Boston Area Inspection

EastCoastP85D said:

Where are people taking their cars to get their inspection sticker? I'm hesitant to take the car to my local station for fear they'll have no idea what to do with the car. Anyone have any recommendations on places that have at least seen a Tesla cross their path?

I know the Gas Station down the street from the Service Center see's quite a few but this is a bit out of the way for me.

Click to expand...

FWIW, I always took my Tesla to a local new-car auto dealer. It's great fun to see their reaction, and these dealerships generally have nicer waiting lounges than a body shop.

It's quite funny to see the faces on these guys as they still don't know anything about these cars, but it's really a 2min thing to get an inspection sticker, at least that's what it took my mechanic in Newton. I've been using him for years despite that I live 40min away from him.

If you want his address, PM me and I'll send it over to you, but I'm sure any Inspection station in your area can do it and have a good talk with them about the car and don't forget to ask them to change your oil while doing the inspection :wink:

You guys still have to get your cars inspected. Here in CT, EVs are exempt.

Bluespark said:

You guys still have to get your cars inspected. Here in CT, EVs are exempt.

Click to expand...

CT has only an emissions inspection, while MA is checking that the car is in road-worthy condition (all lights working, horn functional, etc.). This more rigorous inspection keeps unsafe cars off the road--or, at least, helps.

I tried a big auto dealer and they wanted to drive it away to the mysterious inspection area etc. I ended up going with a local shop that I drove into, they printed the sticker without checking anything and I drove out.

I've had it done at the service center (they take it to the Lexus dealer) and at the local Mercedes dealer (they are slow).
Speaking of which, today is my 2 year anniversary and my sticker is due this month.

tliving said:

I tried a big auto dealer and they wanted to drive it away to the mysterious inspection area etc. I ended up going with a local shop that I drove into, they printed the sticker without checking anything and I drove out.

Click to expand...

haha same thing happened to me!

Can someone name drop a local station that they went to in Boston where there was 0 hassle and they didn't drive the car off?

"Drive the car off"???

I think he wants to drive into the garage and pull it out.
I take mine to the Mercedes dealer in Natick and they "drive it off..." but they have plenty of free snacks.

There is a Lexus dealer near the service center who as inspected loads of Model S's.

The lady at the place I went to said that they were required to drive the car into the inspection area. It was the first Tesla she had seen, so I was a bit nervous turning it over, but she did fine. She did let me back it out.

If people are still looking, when I lived in the area, I'd take my Delorean (and my other cars) to this place to get inspected:

Yelp: Shimon’s Service Stations

Small garage on Harvard Street. Always fast and courteous. Yelp reviews echo that, too.

BrianMA said:

The lady at the place I went to said that they were required to drive the car into the inspection area. It was the first Tesla she had seen, so I was a bit nervous turning it over, but she did fine. She did let me back it out.

Click to expand...

With a small "fleet", I've probably had close to 100 inspections over the years (did you know that you need a second policy if you have more than 4 vehicles? :wink. I've never been allowed to drive it in to the bay (that's usually when they check the parking brake). I have backed out afterwards several times.

Century Tire on Beacon St has served me well over the years with my RAV4. Owner at the front desk has a dry sense of humor which can come across as short or sarcastic, but if you see through that it's obvious he's a nice and honest guy. He's never tried to upsell us on anything other than tire hazard insurance which I think he genuinely recommends given where we live. I plan to go to them with with my S for inspections, tires and any other routine work, largely out of trust from past jobs.

Century Tire Auto Service - Google Maps

gnychis said:

Can someone name drop a local station that they went to in Boston where there was 0 hassle and they didn't drive the car off?

Click to expand...

I used Plaza Shell in Milford MA. You drive the car in, they print a sticker, you pay $29 and drive out.

Its not close to Boston but only about 25 mins from Natick. Distance is relative.

gnychis said:

Can someone name drop a local station that they went to in Boston where there was 0 hassle and they didn't drive the car off?

Click to expand...

I used DL Auto Repair (1856 Dorchester Ave, Dorchester Center).

There's really no reason any inspection place should need to drive the car at all. For older ICEs they may need to hook it up to the exhaust gas analyzer, but that shouldn't involve moving the car more place.

I've been going to that place four years because they don't fret over little things (for instance, I don't have a front plate). I don't even think he sat in my car, he just took the registration and printed the sticker (so he surely sat in the passenger side to apply the sticker). My car was brand new, tho

Hi, does anyone have an update on this? Where have folks been going for the last 5 years since this was discussed? Anyone in north shore Boston? Maybe I’m a terrible googler but there’s a dearth of information on finding places that know what (and what not) to do. Thanks!

Just go to your usual inspection place and bring your own set of lift pucks, you can buy them on Amazon for very little money. The car has to be jacked up for the inspection which is why you need the lift pucks, chances are an inspection place won't have them.