Ouchy back and frustrating car stuff

[missdiane]

I was going to do the Glimpse at My Day but then last night as I was bending over to give kitties their food, there was a popping feeling and my lower back has been aching pretty good since then. Ah well, not like things are that interesting anyway.

Anyhoo, well, the trip to the mechanic did not involve asking me about why I cut them off. He was all happy-nice and said that his wife says hi and such. Ok, sure. But then he pissed me off. I went there specifically because it mentioned on their website that they do NJ State inspections and I've had his place do it in the past. Mind you, when you fill out their online form, you put in what you need done which I said State inspection, oil change and fix my turn signal. I got a personal email confirmation saying he was looking forward to me coming in today.

I then drive all the way there during morning rush hour only to find out that they no longer do State inspections and haven't done them in years. The fuck? Dude, I could have gone ANYWHERE to get a simple oil change and turn signal fix. But fine, I was there, get that done at least. I had previously put in that I would wait for the service and since I wasn't getting an inspection, that should be shorter, right? Well nope. I sat there for over an hour and forty-five minutes with my low back aching in their shitty chairs in the tiny waiting area, wearing my mask.

Never again. I'm done with them. Geez.

So I figured since I had already took a partial day off to get this shit done, I'll go to the official State inspection station to get it done. It was a bitch and a half to drive there because I saw on FB while waiting that one of the main roads I took to get there was going to be closed completely for tree work. The county is doing one shitty job of giving us all advance warning. I had intended to cut through a park road to get to the inspection station area but it was backed up so far over major roads that I had to use my knowledge of New Brunswick and campus roads to get around all the nonsense.

Fortunately since it was mid-month and not the beginning of the week, I at least lucked out that there was no line at the inspection station. That and since it was the State station, it didn't cost anything to get the inspection done. So the car is good until August of 2024, the turn signal works and it's riding smoother due to the oil change.

From now own, for little car updates, I'm doing the damned Valvoline drive through

Comments

[threecee]

Ouch! I hope your back feels better soon. Yell the kitties they have to give you extra loving since you got hurt feeding them.

What licensed mechanic just stops doing state inspections? It is a steady source of income and people almost always combine it with oil changes and they get to fix anything they find wrong. Weird.

[missdiane]

It's still somewhat achy but I've been able to rest a lot of it off. The kitties need to give me extra snuggles!

I think the reasons for stopping the inspections is legit since the place that I had do them last time doesn't do them anymore and looking online, it's difficult to find a place that does. Evidently the State is being super picky about who they allow to do the inspections and the requirements involved. It doesn't make much sense that they are discouraging independent mechanics from doing them since they are free at the state stations so it's not like the State makes more money if you go to their facilities.

But still, take it off your damned website and he should have told me when I booked the appointment

[threecee]

In PA there are no state-run places. The requirements are: be/employ a certified mechanic, have the tools which are standard for diagnosing and repairing cars, and speak and read English. (Not sure if the English requirement applies to the mechanic or just the owner.) In my experience they all speak mechanic, not English as normal people speak it, so they might as well speak in Greek.