# Can I just.. "make up" that vehicle inspection?



## Brandon1

My mechanic just tuned up my car last week but he's not part of rasier's official list. I'd rather not pay the $20 to get the vehicle inspection done.

I have last year's copy with everything filled out and whatnot, so is there anything really stopping me from just checking it all off myself? I don't recall the actual mechanic last year inputting anything into a computer, so I don't see how on earth uber would find out. Can anyone see a reason why this wouldn't work?


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## merkurfan

As a retired 20+ year ase master tech with 5 years as a Ford certified master mechanic the thought crossed my mind as well. Why pay someone 40 bucks that has a reason (upsell more $$) to flunk my car?


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## Chicago-uber

I kinda did that myself last year. 

I did go for actual inspection. The guy filled out the uber inspection form.. Everything checked out, and I passed. 

Couple weeks later lyft sent me the same form... Grrrr... So I just copied all the information onto lyft form and emailed it to lyft.


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## Scenicruiser

Any bar licensed shop can sign it off, print out the form and take it to your guy


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## merkurfan

Scenicruiser said:


> Any bar licensed shop can sign it off, print out the form and take it to your guy


Depends on your market.

Mine has a list of known hack shops "approved" by the city for inspections.


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## Moo Moo

Brandon1 said:


> My mechanic just tuned up my car last week but he's not part of rasier's official list. I'd rather not pay the $20 to get the vehicle inspection done.
> 
> I have last year's copy with everything filled out and whatnot, so is there anything really stopping me from just checking it all off myself? I don't recall the actual mechanic last year inputting anything into a computer, so I don't see how on earth uber would find out. Can anyone see a reason why this wouldn't work?


If you are transporting passengers, you should never skip the required vehicle inspections and submit false inspection reports. Anything can break or need replacement since your last vehicle inspection. The purpose of the vehicle inspections is to discover and perform preventive and emergency repairs. My vehicle's mechanic's shop performs an inspection every time I get an oil change and I change my oil every 3,000-4,000 (about 4-5 weeks). Since I have been driving for Uber and a couple of other rideshare companies, I have had an emergency repair of a front axel rod, replacement of front motor mounts, replacement of front brake pads and rotors, and replacement of all four tires.


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## merkurfan

Moo Moo said:


> If you are transporting passengers, you should never skip the required vehicle inspections and submit false inspection reports. Anything can break or need replacement since your last vehicle inspection. The purpose of the vehicle inspections is to discover and perform preventive and emergency repairs. My vehicle's mechanic's shop performs an inspection every time I get an oil change and I change my oil every 3,000-4,000 (about 4-5 weeks). Since I have been driving for Uber and a couple of other rideshare companies, I have had an emergency repair of a front axel rod, replacement of front motor mounts, replacement of front brake pads and rotors, and replacement of all four tires.


If they are missing warn tires its time for a new shop. Tires don't wear out in 3000 miles.

In the DOT world (that would be trucks 10K or heavier) EVERY day starts with a pre-trip inspection. Check the tires, the lights, look for leaks, test safety systems...

Just about anyone can do that type of test on their own car before starting their day.

The yearly "inspection" is just the cities way of telling people they are doing something. When I drove cab they had a set of "inspection tires" basically new tires for the cab to go in to the inspection with.. Once complete, the original set of tires went back on the car...

the yearly inspections are a joke.


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## Scenicruiser

merkurfan said:


> Depends on your market.
> 
> Mine has a list of known hack shops "approved" by the city for inspections.


 in the op's market any bar shop can sign it off. I've also had inspections done at the uber gas station tents...very fast and free.


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## duggles

Yes, absolutely. When one year passed and mine "expired," I simply reuploaded the exact same, one-year old form, but input a inspection date exactly one year later. They don't even look. It was approved within hours. They don't care.


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## cityjohn

When I got my car done, Uber required the filled-out inspection form plus the receipt from the garage showing what I paid.


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## azndriver87

in DC Area, they just need to see VA inspections check list ($16)


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## elelegido

Chicago-uber said:


> I kinda did that myself last year.
> 
> I did go for actual inspection. The guy filled out the uber inspection form.. Everything checked out, and I passed.
> 
> Couple weeks later lyft sent me the same form... Grrrr... So I just copied all the information onto lyft form and emailed it to lyft.


I just sent Lyft the Uber inspection form - they were happy with it.


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## RockinEZ

In Insane Diego it is free, just go down to the Pyramid on Miramar and get it done by an Uber-doober.


