Anyone Had Their Car Inspected at CarFix 40-42

Just had my car inspected there, they were advertisingin Carolina Clipper and had a $5.00 off coupon, I thought yeah I'll go there $5 is $5 **wrong** - ended up costing me nearly $40 with the $5 off coupon to have my car inspected. I was told that one of my wiper blades was torn a little and even though it did not affect the performance of the wiper (yet) it would not allow them to pass inspection so it had to be replaced ($10 each) and also my light over the license plate was out, the lady having her car inspected in front of me was told the same thing - she told him "funny you gave me that same line last year" As I was paying I was told of my the way we had to replace both wiper blades, but I will only charge you for one (how kind) Just be careful, they may offer $5 off but you are going to pay that and more. My son in law does inspections but was out of town, he says this is non sense that he has never not passed inspection on a car due to a wiper blade! This was my 1st and last time there.

 

then your son in law is passing cars that shouldn't be passed. the wiper blades are part of the safety inspection and have to be in good shape to pass, or they have to be replaced. same thing with the license plate light. now, if they're ripping the blades or breaking the lights so your car won't pass, that's something else entirely...

 

I think you put your finger on it. I went there one time with a coupon for a cheap oil change, and they told me I needed over $800 worth of work, including some I knew for a fact I did not need at the time. I have not been back.

 

You know you can accept "failed inspection" and go get those items yourself, install them yourself, and then get reinspected for the price of the sticker. That's what I do. NEVER get blades or lights like that installed. Too expensive!!

 

Oops, I will have to call you wrong-I don't think my son in law would put his job/shop on the line for a wiper blade. My car is a 2004 and last yr we had new tires put on and at the same time new wiper blades - not sure where you are from but we haven't had that much rain in this area in the past year. Now I am not sure about the light, it was just ironic that the lady before me was told her light was out also and was told the same thing last car inspection she got ironically at the same place. Just asking to be caution not really into this pointing fingers especially if you are not in to the whole car inspection profession. thx

 

I think I've only changed my wiper blades once and it's an 01

I think them not passing for wiper blades is BS. They could say..."hey lady you need wiper blades" and then you go get them youself.

I go to Bryan at Autotek in Raleigh. Love him!

 

Yeah, that's who I'm talking about. :lol:

I've never not passed because of wiper blades, now the check engine light is a whole nother ballgame. :x
My brake light in the back window was out last time I got an inspection and they (not Car-Fix) passed my car.

 

I see cars everyday on the road that either got passed when they shouldn't because their exhaust chokes you to death, or their held together with spit and bailing wire and you pray they don't fall apart when you pass them. But they won't pass a vehicle with bad wiper blades. Sounds reasonable to me! :roll: There are apparently some really "iffy" garages around here then.

 

no, you don't know where i'm from, which would be here. and i used to be in the car inspection profession since my father owned a service station at the busiest intersection in north carolina for over 10 years. i pretty much grew up elbow deep in gear oil.

wiper blades don't always wear out because of use during rain. they also dry rot. if they're split, they're not supposed to pass. if he's passing cars with wiper blades that shouldn't pass, he's putting his license on the line for it. period. if he gets inspected (which is sometimes a secret shopper kind of thing), he'll get called out for it if he's not doing it right. i'm not the person who makes up the rules, so don't blame me. i have no idea whether or not he passes cars with split wipers. i'm not saying he's doing that, you seem to be. it doesn't happen all the time, but cars do fail inspections for wiper blades.

with regard to the third brakelight, it may still be the case that it is not a mandatory light for nc safety inspection. the light may be mandated by federal standards, but not necessary to pass in a particular state. the law used to specify the traditional right and left tail light kind.

the license plate light is self-explanatory. it's for the benefit of the cops. you have to have that light working so they can read the tag number.

but i haven't done any inspecting myself in a long time. i'm sure alot has changed.

 

They said that about my truck as well. Which I knew the blades was torn but I never noticed the light was out. HMMMMMMMMM. Makes me think?

 

i went to a place in raleigh and they told me i needed to replace my wiper blades before they inspected it because it wouldn't pass. i had no problem with that, they needed replacing.

 

Called Car-Fix for inspection appointment. They wanted to schedule it for an hour, "in case something happens when you get it here." I politely said no thank you and immediately thought to resurrect this thread.

 

An inspection should take minutes, not an hour "in case." It just felt too shady although I have been there before. Too many other honest places with good mechanics around here to risk it, coupon or not!

 

I know its not at 40/42 but I like Fast Lube in Garner at the corner of Hwy 50 and Timber Dr. They are very nice and explain everything and DONT pressure you into buying something or having a service that you dont need!

 

Let us know where these are so those of us with unsafe motor vehicles can get an inspection sticker......as long as the state gets their money they don't care!

 

ok, weighing in here....

Since the biz was sold and became CarFix, I've tried them again. The boys have been nothing but good to me.

I've had 4 inspections there with 3 different cars (my car x2, DH car, friend's car). My wipers ALWAYS need replacing...every year. Not because they tell me, but because I drive the danged thing and know this.

They've always been above-board with me. Of course, I'm also not a woman who will sit back and say nothing or just be polite and leave/hang up. I'll call BS if I smell it.

With ANY shop, woman (in particular) have to stand up for themselves. I'll go back to CarFix again, and again, and again. They've even helped me price-shop when I thought something may be cheaper somewhere else. Suggested another shop for a service, went to the other shop. The other shop serviced my car fine, but were rude. Won't go back there. Told CarFix and they said they wouldn't suggest them again.


