Vehicle VIN inspections

The Dorks around here are far more likely than the average person to avail themselves of a vehicle VIN, assigned number, or imported vehicle inspection. In Texas it is called a VTR-68a inspection. This has often been a point of confusion and conflict for people that are looking to get their imported cars, rebuilt cars, or assigned VIN cars legal tags. I have talked to many people that are terrified of getting this inspection done and will outright lie and commit fraud to avoid it for no valid reason.

The atmosphere around here is much more thoughtful and mature than other groups of gear-heads so I think I have some hope of getting serious answers. I feel that we (my department) could do a better job in making the process easier and more customer service oriented. I think this would increase compliance with the law as well as bringing in more of those sweet sweet inspection fees (kidding, the fees dont come close to covering costs).

Therefore I come to you asking these simple questions: What would make the process easier? What can we do to encourage people to get this inspection done? Basically, if you have to get this inspection done what can we do to make the process better so that people wouldnt hesitate to get it done?

When is this inspection required? Is this a yearly thing or a one time only?

Here in Florida the only time I was required to do a VIN inspection is when I purchased an out of state car. If you dont do it, you cant get it registered.

It was a painless process, not sure why anyone would be afraid of it.

Slippery wrote: When is this inspection required? Is this a yearly thing or a one time only? Here in Florida the only time I was required to do a VIN inspection is when I purchased an out of state car. If you dont do it, you cant get it registered. It was a painless process, not sure why anyone would be afraid of it.

Same experience I had registering a Georgia truck in California. It was a 5 minute inspection at the DMV. No big deal.

I'm guessing importing cars is a different story, especially if they don't use our standardized VIN system.

In reply to Slippery:

Out of state VIN inspection is easy and quick at the DMV. Im not talking about those.

The inspection I'm talking about is usually for imported vehicles, "constructed" vehicles, some trailers, and some boats. Basically this applies to vehicles where there is not any normal VIN or hull number assigned at the factory to that specific vehicle, boat, or trailer.

Not having any experience with the Texas process, but facing the equivalent process here in Washington I would say that the best thing you can do would be to set clear expectations on the paperwork required for the inspection (ie receipts for major parts on an assembled vehicle, what the threshold is for parts needing a receipt, import paperwork, etc).

Having clear guidelines on what is required to get through the inspection would not only help owners prepare, but would also help aleavate the fear of failing the inspection on a technicality, or due to not having the correct documents. It could also serve as a guide for the officials conducting the inspection so that there is consistency between inspectors, and less is open to the individual inspectors interpretation.

In reply to Ojala:

Are people afraid of getting thier vehicle impounded? Does your state ever impound vehicles at these inspections? If a vehicle is presented and fails, are clear instructions given as to the reasons why, and what needs to be done to solve the problem? Is the inspection process consistent from location to location and from year to year, and are changes in the process clearly communicated to the public and the inspectors? Do the inspectors like to act like menacing Hard-A's, or are they easy going and informative?

I'll give a real life example of why some may want to work outside the legal system. (this not a justification). Back in the late eighties I wanted to get a license plate for my Dirt Bike so I could legally ride on state land, and compete in enduros, which were usually on state land. My bike was a Kawasaki KDX 200, which I bought used from a dealer. I had to make multiple trips to the NJ DMV to make it happen because it never had a title, since most dirt bikes don't. The dealer was helpful and got me a copy of the certificate of origin (which said off-road MC) and the proof that sales tax had been collected nearly a year after I purchased the bike from them. In the end, when I finally encountered a DMV employee who understood what I was trying to do, I didn't need any of that to get a plate, there was a provision called Non-titled-MC for issuing plates for off-road motorcycles. Most of the people who's job it was to know that, didn't, nor did they seem to want to, and ignored the fact that even clearly exsisted. If thete were cheats to avoid that whole process, I wouldn't blame someone for trying. I was luck with the next dirt bike that I bought, it was a KTM, the C.O. just said motorcycle, and it had a nonstandard VIN, so they called it a greymarket import, and gave a real MC title.

I had my vehicle inspected when I imported it to Washington. I was way more frazzled then than I am now (long story, all involving the shippers. Very little to do with the state patrol). But I found the state patrol representatives to be very friendly and accommodating.

I was a little irritated that the vin was clearly stamped on a tag, but they insisted on sanding the frame of my car anyways. But they were pretty nice about the whole thing (as was, I think, I).

Anyhoo, I think people are generally worried that they wont pass and then bad things are going to happen to them and their car. Otherwise, I think bgkast nailed it about the guidelines etc.

In reply to Ojala:

I looked into the process in IL when I was building a Locost, and I remember it required both an inspection by a member of some antique/classic car club I'd never heard of(but presumably was national and large enough to be certified to do the task), followed by an inspection by the State police to ensure none of the parts were stolen...for me personally, that was the scary part, as I had no idea what kind of past the parts-car(s) had lived.

