I have never gotten a sticker without at least a few hundred dollars, many times 1000+ in repairs. I have always had older (10-15 years) vehicles. I’m a woman who does not know much about cars, and that has worked against me (not based on assumptions, but people I’ve checked with after the fact).

I agree we need safe vehicles on the road, but lower income people struggle to get cars inspected. Many people have to commute to decent paying jobs, and may get ticketed along the way to work, while they try to save for costly repairs to meet an inspection. I can say personally, from years of dealing with that stress and anxiety, wondering if you’ll get pulled over and receive an expensive fine or be made late to work, is often one more thing on a list of costly expenses and life stressors-things low-income folks deal with daily that are huge barriers to successful employment.