Your attitude is not appreciated, but I understand your point. I normally make
every effort to comply with vehicle laws.... as long as they make sense. This
particular law falls into the category of arbitrary speed limits, IMHO. I
guess I "don't belong in the hobby" because I generally ignore those as well.
But, in answer to your criticism: It's not the cost of the tags; it's the
extortion by MD state "safety" inspectors.
Works like this: No annual inspection, but an inspection every time a title
changes hands. Inspection takes several hours, cost $50-70, and is probably
more "thorough" than a British MOT. Rip in a seat cover? Fail. (No kidding;
an inspector can declare that "unsafe" due to the possibility of a spring
coming through and disrupting the driver.) Rust hole in the trunk floor?
Fail! Alignment out of original factory specs by 1%? Fail. Any evidence of
ANY leaking fluids? Fail. You get the idea. Trying to get a 3-yr old car
through one of these "subjective" inspections is difficult, a 30-yr-old car
damn near impossible.
What normally happens: You get an inspection failure along with an "estimated
repair" bill. If you agree to let the inspection shop complete the repairs and
pay the estimate, you get a "pass". Repairs are sometimes even completed. If
you decide to do the repairs yourself (or have them done by another shop), you
can bring the vehicle back to the inspecting shop within 30 days for a free
reinspection. They reserve the right (and usually exercise it) to reinspect
_anything they want_ and fail you on items previously passed... and present you
with a new "estimated repair" bill. Of course, if you go to a different repair
shop, the process starts over.
I'm sure that there are some very honest inspection shops in MD, but they are
few and far between. This is a real cash cow for both the shops and the state
which charges very high license fees for the inspection certification. I've
noted that typically the "estimated repair bill" is often related to the
customer's ability to pay and the vehicle itself. It cost me around $1000 to
get a nice clean '87 Allante through inspection, but only $325 for a Jeep CJ5.
The absolute best I've done was about $150. I finally established a nice
relationship with a reasonable mechanic who generally charged me a flat $200
"repair fee" with each inspection. (I bought and sold several cars a year, so
these costs quickly add up.)
Using collector tags (legal for limited driving up to 2500 miles per year)
exempts one from this inspection shakedown. BTW, though I did not meet the
spirit of the law on driving purpose by often using them as a daily driver, I
seldom exceeded the mileage limit. (I generally keep 6-8 cars insured and
licensed at any one time, always at least a couple with "normal" plates.)
So, have all the attitude you want; my conscience is clear.
Bill Elliott
Lake Mills, WI
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