your post are now the first thing I look at on this site.
Interested to know if there is an equivalent in the US of the MOT we have in the UK. This is an annual Ministry of Transport test, costing around £50, which all vehicles have to undergo. Any vehicle failing the test cannot be used on the roads until any faults have been repaired and the vehicle retested. it is against the law to use a vehicle without a vallid MOT,and the police can seize any vehicle being used without the MOT, and ultimately have it crushed.