I think an honest, casual, down-to-earth, description of the process and expectation - without sounding too "official" would probably ease the concerns of most builders. I expect the general concerns are something like: 1.) "I don't want to have my car impounded because the inspector finds something wrong." 2.) "I don't want to be issued fines/citations or arrested because the inspector finds something wrong." 3.) "I don't want this to be a big waste of time because odds are the inspector isn't going to let this car pass without me jumping through a bunch of hoops/spending a bunch of money." 4.) "I don't want this to be an open-initiation for the inspector to try and find some type of contraband in my home/garage/life."

If you can just plainly state "We're not going to be dicks about this - your car needs to meet #1, #2 & #3 in order to pass. If you have questions contact so-and-so to discuss the specifics of your situation." You might get better results.

I imported my Mitsubishi Delica from Japan through Canada in August of 2014. All of my paperwork was handled by a customs broker I hired, and was all in perfect order. However when I went to the RMV in the Peoples Republik of Taxachusetts I ran into an issue with the VIN. The clerk at the RMV didn't know how to get past the 11 digit VIN in a 17 digit VIN world. I was asked to bring a separate form with the vehicle, and drop by the local police station for a VIN inspection. Of course I couldn't do this as the car wasn't legally registered yet for road use(hence the reason I was at the RMV). I then called the local police to have them come to me, and the VIN inspection was easy-peasy, but maybe it was because the local LEO was a car guy, and didn't really understand why he was even needed to do this task.

When I arrived at the RMV the next day the clerk I was dealing with this time wondered aloud why I was asked to get the inspection rather than just have the computer program over-ridden to accept the non-17 digit VIN. In the end it was pretty painless, and all is well with the van, but this is in MA, and not TX, so your experience may differ.

Good luck,

Chris

I am about to go through this with my boat. As she was built in 1963, she does not have a molded in HIN (Hull Identification Number) and coming from New York, she does not even have a title as that state dies not issue titles to boats that old.

I -do- have a notarized bill of sale, and the previous owners Registration, so it is probably going to be a trip to the marine/state police to make sure the boat was not stolen.

In Delaware, the VIN inspection for a salvage / rebuilt vehicle is pretty straightforward, but very thorough. The problem is that it is only available once a month.

In today's world, there is absolutely no reason why a Youtube video of the actual process isn't available. Back that up with a FAQ site, highlighting what happens if it fails or if a problem is found.

At least for trailers, Nevada is so easy it's a joke. Got lights? Got safety chains? Here's your assigned VIN tag for your homebuilt trailer.

You could steal any trailer you saw, remove the factory VIN tag, pull it to the DMV, and get a VIN assigned.

Brett_Murphy wrote: In today's world, there is absolutely no reason why a Youtube video of the actual process isn't available. Back that up with a FAQ site, highlighting what happens if it fails or if a problem is found.

That's a good idea. I have brought a number of rebuilt cars to be inspected in NY. It's difficu to find someone in an office that knows anything about the procedure and can tell you what to bring. The inspection itself is thorough but if you know what to bring its not terrible but I have never spoken to someone that knew everything I needed to do ahead of time.

Hire people to do the job who have a clue what they are doing and don't give off airs of wanting to find a reason to berkeley you over given the smallest opportunity. Maybe if they were not dressed in full Iraqi battle gear it would also help. Sorry to say, but y'all getting pretty scary and I don't mean that as a compliment.

After going through hell to import my Miata into Canada when I moved here, and having to do the legwork to educate the asswipe who was telling me the car was going to be crushed, all I got was "My job is not to help you." (Car did not need anything to be imported, inspector did not know the rules)

Kind of soured my view on the whole process, that did. My perception is if I tried to explain it, the Molvo would baffle the bureaucrats till they came up with a reason to confiscate it or keep it off the road because there is more job satisfaction/credit to doing that than working with me. So legally it is going to stay a 1973 Volvo P1800ES even though it has more Miata DNA than Volvo. I will declare a Modified vehicle status to Hagerty and we will all live happily ever after.

Sorry to say, but you are up against the old saw "I am from the Government, I'm here to help you"

It is unfortunate that the symbiotic relationship between government and governed has crossed the line to that of parasitic, but as you mention, this is just one more fee that the overlords want to extract. That the business model demands a critical mass of clients to work is immaterial. As to people lying and cheating to get a car on the road, if liars and cheaters were penalized in this country, we would have nobody left on Wall Street or Washington. And you KNOW that is a fact.

End of rant.

The most frustrating part was everyone at the inspection center knew exactly what I needed and were helpful but you don't make the appointment through them. You deal with some dingbat that can barely handle license renewals and anything beyond that is a nightmare to deal with.

Had my "home built" boat trailer inspected in Colorado. It went like this. "Well you drove it here must be road worthy" Here is your form. I had freaked out for weeks about getting it titled and thought about just doing the Maine thing. Binder full of receipts, Not one person asked for them. Had title in hand in like 3 weeks. Just silly.