when getting a 2003 Buick Lesabre inspected in new York 11901 with only 50,000 miles on it and it steers and take bumps as smooth as-when it was new, Can the inspection site or shop fail the inspection for needing front or rear shock’s when a common sense bounce test never done because of a green kid working there was trying to scam me and impress the boss?
Hi. Looks like you’re in Suffolk County. Here’s the checklist for the state safety inspection. I think that will give you a good idea of what to expect.
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Yes. Cars with leaking shocks can feel like a great ride because they just blew and haven’t leaked all their oil/gas yet.
I note you said front OR rear shocks. What exactly did the mechanic say?
The list says “broken” shocks or struts not necessarily worn. So I suppose it is up to interpretation whether a leaky or non-functioning shock would be classified as broken. To me though a broken shock would be one that the end is broken off and not connected. We don’t inspect cars though in Minnesota but the bottom line is if they are “worn”, they should be replaced anyway-inspection or not.
Suspension parts can be observed to be faulty on visual inspection, even though the ride may seem ok. I haven’t ever had that problem myself, but along those lines when replacing a brake light switch on my truck I noticed that the brake pedal linkage was in danger of becoming unmoored b/c of a broken cotter pin. The brakes at that point still worked fine, but the problem for safety sake still needed immediate attention.
yes,YOU HAVE A GOOD POINT ABOUT ACTUALLY BROKEN OFF THE MOUNT
well sometimes they say you need 2 front or 2 rear shocks butt not all 4 especially when you have rear air ride shocks with its own pump.
I take it this means you’re asking a hypothetical, and your car has not actually failed an inspection (yet)?
No this really happen to me and the kid working there didnt even road test the car he drove it across the parking lot to the inspection place and wanted to impress the boss there but the boss knew I have been a long time customer and told the kid where not looking to rip people off. the car passed the emission test and lights brakes with flying colors. ,it was the kid with the big mouth and his attitude ,I hope they let him go. or they will loose customers for sure. with him there.
No real Mechanic just a Green Kid working there for the summer.
Ah. OK. Well, if the real mechanic told him he was wrong, I’d not worry about it and drive on. For what it’s worth, the kid might not have been trying to rip people off. I’ve encountered a lot of people at shops who aren’t mechanics but who desperately want to know as much as mechanics do (or at least make people think they do), and that sometimes drives them to say silly things that real mechanics would roll their eyes at.
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emphasized text well I think your right the real mechanic and owner probably rolled:wink: his eyes but I dint see it , its just the thought if the real mechanic wasnt around out to lunch , what if this kid was persistent to a $400 -$600 job when not needed