Can anyone recommend a brake and lamp inspector near 94040?

[jeremyclark]

I'm about halfway thru SB100 process for my Seven (I have had VIN checked and have Cert. of Sequence in hand). Smog inspection is scheduled with the Smog Referee. I just need brake and lamp inspections to complete the process, but I'm struggling to find anyone nearby with a valid BAR certification who will take my business. The BAR search tool is reasonably helpful but some entries are out of date; one place in Sunnyvale I called "only does stock vehicles". It doesn't help that BAR recently changed their certificate forms and not every station has the new ones yet. If this is the benchmark registration model for the US, I dread to think what it's like elsewhere.

Does anyone have a reco for an inspection facility on the Peninsula / South Bay / East Bay / San Jose? I'm in Mountain View (94040) but I don't mind going farther afield.

Muchas gravitas,
JC

[Sean]

I used Akin's Auto Repair in San Jose to good effect, but that was in 2009. Kind of hard to find, in the back of an alley-like driveway off of Park Avenue, just west of the railroad underpass. Best to call first, probably.

REF:
http://akinsautorepair.com/brake-and...nspection.html

Map:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/AK...4d-121.9049924

[jeremyclark]

I used Akin's Auto Repair in San Jose to good effect, but that was in 2009. Kind of hard to find, in the back of an alley-like driveway off of Park Avenue, just west of the railroad underpass. Best to call first, probably.

Thanks Sean, I called and I'm all booked in for next week. You saved me a bunch of time there.

Jeremy

[gparker]

I got mine done at Akin's last year, but while I was there I seem to remember them saying they weren't going to do B&L checks anymore.

[jeremyclark]

I got mine done at Akin's last year, but while I was there I seem to remember them saying they weren't going to do B&L checks anymore.

Thanks. Yep, we'll see when I show up tomorrow but it's as close to a firm booking as I've had since I started dialing in concentric circles 2 weeks ago. I'll let you know if I succeed.

[jeremyclark]

Thanks. Yep, we'll see when I show up tomorrow but it's as close to a firm booking as I've had since I started dialing in concentric circles 2 weeks ago. I'll let you know if I succeed.

Well it worked out at Akin's, though not quite as I'd expected. I got the brake and lamp inspection certificates, but he gave the car a pretty perfunctory look-over before deciding to pass me. Akin was very friendly and cheerful, but I think either because the shop was busy or because the Cat has a complex startup sequence he decided quickly to do a visual inspection outside and just write out the certificates. I've done 500 miles since finishing the build so I'm pretty confident in the brakes, but it would have been nice to get professional validation of the lights being adjusted correctly since we only eyeballed it against another parked vehicle in Rich Kamp's shop. As I'm coming to the end of my temp permit runway, I decided to take the passes and run.