Frogger

 

^^^Well now...where would that loophole be listed so we can read all about it??


Frogger

 

I don't know much about cars and could easily have someone con me when it comes to inspections . I went to carfix @ 42 few months back and they were so nice to me. They inspected my car it took about 35 min. the man who inspected my car even walked me out to my car was very nice opened the door for me and said have a good day very nice man. Did I mention I had no coupons with me when it was time to pay he gave me one for $5 .00 off. Even put air in one of my tires said it was a little low on the passenger side. I will go back just because they were so nice and did not cheat me.

 

Actually the tread depth requirement has been removed from the inspection. Assuming that there there is atleast one complete area of tread running the entire circumference of the tire the rest of the tire can be slick and still pass inspection.


Incicentally I always use TR Lee's on Main St. Clayton. And I am usually in and out in about 5 minutes unless I'm waiting for someone else who is getting an inspection.

One other note of interest. The State mandates how much the inspection costs so if someone is offering a coupon for $5 off then they are either losing money, or are making it up other ways (license plate bulbs maybe).


Craig

 

WOW, I wrote a novel!

Well, time for my first ever post to an online forum! Hello everyone, my name is Mike Allen. I am the manager and partial owner of Carfix. Clearly, this is a topic that many people feel passionately about. This posting is an attempt to shed some light on the topic and to provide some (hopefully) helpful information.
Carfix is still relatively new to the community, so I’ll start with a little history. I am the third generation of my family to operate a maintenance facility. My grandfather started his country store/car shop in White Cross, NC (rural Orange County) in the late 1930’s. My father grew up in that environment and eventually ended up with his own shop, Auto Protocall, in Chapel Hill. After 15 years of operation in Chapel Hill we have been fortunate enough to build one of the largest independent repair facilities in central North Carolina. We have enjoyed this success through long hours, hard work, and great support in the local community. We have a minimal advertising budget in Chapel Hill, and nearly all of our new customers come by word of mouth. In November of 2005 we bought the building we are in from Carolina Tire and Service and opened our second shop – Carfix. We hope that, in time, we can build the same kind of relationship with this community. Now, to the topic at hand!
State Inspections are easily the one of the most frustrating services any shop provides to their customers. There are numerous laws/regulations that stipulate what does or does not meet the standards required to pass inspection. To add additional head-ache to the situation: these rules seem to change/evolve annually! Frequently we find ourselves in the position of the “bad guy” because we must tell a customer something is needed to pass inspection. I’ve learned through the years that cutting corners or “bending” the rules for inspections may seem like its doing a favor for a customer, but really it is putting that customer and my business in danger. My shop is frequently “secret shopped” by undercover DMV officers to see if I am following the rule of the law, and I take a great deal of pride in knowing that I have never been cited for a rule infraction. The penalties are rather stiff for “bending” the rules. On just the second occurrence there can be a significant fine (up to $10,000) and I could loose my inspection license for a year. That is not a risk I’m willing to take. More importantly, if I don’t tell you that you need wiper blades…or light bulbs…or tires…or anything that your car may need, then I am doing the customer a disservice.
Although some people are capable and interested in maintaining their cars themselves, the large majority of the driving public depends upon their mechanic to keep their car in good running order. They also depend upon their trusted repair shop to keep them informed about their car’s needs BEFORE the car breaks down. Knowing this, everyone at Carfix will always do our best to inform you of anything we see that your car may need. That being said, you do NOT have to have any repairs or maintenance we recommend performed here at Carfix. That does not mean that we won’t at least let you know!
A few pointers about NC Inspection laws: All lights that are equipped form the manufacturer must be functioning for a car to pass Inspection. (I suspect that fully half of the inspections we do have one or both of the license tag light bulbs burned out.) Wiper blades must not be dry rotted, cracked, torn, or bent. As many as a third of cars need at least one wiper blade (usually rear blade is the worst). Craig was correct about the tire requirements changing. Basically only 1/3 of the tire now needs to have 2/32’s of an inch of tread, the rest can be bald and it will pass with flying colors! (The exception being if steel belting is exposed.) These are just a few of the off the wall rules that the state dictates we follow. Please understand, these aren’t the rules of Carfix, they are the Laws of NC. Cleopatra was also completely correct, a customer always has the option of replacing the needed components themselves and returning for re-inspection at no additional cost.
One last thing to mention about things like license tag bulbs and wiper blades…a license tag bulb is $2.90 installed at Carfix. Wiper blades vary between 7 and 10 dollars which is (I believe) about par with most shops. Trust me when I say that this is not something we do as a big money maker. We do this as a service to customers; to prevent them from having to drive to the local Auto Zone or other parts store and do it themselves.
Ken was also spot on when speaking to Le’s concern about appointment time. A State Inspection usually takes ~20 minutes, but we will normally let customers know to expect 30-45 minutes for an appointment. I’ve found it is always better to under promise and over deliver rather than make promises I can’t keep. I suspect that whoever took your call knew that we were going to be busy during the time that you wanted and he did not want to make a promise that he could not keep.
I guess what everything boils down to is trust… In an industry that suffers from such a bad reputation it is of utmost importance to develop a relationship with a shop that you know and trust. I hope that everyone works towards that goal with whichever shop you choose. Once you have developed a relationship with a facility that you trust you no longer have to wonder “do I really need my brakes replaced?”…That kind of peace of mind is priceless. I wish all of you luck in your quest to find the shop that is right for you.

Anyone who has read this far...kudoos to you, I didn't know I was so long winded.