So I've just received our license to do out of province safety inspections (anything being brought into Alberta from outside province or country) and completed our first inspection. Dealers here charge about $225 for the inspection which I undercut a bit to scoop some business, thinking that seemed like a lot!
Talk about a detailed manual... holy fuck! Inspections in Alberta go as far as inspecting the etching on all glass, stampings on bulbs, measurements on friction components... WOW!

having come from Ontario....this is automotive insanity. In Ontario if it has lights, glass, no body holes, brakes, tires, solid suspension and seatbelts... (give or take a few extra items) sign, date, number and you're rolling!

here you even have to go to the transport office FIRST to obtain a request form to have the inspection done!

madness I say

i guess i'll never bitch about New York inspections again.
Damn!

A friend of mine just moved to Calgary from Ontario, and drove her '02 Caravan. After having it inspected she promptly ended up with another car... guess it needed close to $3k to be "legit".

Etching on glass and stampings on bulbs? That's just ridiculous!

Man I love being able to safety my own cars

here in quebec, well we inspect out of province cars and commercial vehicles, i dont think the inspections are all too serious, especially considering that the garages with licences to inspect change depending on the government (friends of the politicians) where i used to work i drove a chevy van 6 wheel cutaway, the thing had a broken fly window, one bald tire on the rear axle, a pretzel for a bumper in back and it still passed!


**when i mentionned the bald tire the tech said "thats why it has double wheels"

Oregon does only emissions testing; and most cars pass if their sensors work.

I know when my buddy got his S10 inspected it was no big deal, and his truck was all smashed up front. The mechanic said it isn't even required to check headlight aim anymore (he has one light pointing down cause its broken from the mount). My dads old Jimmy was rusted to hell and it passed no problem.

my boss, he is mohawk so he plates his cars in new york state, has a 96 deville concours. He had a hell of a time getting it to pass inspection last year, he removed the air suspension in front and put the stock suspension in, the guy in plattsburgh new york gave him a runaround about some non approved modifications.

My S4 failed quebec inspection becuase my driver side mirror had a slight burn mark due to the heated mirror being left on and becuase my front coil overs were spun to the bottom so there was play in the spring when the car was lifted up

Posted by Nismo My S4 failed quebec inspection becuase my driver side mirror had a slight burn mark due to the heated mirror being left on and becuase my front coil overs were spun to the bottom so there was play in the spring when the car was lifted up

you went to the wrong inspection garage.

Posted by oddspot Inspections in Alberta go as far as inspecting the etching on all glass, stampings on bulbs,

investigating the origin of windshield glass which is essential to the correct function of supplemental restraint systems and stampings of bulbs to ensure the wattage rating does not exceed the design limits of plastic lenses and housings does make some sense but that IMO is outweighed by the financial hardship such scrutiny will have on the lower income members of society there. id like to see any statistics that support such draconian measures in the interest of safety at the expense of the poor.

All inspections are income generators. Plain and simple.

Posted by jeepdave All inspections are income generators. Plain and simple.

I disagree.

Posted by steponmebbbboom investigating the origin of windshield glass which is essential to the correct function of supplemental restraint systems and stampings of bulbs to ensure the wattage rating does not exceed the design limits of plastic lenses and housings does make some sense but that IMO is outweighed by the financial hardship such scrutiny will have on the lower income members of society there. id like to see any statistics that support such draconian measures in the interest of safety at the expense of the poor.

I'm not sure safety should ever be sacrificed on account of money!!
the windshield serves a very large purpose as part of structural integrity of the body of the vehicle. The standards even go as far as inspection on the side windows even on extended cab pick ups. it's deep.
the bulb rating is to ensure they are MOT/DOT approved and not the "for offroad use only" cheap chinese crap that have painted bulb glass. There is no mention of wattage rating.

I spoke at length with the gentleman who is in charge of the entire inspection process for the Government. My techs were freaking out a bit when they got the new manual. He indicated to me that his counterpart in Ontario is looking to increase the requirements for Safety Inspections in Ontario towards those here in the wild west.

Posted by oddspot I'm not sure safety should ever be sacrificed on account of money!! the windshield serves a very large purpose as part of structural integrity of the body of the vehicle. The standards even go as far as inspection on the side windows even on extended cab pick ups. it's deep. the bulb rating is to ensure they are MOT/DOT approved and not the "for offroad use only" cheap chinese crap that have painted bulb glass. There is no mention of wattage rating. I spoke at length with the gentleman who is in charge of the entire inspection process for the Government. My techs were freaking out a bit when they got the new manual. He indicated to me that his counterpart in Ontario is looking to increase the requirements for Safety Inspections in Ontario towards those here in the wild west.

not sure what side of the fence you stand on now, then...

yes, structural windshields are important (SRS systems being one factor) i would put the onus on the installer to ensure the replacement windshield is up to spec, not the owner of the vehicle... just as an improper brake repair should fall back on the shop that did the work not the owner of the vehicle who is not qualified to determine whether the mechanic did their job properly that's what the 310S Class A licensing process is for, after all...
and painted bulb glass is only one consideration... the bulb must also be the correct wattage not just so they dont melt the lens and housing but also not to blind or confuse other motorists... again, should that be the responsibility of the shop doing the safety inspection? or the one who did the repair in the first place? i dunno, you tell me? i didnt start this thread...
again, id like to see numbers indicating that alberta's traffic fatalities are significantly lower than ontario's just because all owners have to pay $250 so a tech can take their brake bulbs out and make sure theyre not chinese...

