked it over as casual as my work. Finally...

add bigger wheels, higher rating tread, better suspension...and some moron will claim a bearing when you are the master mechanic, the cars safety exceeding anything they have ever built by their factory alone. I get uptight every year at inspection time, and even just to mention inspection.

there is a place for everybody. The sube is segregated.

I have even gotten smart alic comments out loud, like slander. Un freakin believable.

to make myself feel better... "the inspector is just mad because I outran all his cars 5 to 1 over 23 years."

the new sube, its not even a hacker car, you simply buy stuff. inspection troubles should be nonexistent.

Try mentioning "it has a carb, please don't stick a rag in the exhaust checking for leaks..."

 

[Evan]

I'm not going to chime in here.
inski's state inspeculation:

Tires have meat?

Brakes have meat?

Anything underneath busted?

Everything on the outside work?

Exhaust make it all the way out the back?

Windscreen keep the bug off yo face?

Could this car bring Grammy to church and back?

PASS

State Inspection mechanics dont get paid enough to enforce or interpret Maine's laws. Having a state inspection license does not mean you have authority. It means you might have the ability to differentiate between whats broken and whats not broken.

you should have inspected mine the first 3 times i brought it in....

and yes, i agree with what most people are saying. there are too many shops out there 'interpreting' laws. that's not what they're paid to do. they're paid to learn the rules and stick to them. i had to dicker 2 years ago getting a sticker because of my aftermarket/relocated reverse lights. technically they should pass because they're white and visible from 75 ft away, the only two requirements of the law. the law doesn't even require two, like a EDM skyline w/ one reverse and one rear fog.

i've never heard the 1" tire to fender clearance, is there a statute number for that? last i knew it was:

A: body parts not lower than the bottom edge of the rim.

B: frame not lower than 10", but on a unibody car bumper beam is considered the frame.

-----Added 11/20/2009 at 10:28:58-----

and what about the 1" fender clearance on the old honda insight?

 

[stiXXX]

Good Lord!

All this, about friggin' stickers...

If you live and drive here long enough, anybody can get a sticker...

Or, you just have to know who to ask, to get pointed in the Right Direction...

 

[MAauto101]

the law on lowered vehicles is that if it was done with a "lowering kit" it is ok as long as the hieght from ground to center of headlight i believe is i think like 27" i will have to look up the exact number and i could be wrong about hieght. but nothing about how stiff it rides. Also new news on tint. only windows that have to meter min. of 35% is the front drivers and passengers. the rear of the car can be as dark as you want as long as you have two side mirrors. that is a plus for maine. i also agree with inski. we do not get enough for stickers. most flat rate shops pay their techs .3 hours. that 12.50 or 18.50 for cumberland doesn't cover the techs time hourly never mind the shops labor rate. stickers are like oil changes. you hate to do them but have to. as far as shops being easier to pass then others, this is true. techs have to use their descretion to decide whether it is safe or not. most of the laws in the manual are very unclear. you could bring to one shop and have 4 guys look at it and 1 may fail and 3 may pass of what ever combo you want to pick . it sounds stupid, but it is our lively hood on the line. if our license gets yanked.. most people are out a job. unfortunatly. i am not saying i agree or disagree with the system, and that we are hard asses. we use our descretion and follow the laws as best as possible to be able to keep our shop in business. hope this helps someone. and if someone knows the ride hieght numbers and place to measure feel free to correct me. i belive the number to be right just the location could be wrong it amy be to bumper support?

 

[inski]

Also, you people need to know the laws if you're going to modify your cars. Its your responsibility to know how far you can stretch them. Like Ahren said, things have changed for the better recently for the car enthusiasts. There is a group of shop owners in Maine working with SEMA working on getting the rules changed so guys like M&A, Rennen Performance, Archie's Offroad, and even me can buy/sell/use/install aftermarket performance parts on road going vehicles. Its what their customers want and its how they make a living. This is helping to turn the state inspection process into less of a dark art and more of a cut and dry safety inspection.

Help them out, help yourself out, by having a safe car. So many times I have seen highly modified cars with the basics like brakes and tires and windshields and wheel bearings have been neglected. I'm a big believer if something goes bad or wears out replace it with an upgraded item.

