It's a boring Easter Sunday, so have been sporadically watching "Pimp my Ride" on TV (as I've used my internet allocation from Telstra for the month after some heavy downloading and have been slowed to 64 kbps).
So......... my stupid question is: do you have annual vehicle inspections in order for vehicles to be registered in the US? It seems these "beaters" are in such bad repair that they'd never pass for rego here at all!
I'm pretty sure every state has some type of annual inspection/registration. I know that in Texas there are some environmental exemptions for antique cars/tractors. Don't know the details - just heard my uncle who rebuilt antique tractors mention it.
Well, no.
The states that require safety inspections (usually annually or biennially) are Delaware*, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia
In addition, Alabama and Maryland require a safety inspection before a vehicle changes ownership (but only then), and in Nebraska, they only require a safety inspection when you move there.
Now, emissions inspections are a lot more common, and still usually annually or biennially, in the following states: Arizona**, California, Colorado**, District of Columbia, Delaware, Georgia**, Idaho**, Illinois**, Indiana**, Louisiana**, Maryland**, Massachusetts, Missouri**, Nevada**, New Jersey, New Mexico**, New York, North Carolina**, Ohio**, Oregon**, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee**, Texas**, Utah**, Vermont, Virginia**, Washington**, and Wisconsin**
Additionally, some states require a VIN inspection when you register a vehicle that's from out of state. Those states are Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Washington***, and Wyoming
Which means that Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, and South Dakota don't require any inspections at all.
* -- New cars are exempt for five years, unless they change owners
** -- Only in certain cities or counties
*** -- Also when you rebuild a vehicle