Posted by Agent Skelly I disagree.

i don't.
New York state makes a fucking mint of inspections... Vermont safety inspections are even more expensive and intrusive.
Skelly, in many ways you are blessed with an ignorance that most people have. And I am NOT calling you an ignorant man, because you and the other esteemed members of this board are FAR from ignorant. What I mean by that term is you're like so many other people in that you trust others with your car implicitly... you trust them to tell you what's wrong and trust them to correct it. I'm sorry, but in this day and age, so many mechanics out there are nothing more than crooked bastards out to make a profit at the expense of the inexperienced or unknowing. You know enough to get you by, you know more than the average minivan owner, but there are still gaps in your automotive knowledge (which is fine, please.. i'm not making you out to be an idiot)... these mechanics can smell that inexperience like sharks smelling blood... all a safety inspection does is open the door for them to fuck someone... LEGALLY!
that's my opinion.

In some ways, especially here in the snowy northern wastes, I can see some level of inspection IS necessary just because the cars deteriorate so fast here. Brake lines rot, fuel lines rot, subframes and bodies rot at an accelerated pace... there does need to be an inspection process, but not at $21.

i see both sides of this debate, but I have to side with jeepdave on this one.

a) Profit is not a dirty word (nor is income generation)
b) I've been in business, and the automotive repair and parts business long enough to know one thing and one thing for absolute certain! Crooked technicians & crooked shops can not and do not survive for any extended period of time. ESPECIALLY in the auto repair industry which is a grudge purchase for consumers to begin with. There is no way that Canadian Tire, Midas, Meineke, Auto Zone etc.... have been as big and as successful as they/we are for as long as we have by being generally shitty at what we do. NO WAY!
Yes there will be bad experiences, incorrect parts, dirty tactics, shady calls..... but it's surely not an overall way of doing business.


Governments design and implement the inspection process, regardless of what state or province. our job simply is to execute them as per their mandates.
If I have an opportunity to make money legitimately as a result of such a program.... (like Ontario's emissions programs, safety inspections or what is by far my most profitable for time invested RIV Federal Inspections.... hell go as far as hunting and fishing licenses..... damn right i'm going to take every opportunity to make as much money as I can doing so.


Having said that..... I still prefer the Ontario safety inspection to this Alberta one both as a consumer and a provider!

Posted by oddspot I still prefer the Ontario safety inspection to this Alberta one both as a consumer and a provider!

why? if the almighty buck is the only measure, youre getting $250/safety instead of $70... whats the problem?

Posted by Samurai i don't. New York state makes a fucking mint of inspections... Vermont safety inspections are even more expensive and intrusive. Skelly, in many ways you are blessed with an ignorance that most people have. And I am NOT calling you an ignorant man, because you and the other esteemed members of this board are FAR from ignorant. What I mean by that term is you're like so many other people in that you trust others with your car implicitly... you trust them to tell you what's wrong and trust them to correct it. I'm sorry, but in this day and age, so many mechanics out there are nothing more than crooked bastards out to make a profit at the expense of the inexperienced or unknowing. You know enough to get you by, you know more than the average minivan owner, but there are still gaps in your automotive knowledge (which is fine, please.. i'm not making you out to be an idiot)... these mechanics can smell that inexperience like sharks smelling blood... all a safety inspection does is open the door for them to fuck someone... LEGALLY! that's my opinion. In some ways, especially here in the snowy northern wastes, I can see some level of inspection IS necessary just because the cars deteriorate so fast here. Brake lines rot, fuel lines rot, subframes and bodies rot at an accelerated pace... there does need to be an inspection process, but not at $21. i see both sides of this debate, but I have to side with jeepdave on this one.

i agree with samurai

The world has ended

inspection is 94 dollars here

Posted by steponmebbbboom why? if the almighty buck is the only measure, youre getting $250/safety instead of $70... whats the problem?

The almighty buck isn't and has never been my only measure!
I don't really have a detailed explanation for why I like ontario's looser system .... its just an early personal feeling. Possibly due to techs freaking out a bit. They are concerned that it's SOOOOOO detailed that they are open to scrutiny if they aren't "fine tooth comb" inspecting these things.
but when a GM factory glass component has a different stamping then is allowed by the book and my tech comes to me and says.... now what? I kind of sit in my office going... oh fuck!
Might be early growing pains that have me on edge a bit. time will tell