This subject might not seem political, but it is..

This message is mostly for Joe & Ron:

I live in a state where annual vehicle inspections are mandatory, and when the check engine light is on, the vehicle won't pass inspection, and then it's illegal to drive the vehicle.

I found out that Florida and Michigan are states that don't require vehicle inspection.

Is that true?

You guys don't have to take the car to a mechanic every year to get an annual inspection sticker?

You can drive your car with the check engine light on indefinitely, with no problem?

My problem is that I drive an old car, and so does my dad. Our cars work fine, but they have the ridiculous "Check engine" light constantly coming on, and we struggle to get the vehicles to pass inspection, and we waste a lot of money on repairs that don't even solve the problem. It's a trap that we fall into.

The reason I'm curious about your states is because I'm wondering if it's possible to somehow register my vehicle in your state for the sake of avoiding this ridiculous hassle that we have in "the sticker states."

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On 23 Aug 2025, Aaron Thomas said the following...

I found out that Florida and Michigan are states that don't require vehicle inspection.

Florida doesn't require inspections... and you have no idea what I have seen go down the road.

I often hear a banjo playing when I get passed by certain vehicles...

U sound like your current AG looking for a primary residence in other states to save some money...

GRIN...

BTW, I have an older Jeep... I bought one of those decoders on Amazon... If and when I get a check engine light come on I can see what's causing it.

If it's a stupid sensor you can replace it... OR WAIT THERE'S MORE... that little device can cancel the error history and light.

Just saying... I have my check engine light come on from time to time and it's because it had misfired... Maybe I need a tuneup... Nothing catastrophic... But I can make the light go off and clear all the error codes like nothing.

Orrrrr you can move from NY and go to lots of other places... Your wife might like Florida there is a lot of Spanish speaking people... and U can carry a gun as well.

IB Joe, Pronouns (FJB/LGB)
AKA Joe Schweier
SysOp of 4A 6F 65 73 42 42 53
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... The dog ate my .REP packet

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Florida doesn't require inspections... and you have no idea what I have seen go down the road.

I often hear a banjo playing when I get passed by certain vehicles...

U sound like your current AG looking for a primary residence in other states to save some money...

I've been reading about South Dakota and based on what I understand, out of state people are allowed to register vehicles there even without having any residence in the state, just to help them save money.

I don't think I'll do it for myself, but maybe I'll do it for my dad. His car has 260,000 miles on it and the Chevy dealership can never clear the light.

BTW, I have an older Jeep... I bought one of those decoders on Amazon... If and when I get a check engine light come on I can see what's causing it.

If it's a stupid sensor you can replace it... OR WAIT THERE'S MORE...
that little device can cancel the error history and light.

That sounds good, but I'm a cheapskate and I just go to AutoZone and use theirs to do it. I know what you mean, it works on my Jeep too; I plug it in, get the code, and by the time I unplug it the light goes off (temporarily.)

It's still a hassle though. I wish the state would stop requiring the check engine light to be part of the inspection. It's not making anyone any safer.

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Hey Aaron!

On Sat, 23 Aug 2025 22:40:18 -0700, you wrote:

It's still a hassle though. I wish the state would stop requiring the
check engine light to be part of the inspection. It's not making anyone
any safer.

Here in Wisconsin, we're required to register our vehicles yearly, and every other year an "emissions test" is required in order to be able to register your vehicle. If your check engine light is on, there's a good chance something is wrong enough with your vehicle to the point where it will affect the emissions it produces. That alone will cause the emissions test to fail.

If I remember right, it's mostly just the surrounding counties of the big cities (Milwaukee, Green Bay, Madison, etc) that require this. If you have a residence in any of the counties that don't require emissions testing, you can register your vehicle there. However, the address you register your vehicle to is where they most likely send the mail (renewal notices, registration forms, etc), so if you don't have an actual residence in any of those counties, you may want to try to go paperless and use email, instead. Otherwise, you'll never know when your next one is due and will probably lapse on it and owe more. Just as well, if they somehow find out you're doing this and don't actually live at that address, you're probably subject to some big fines.

