DMV Montclair Closing

I heard THEY are turning the place into a car wash...

Actually, that's not a bad idea...

But really, why is this a problem? What you don't like the thought of going to the (former) car theft capital of the US to get your car inspected?

I say good riddance. Ever since they made that asinine rule that you had to make an appointment to get your car inspected, I started going to Wayne. And guess, what? No appt. necessary. The longest I've ever waited at Wayne was 20 minutes. They get you in and get you out...a very well-oiled machine.

I don't have to get my car inspected until 2011.

Whoopee!

Thinking about it.

I think maybe I'll protest by buying a new car since they have a 4 year inspection grace period.

Talk about a tax increase!

Nice to see the state cutting back. Can't remember the last time the state cut back on anything.

Is this a cut? I'm sure the employees are going to be "reassigned."

Therefore, I don't know what the savings will be-- electricity?

Who owns the building? Who pays taxes on it?

I bet this will save us a total of nothing.

It's not the state--inspections have been done by a private contractor for several years. You might notice the service got better around that time!

I will miss it--so close, and nice employees.

your neighbor is right. The state never makes cuts. DMV was privatized a while ago and improved dramatically. Now why can't Montclair privatize the refuse collection? I'm lucky if my cans end up in front of my own house and they are rarely standing.

I don't care whether or not the cans are standing, but I'd like them to be fully empty!

I like having to park my car on the street so I can get out to move the cans that are laying on their side blocking the entrance to my driveway.

Ah, see, I don't have that problem, 13%. My cans are usually half-way up my front lawn- far, far away from my driveway (and from the curb where I left them).

I like having to make an apt. No waiting at all. I remember having to wait in a line that went clear around the corner and moved like a snail. I also liked the convenience of it's close proximity. I only want to hit the highway when I want to hit a mall. Gettin' old, I guess!!

You are not entirely correct, 13%. The DMV has not been "privatized", per se. The vehicle inspection process has simply been outsourced.

The closest the DMV came to "privatization" was the debacle under Christie Whitman in which the DMV offices were outsourced to private "agents" who then fired the state-employeed DMV employees in favor of poorly-paid (and poorly-trained and poorly-performing) employees on their private payrolls. You may remember these as the days of the horrible customer service and rampant corruption in the DMV. Things improved to the current fairly good levels of customer service in the DMV offices only when they ditched that business model and put the employees back on the state payroll.

Not every aspect of government is ripe for "privatization", because not every function is compatible with a profit-based model.

That said, given the increasingly longer period between inspections these days, partly due to more reliable safety and emissions technology, we probably don't need as many inspection stations as in the past. So, yes, nice to see the state cutting back on something!

You don't need a DNV office for inspections - we go to the Shell Station on Watchung near the GSP.

For how much, Jerseygurl?!? I hate to pay for something the law requires me to do...and is willing to do for free.

Aren't the employees employed by the "Commission"?

They are not, I believe, "private" in any real meaning of the word.

In fact, this "commission" is just another state agency.

Remember, we don't cut here in NJ.

We rename!

The last time I was at this inspection station was about 3 years ago. It was July, a warm, sunny, beautiful day.

As I was waiting out front for my car to appear I noticed an attractive young lady walking towards me with an unusual expression, almost beautific, on her face. She was walking at a leisurly pace and as she passed me I saw that she had fresh scratch marks on her back.

I guess you never know what you will see while you're getting your car inspected. Holy sh*t! What a weird moment.

Surrounded - I think it's about $45-50. Given the cost of gas and the limited amount of time we have it's worth it.

Jerseygurl - that's where we go, too. I'm not sure how much $, surrounded. But because it's in my neighborhood, the convenience is worth it - we drop a car off and walk home. Then they call when they're done.

"As I was waiting out front for my car to appear I noticed an attractive young lady walking towards me with an unusual expression, almost beautific, on her face. She was walking at a leisurly pace and as she passed me I saw that she had fresh scratch marks on her back."

Was her name Laura Palmer?

Yeah, I have a problem paying for state-mandated inspections, too. That's $45-50 that could be spent on gas.

I hate to pay for something the law requires me to do...and is willing to do for free.

I agree, which is why I will never buy TurboTax, or go to H&R block. I refuse to spend more of my money to get some of it back!

That's $45-50 that could be spent on gas.

Sadly, that will just barely fill most people's tanks these days.

MM,

I think so..

I've been wandering around on this green and blue sphere for over 50 years. This was one of the weirdest moments of all and I didn't share all of the details about this 'encounter', this is, after all, a 'family' web site.

VNC: Welp, since I hate to pay for inspection but hate to travel & wait on line moreso....2 years from now, you may have a guest for coffee (& lunch)!!! ;)

The closing has been on the website for several weeks. I was there this morning, actually, with a 7:30 appointment. The power went out for about 10 minutes, but I still got through okay and out by 8:00 AM. The fun part though, was watching the expression on the face of the guy with the Porsche Turbo Carrera who failed the inspection... not a happy camper.

This sucks! I've been going there for years. I like making an appointment and being in and out of there in no time. And it's so close.
The other stations are too crowded.