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## Huberis

Moo Moo said:


> If you are transporting passengers, you should never skip the required vehicle inspections and submit false inspection reports. Anything can break or need replacement since your last vehicle inspection. The purpose of the vehicle inspections is to discover and perform preventive and emergency repairs. My vehicle's mechanic's shop performs an inspection every time I get an oil change and I change my oil every 3,000-4,000 (about 4-5 weeks). Since I have been driving for Uber and a couple of other rideshare companies, I have had an emergency repair of a front axel rod, replacement of front motor mounts, replacement of front brake pads and rotors, and replacement of all four tires.


Replacement of front motor mounts? What are you driving?


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## Moo Moo

Huberis said:


> Replacement of front motor mounts? What are you driving?


The replacement of my tires have nothing to do with the frequency of my oil changes (every 3,000-4,000 miles). Although my mechanic shop (independent family owned) does include an inspection with each oil change ($50), they inflate tires to proper pressure (per California state law check tire pressure during vechicle work), they do not normally check the tire treads or sidewalls during inspections. While inflating my tires with a jumpstarter/tire inflator (purchased at Costco) at home, I noticed some chafing on my front right tire. I asked the service manager at my mechanic's shop how much to replace one or more tires. I believe in spending a little more money on convenience, i.e., having my mechanic replace the tires than spending more time at Wheel Works or driving and waiting at Costco to save money. Anyway, my tires were inspected and the service manager highly recommended that I replace all four tires (two tires had 50,000 of wear since install and two other tires had 40,000 since install) because of uneven wear on the treads and sidewalls because of bad alignment. He said I needed a wheel alignment for the front and rear wheels.

I drive a 2006 Toyota Sienna, purchased used Nov 2013 at 45,500 miles, and currently at 115,500. Besides Uber, I have driven for to other rideshare (Sidecar and Wingz) companies. Two weeks ago, my vehicle had the water pump and timing belt replaced along with the radiator cooling system services. I have used the same independent family owned car shop for twelve years and I trust them over any Toyota dealership which is only focused on commission sales of services (needed and unneeded). My independent mechanic shop offers me bigger discounts than the dealerships.


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## Huberis

Moo Moo said:


> The replacement of my tires have nothing to do with the frequency of my oil changes (every 3,000-4,000 miles). Although my mechanic shop (independent family owned) does include an inspection with each oil change ($50), they inflate tires to proper pressure (per California state law check tire pressure during vechicle work), they do not normally check the tire treads or sidewalls during inspections. While inflating my tires with a jumpstarter/tire inflator (purchased at Costco) at home, I noticed some chafing on my front right tire. I asked the service manager at my mechanic's shop how much to replace one or more tires. I believe in spending a little more money on convenience, i.e., having my mechanic replace the tires than spending more time at Wheel Works or driving and waiting at Costco to save money. Anyway, my tires were inspected and the service manager highly recommended that I replace all four tires (two tires had 50,000 of wear since install and two other tires had 40,000 since install) because of uneven wear on the treads and sidewalls because of bad alignment. He said I needed a wheel alignment for the front and rear wheels.
> 
> I drive a 2006 Toyota Sienna, purchased used Nov 2013 at 45,500 miles, and currently at 115,500. Besides Uber, I have driven for to other rideshare (Sidecar and Wingz) companies. Two weeks ago, my vehicle had the water pump and timing belt replaced along with the radiator cooling system services. I have used the same independent family owned car shop for twelve years and I trust them over any Toyota dealership which is only focused on commission sales of services (needed and unneeded). My independent mechanic shop offers me bigger discounts than the dealerships.


Very good. Interesting case study. If you ever get the time, could you do a KeJorn and break it down for us? At your leisure of course. It would be interesting to hear what you paid for such a vehicle and then what the operating costs have been from the first year to the next. Does the Sienna have one more year of Uber eligibility where you are? Are you XL? This is kind of interesting because in two years time you approaching triple the number of miles the car was driven in the previous seven.

Has the work needed been even distributed, or has it become more needy in the last year? At your leisure, but thank you in advance.


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## Moo Moo

First, I want to say that Uber's requirement for vehicle inspections is to ensure that safe vehicles are transporting riders. In California, Uber requires submission of the passed 19-point vehicle inspection along with the receipt from said inspection to prevent fraud (fake or non-existent inspections). On Sep 8, 2015, forum member merkurfan stated that the cab company that he drove for had "inspection tires" (new tires) which were used to temporarily mount on cabs strictly to pass inspection. What a scary thought that a taxicab company in Minneapolis (or wherever) would endanger the safety of their passengers by not inspecting tires and said replacing worn tires when necessary to save money.