That said, I would imagine if you're both driving older vehicles, it's probably a hell of a lot easier to fix said check engine light than it would be on anything newer. Why not find out what the code actually is, and fix it?

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm: because beating people up is illegal.
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On 23 Aug 2025, Aaron Thomas said the following...

I've been reading about South Dakota and based on what I understand, out of state people are allowed to register vehicles there even without
having any residence in the state, just to help them save money.

I don't think I'll do it for myself, but maybe I'll do it for my dad.
His car has 260,000 miles on it and the Chevy dealership can never clear the light.

I forgot... Florida has a similar thing. Some people drive down every fall to Florida from some other northern place... Snow Birds... Florida will let you register a car and leave it there if you are a Snow Bird... Even Canadians can do this. This way you can fly down and you have a car there waiting for you.

That sounds good, but I'm a cheapskate and I just go to AutoZone and use theirs to do it. I know what you mean, it works on my Jeep too; I plug
it in, get the code, and by the time I unplug it the light goes off (temporarily.)

It's still a hassle though. I wish the state would stop requiring the check engine light to be part of the inspection. It's not making anyone any safer.

Just move out of NY... If you can't afford it start a Fans Only site.

IB Joe, Pronouns (FJB/LGB)
AKA Joe Schweier
SysOp of 4A 6F 65 73 42 42 53
-=JoesBBS.com=-

... If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

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next one is due and will probably lapse on it and owe more. Just as
well, if they somehow find out you're doing this and don't actually live at that address, you're probably subject to some big fines.

Yea, I see that this is not the way to go. It's not going to work out well especially if there's ever an insurance claim.

That said, I would imagine if you're both driving older vehicles, it's probably a hell of a lot easier to fix said check engine light than it would be on anything newer. Why not find out what the code actually is,

That's always been my attitude but there are certain codes that "can be many things" and for my dad that has been turning into pouring money into "many things."

Something I learned about yesterday is that there's some kind of a waiver where if someone spends $450+ on related repairs and if the light is still on, they'll give you the inspection sticker. Of course the mechanics don't like to talk about that though ;)

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I forgot... Florida has a similar thing. Some people drive down every fall to Florida from some other northern place... Snow Birds... Florida will let you register a car and leave it there if you are a Snow Bird... Even Canadians can do this. This way you can fly down and you have a
car there waiting for you.

That works for some people because the insurance company expects the vehicle to reside in Florida, but I guess it won't work for my dad because he'll be up here at all times.

Just move out of NY... If you can't afford it start a Fans Only site.

Good idea!

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Hey Aaron!

On Sun, 24 Aug 2025 08:32:22 -0700, you wrote:

That's always been my attitude but there are certain codes that "can be
many things" and for my dad that has been turning into pouring money
into "many things."

Well, that's especially when using an AutoZone OBD2 tester. Those definitely aren't for much more than giving you a ballpark guess as to what the real problem is, especially if it's something out of the ordinary or not so common. That little thing they plug in is probably a couple hundred bucks, whereas dealerships and auto body shops usually have one much more expensive, and even on some kind of payment plan to keep the software updated for when new vehicles come out. That's probably why they charge upwards of $200 or more now just to plug that thing in and tell you what's wrong.

Something I learned about yesterday is that there's some kind of a
waiver where if someone spends $450+ on related repairs and if the light
is still on, they'll give you the inspection sticker. Of course the mechanics don't like to talk about that though ;)

First I've heard of this one.

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm: because beating people up is illegal.
--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20250409
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (1:154/10)

Well, that's especially when using an AutoZone OBD2 tester. Those definitely aren't for much more than giving you a ballpark guess as to what the real problem is, especially if it's something out of the
ordinary or not so common. That little thing they plug in is probably a couple hundred bucks, whereas dealerships and auto body shops usually
have one much more expensive, and even on some kind of payment plan to keep the software updated for when new vehicles come out. That's
probably why they charge upwards of $200 or more now just to plug that thing in and tell you what's wrong.

That's the picture that they paint, but the mechanic literally says about as much as the AutoZone tester (and "That'll be $200 bucks.")

This could be a regional thing; the mechanics here like to take people for a ride because the state inspection law enables them to do so.

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