Be it as it may, inspection stickers are a once a year necessity that is required of anyone who owns and operates a car. I find it interesting that small, mechanic shops who have the ability to bestow these stickers are also inclined to profit-making. Conflict of interest? Maybe, but in any case, the tempation for mechanics to take advantage of a customers need for a sticker is ever-present.
Take for instance, the Gulf station on Route 114. I went in there simply because I needed to get a new sticker for my car. Without even inspecting my car, one of the mechanics concluded that there was definitely something wrong with my exhaust. This conclusion, made after reving my engine twice was obviously false, because he could not state what precisely was wrong with it, nor what steps he was going to take to fix it. He just kept reving the engine and repeating that is was "too loud", which it was not. I take good care of my car. A loud exhaust would have prompted me to take my car to my mechanic right away. And as a resident of Lawrence I think I have a fairly good grasp on what a loud engine sounds like, because many residents have custom exhausts that are extremely loud.
In other words, if you bring your car to the Gulf Station for anything—be it a service or a sticker, be very cautious, especially if you are a woman by yourself. Often, there's a mistake presumption that we would not be able to discern an alternator from a monkey. That's not that case with me. My grandfather taught me a great deal about cars and I do a lot of research when it comes to repairs. Most are not so lucky, however, and might take a dishonest mechanic's word for truth.
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