Find a mechanic you like. Find a mechanic that likes you. Its important to have your own guy to look out for you and you looking out for him/her. We, car enthusiasts, are a big community. Include your mechanic in this community. And dont drive like an asshat teenager. Dont have an asshat teenager car. Build it strong, nice looking, fast, safe.

Know the rules. Find the inspection book online or send away for it. I'll get the address up here as soon as I can.

Now, as for Matt. I know Matt. I know if he had something unsafe and was told about it he'd get it fixed. I know right now he's frustrated. He's been a part of the process in the past. Having a mechanic trash his car in a non-technical manner and not going by the book has brought him here for answers. The answer is he brought his car to a cave man. Someone who'd rather not have his business. If the mechanic kept his opinions to himself and gave a detailed report and showed him where in the state inspection manual how he failed his inspection then Matt might have a better attitude. In this case he may still have gone somewhere else but Matt still may have been their customer in the future. Again, The state inspection precess should not be a time for interpretation, opinions, or forming your own laws about gray areas. The mechanic's job is to look for worn out stuff, broken stuff, lights burnt out. Not decide whether or not his car is too stiff. There is no gauge in the inspection station tool requirements that measures car stiffness. And, no where in the manual does it state its OK to form your own opinions on certain brand's build quality and express them to the owner of that vehicle. Kias, Hyundais, Subarus, BMWs, Jeeps, GMCs all get the same $18 inspection.

 

[Evan]

as i told matt, if they were actually inspecting his car instead of just telling him 'what it would need' i would have made them haul out the book and point out the statute that talks about a car being 'too stiff'.

if you ever have a shop complain about something they dont like, and made up, have them show you where its illegal. if they cant, i would have them pass the car for inspection or dont pay for it and go elsewhere.

something interesting from the state:

http://www.maine.gov/dep/air/mobile/docs/exempt2006.pdf

From: Maine Department of Environmental Protection

Mobile Sources Section

Date: January 2006

Re: Exemptions to Readiness Status

The following vehicles will be exempt from the monitor readiness status portion of the enhanced inspection:

 

[Chris]

Interesting about the 1996 subaru thing. Because prior to going in to inspection, I noticed that my readiness monitor was NOT READY. In fact, whenever I check it on my scangauge2, it is rarely READY. I obviously didn't ask them "so why, even though it said NOT READY, did you pass it?". But I finally know the answer.

Thanks for pulling that up.

 

[IBratmanI]

I have never even heard of a readiness monitor check!! I guess where I go, they don't do that?!?!?!

 

[Evan]

no prob. i actually had my gf's old 98 pass because their computer wouldnt read it. i think that was just their scanner though.

M+A, i thought that tint law was just for SUV's and trucks?

so, ride height, heres the statute for what i was saying above:

Section 170

chapter 10. STEERING, ALIGNMENT, AND SUSPENSION

section J, number 5 (page 25):

(5) Reject vehicle if the minimum frame end height is less than

10 inches, or less than the frame end height if the vehicle was

originally manufactured lower than 10 inches. Street rods

and custom vehicles are exempt from this requirement.

(7) Lowering kits are permitted if they are manufactured by an

after market manufacturer, are designed for the make and

model vehicle on which they are installed, and if the kit is

installed according to the manufacturer's recommendations.

The entire kit must be used.

-----Added 11/21/2009 at 11:56:37-----

I have never even heard of a readiness monitor check!! I guess where I go, they don't do that?!?!?!

you register your car in a place outside of cumberland county, then they dont do that. any shop has the ability.

 

[IBratmanI]

ok that's what I was thinking

-----Added 11/21/2009 at 11:56:37-----

you register your car in a place outside of cumberland county, then they dont do that. any shop has the ability.

 

[Chris]

you register your car in a place outside of cumberland county, then they dont do that. any shop has the ability.

Oh, so even if 1996 wasn't exempt, I'd still have passed.

 

[Evan]

right. my next heavily modded car will be a 95 because i live in cumberland, and if anything these laws will propagate to the rest of the state.

 

[stiXXX]

Those are new tint laws for cars.

FTW!