Second, I am not going to divulge too much information about myself as this thread is about making up vehicle inspections to drive for Uber. I purchased a 2006 Toyota Sienna Limited in Nov 2013 for around $19,980 (45,390 miles). My Sienna has seating for seven passengers including driver, leather seating, power doors (I open and close doors for paxs with the push of a button), and lots of room for six paxs and airport luggage (many requests for UberXL). My current car loan balance is $5,500. I drove for Sidecar in Feb 2014 (all rides in San Francisco), Wingz (May 2014 - Oct 2014, rides to/from Oakland/San Francisco Airports), and Uber (Oct 2014 to present). All major repairs (motor mounts, front axel seal, water pump & timing belt, coolant system service, front brake rotors and pads, and tire replacements have been spread out over the time of vehicle ownership. Except for the cost of fuel and monthly oil changes, operating costs are low considering vehicle was purchased used with only 45,390 for around $20,000. A 2006 Toyota Sienna Limited similar to mine (moonroof, aftermarket backup camera, parking assist, adaptive cruise control, but without navigation and DVD player, ) sells for considerably more than $20k. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, I drive UberX and UberXL. According to the Uber website, UberX vehicles stay on the Uber platform for 15-years, meaning I can drive my 2006 Sienna for until 2021.

Regarding "in two years time you approaching triple the number of miles the car was driven in the previous seven", I drove 150 trips for Sidecar in San Francisco, 250 trips for Wingz (to/from Oakland/San Francisco Airports for homes in Mountain View, Sausalito, Danville, Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Oakland, Richmond, and of course San Francisco), 2365 trips ($34,533 fares) for Uber since Oct 2014.

I will not answer any more questions about myself as this thread is about falsifying vehicle inspections.


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## Huberis

This thread is what you make of it. No more, no less.

"On Sep 8, 2015, forum member merkurfan stated that the cab company that he drove for had "inspection tires" (new tires) which were used to temporarily mount on cabs strictly to pass inspection. What a scary thought....."

Clearly, the same concern exists here for Uber drivers. As an independent contractor, a person driving taxi for 15 years, If I don't like the tires on a car, I refuse to take it out. If there is something wrong with the car that makes it impossible to drive safely, something I discover mid shift, I can return the car anytime. They can do whatever they want to see to that it passes inspection, but as an independent contractor, I can refuse any car for such a reason and they will not and cannot argue with me.

Under this system, it is the driver who owns the car, the one experiencing the hardship of keeping it on the road. If someone is really pouring on the miles for Uber, and people can really pour on the miles it seems, your tires aren't going to last until the next inspection time. 

Thank you for the interesting insight.


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## Taylor810

Chicago-uber said:


> I kinda did that myself last year.
> 
> I did go for actual inspection. The guy filled out the uber inspection form.. Everything checked out, and I passed.
> 
> Couple weeks later lyft sent me the same form... Grrrr... So I just copied all the information onto lyft form and emailed it to lyft.


Yeah, they both accept each other’s inspections so just keep the screenshot or pic and submit it for both. You should just upload the one free inspection for both platforms.😎


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## kingcorey321

Somebody said they change there oil every 4k miles on here . Really ? What rideshare driver changes oil 4000 Miles?
Go for 8 to 10k I have 14 on my car now same oil ! Its just getting due .I had to add a quart . Why throw money away ?
Depending on what car you drive . what car does not use full synth oil ?
And that piece of paper i fill them out my self . Coreys auto repair . Everything passes . Phone number whatever 
Tech number Your state so if your mi Then its m3225518 Kentucky K4323453 So on. 
Or just scribble a name .Uber lyft will not call it lol.


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## TomTheAnt

Six years later... 🤦‍♂️


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## Jimmy44

Brandon1 said:


> My mechanic just tuned up my car last week but he's not part of rasier's official list. I'd rather not pay the $20 to get the vehicle inspection done.
> 
> I have last year's copy with everything filled out and whatnot, so is there anything really stopping me from just checking it all off myself? I don't recall the actual mechanic last year inputting anything into a computer, so I don't see how on earth uber would find out. Can anyone see a reason why this wouldn't work?


Go for it !!
Nothing to lose !!
It's like your documents !!


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