This story was originally produced by The Keene Sentinel. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
When people come in for an oil change at Leon's Auto Center in Keene, the first thing technicians ask them is whether they have any concerns about the vehicle.
While the answer is almost always no, sometimes what's under the hood tells a different story, says Service Manager April Salisbury.
"We might find that the front end is loose, there might be a tie rod that's got some fly in it, a control arm bushing that's bulging, and the customer doesn't realize it," she said.
That's why some automotive repair shops in the Monadnock Region say they're concerned the end of required vehicle inspections in New Hampshire could spell safety problems for drivers who don't pay attention to their vehicle's needs or who just don't have the technical know-how to notice something is wrong.
New Hampshire's inspection program was scheduled to end on Jan. 31 after changes to state law — that is, until Gordon-Darby, the company that oversees the program, sued the state in U.S. District Court in Concord, arguing the cancellation violates the Clean Air Act.
The state then paused the program late last month after its Executive Council stopped the sunsetting process. In a news release announcing the program's suspension until further notice, the Attorney General's Office noted that New Hampshire no longer has an approved vendor to run the program.
Drivers are still responsible for making sure their vehicles are safe to operate, the AG's news release said.
Those in favor of ending required inspections argue that most states don't have them, and most crashes stem from driver error, not mechanical failures, The Sentinel previously reported. Cars can also fail inspection for reasons that have nothing to do with safety, which may prompt pricey repairs.
Before New Hampshire got rid of its inspection program, just 14 states required yearly vehicle inspections, according to reporting by CBS News.
Not having inspections won't significantly affect many garages' bottom line. Leon's is one of those, even though it did about four to six inspections a day, Salisbury said.
A few weeks ago, the garage introduced a "peace of mind" inspection in response to the cancellation, she said. These inspections offer customers the same checks as a state inspection, without the sticker.
"The ultimate goal is to overcome [the loss of inspections] and hope that we've gained enough of a relationship with our customers here that they will still come in for the recommended work," she said.
Matt Peck, who owns Green Light Auto Center in Swanzey, said the cancellation means drivers are likely going to put off getting repairs, which can have detrimental effects on a vehicle.
During a recent inspection, Green Light found a loose upper ball joint and large rot holes in a car's undercarriage, Peck said.
"That type of stuff is going to be much more difficult to find without customers being in for a regular safety check-over," he said.
Getting drivers to come in on there own is an uphill battle, according to Peck.
"People never come in just for a safety check, if it's not required," he said. "If they hear a noise or something, they might come in, but they don't come in independently of that."
Peck said Green Light does about 30 inspections a month.
When it comes to revenue from the inspections, it's a wash for Green Light, Peck said. The technicians don't work on commission, and the garage had to pay a fee to Gordon-Darby, the company that oversees inspection administration.
"We're not really making money on that one," he said. "It's more of a service, we found, than it was a profit margin point."
In September, Steve Wilder, who owns an Wilder Automotive in Keene, predicted that without required inspections there will be more crashes because people could be driving unsafe cars.
“I’m going to be getting calls nonstop from people who say their car has broken down, or they have a grinding noise, or a horrible clunking,” he said at the time. “We’re going to get bombarded not with scheduled appointments but people who need to get in right away because something is wrong.”
Several reversals regarding the state inspection program's fate have left some Granite Staters disoriented. Nick Martel, who owns Martel Automotive Center in Walpole, said the same is true for garage owners.
Even though he had heard inspections were suspended last week, he did two on Saturday for people who needed them, as he hadn't heard directly from the state.
In the spring, when Martel does the most inspections, the shop sees more than 100 people a month, he said.
Martel said he's had people at his shop demanding an inspection sticker even though their car is nowhere near safe for the road.
"Those kind of people are going to be driving these vehicles with no doors or windshields or brakes or exhaust or anything else," he said. "They're gonna be a hazard for the road."
Martel said he wants to see a system in which the state designates a number of shops who would perform the inspections, but aren't allowed to make the repairs themselves.
That would keep cars inspected while eliminating customers' worries that they were being duped by the mechanics, he explained.
"You gotta keep cars safe," he said. "You have to keep them safe."
