Neil's Laconia Garage

06/29/2025

What to expect (from the horse's mouth):
The sticker scam is over. Read on for more.

June 27: The budget passed! The sticker scam is OVER.
The budget passed the House yesterday. And the Governor just signed it. Come 2026, the sticker scam is over once and for all! Thank you to everyone who made this possible!

The details

HB649, in its original form, passed the House but was retained by the Senate after no acceptable compromises could be procured. However, our efforts supporting the bill, and your stories of the endless ripoffs and scams this law allowed, convinced the House GOP to make ending the sticker scam a centerpiece of their agenda for this year. And so, an exact copy of HB649 was inserted into the omnibus budget bill, HB2. This is a common tactic to force the Senate to pass something the House has already passed and really wants.

In the end, our bill survived the budget committee of conference with only one minor change: Safety inspections will be no more as of January 31, 2026, however the emissions inspections may endure until September 30. The purpose of this change was to allow the N.H. Dept. of Environmental Services to request a waiver from the EPA regarding the State’s compliance with the Clean Air Act, of which OBD-II checks (the “check wallet light”) had been a part. If the Feds grant the waiver before September 30, emissions inspections are gone then. If the Feds do not, emissions inspections are gone on September 30 anyway. The DES Deputy Commissioner is already working on filing for the waiver.

Ticketed for an inspection violation?
As of this moment, the sticker scam technically continues—for another 218 days. You can get pulled over and ticketed for having an expired inspection sticker. And we’ve heard multiple first-hand reports that some police departments are making frantic last-ditch efforts to enforce the sticker scam. This is entirely pointless and wasteful, as towns do not even get to keep the ticket revenue (RSA 260:23). If you get pulled over and ticketed, let us know and we will assist you fighting the ticket!

A special thank you to…
We would like to thank all our friends in the State House for making this happen—

Our prime sponsor, Rep. Michael Granger, and cosponsors Reps. Juliet Harvey-Bolia, Shane Sirois, and Matt Sabourin;
House Majority Leader Rep. Jason Osborne, who made this a top issue to win on this year, and provided the saving amendment at the HB2 Committee of Conference;
Rep. Henry Giasson, who gave the floor speech which helped us cross the aisle and bring 29 Democrats to vote for our bill;
Reps. John Sellers and Matthew Coker, who have fought this fight for years on behalf of their low-income and elderly constituents;
Rep. Tom Walsh, who as House Transportation Committee Chair, was convinced to support our bill after hearing from so many constituents;
Reps. Ted Gorski and Steve Smith, also of the Transportation Committee, who also changed their mind this year and supported repealing the inspection program;
Rep. Charlie St. Clair, also of the Transportation Committee, who has been a strong supporter of ending the sticker scam for years;
Rep. Tom Mannion, who did statistical research for us on road safety and insurance rates, to help fend off much opposition on those grounds;
Hon. Leah Cushman, whose bill last year to make tiny fixes to the inspection regime, which was killed by the Senate, gave us the momentum and determination to demand a full repeal;

Sen. Keith Murphy, who introduced a similar bill as a rep years ago, and was our main supporter in the Senate, who ultimately prevented a very bad amendment from passing;
Sen. Tim McGough, who wrote the best of the compromise amendments for the Senate Transportation Committee;
Sen. Victoria Sullivan, who along with the above senators voted against retaining the bill;
Sens. Sharon Carson and James P. Gray, who—after the Senate opposed our original bill—nevertheless supported pushing our original bill through the budget conference committee;

Jeremy J. Olson and Steve Zemanek, who coördinated all the grassroots efforts, email, social media, flyering campaigns, and this website content;
Jason Hennessey, Ph.D., who provided a plethora of statistics at committee hearings;
Brian Chase, a retired State Police sergeant and expert in accident investigation and reconstruction, who provided persuasive testimony as to the uselessness of inspections and the scams so many inspection stations run;
Gaston G., who relentlessly posted our content and favorable news articles all over social media;
David M., Derek V., Reinita, and others who helped out with flyering all over New Hampshire;
Derek P. and Liam C. who organized the AFP-NH calling parties for us;
Fellow liberty organizations Americans for Prosperity – New Hampshire, Citizens Alliance New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance, and Young Americans for Liberty who made phone calls and sent emails and text messages supporting our bill;
The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, who generously donated $500 to our cause;
Neil’s Laconia Garage, a licensed inspection station, whose owner nevertheless came out in favor of our bill;
Our 600+ grassroots activists on our mailing list;
The 300+ New Hampshire citizens who used our email forms to contact their representatives and senators with their stories of ripoffs and scams; and
Countless other advocates and activists we’re probably not even aware of out there!

06/27/2025

YES! WE DID IT! YOU DID IT! The inspection scam is over! Soon you will be able to Live Free and Drive in the great state of New Hampshire. God Bless NH! https://www.jeremyjolson.com/legislation/2025/hb649/

06/27/2025

YES! WE DID IT! YOU DID IT! The inspection scam is over. Soon you can Live Free and Drive in this great state. God Bless NH! https://x.com/JeremyJOlson/status/1937621498925138017

06/18/2025

June 16–19: Last chance to end the sticker scam! https://www.nhinspect.org/
The text of our bill to eliminate the sticker scam is now present in the House version of HB2, the New Hampshire budget! But the Senate version of the budget is trying to eliminate it. So now, the budget goes to a “committee of conference” where the House and the Senate negotiate and try to reach common ground on this and other differences in the two versions of the budget.

If you want to eliminate coercive car inspections once and for all, let the budget conference committee know! Keep HB649 as originally written in the budget! (Specifically, this means keeping sections 362–372 of HB2 as amended by House amendment 2025-1488h and opposing sections 253–274 of HB2 as amended by the Senate amendment 2025-2637s.)

We need you to do two things if you want to end the sticker scam!

Email the entire conference committee using our form! https://www.jeremyjolson.com/email?e=4355c52f-752f-45dd-ba0c-88f45e2379a1

Call each of the conference committee members! Below, they are listed in order of importance—

Sen. James P. Gray (R) — 603-271-4980 (office), 603-332-7144 (home). He is on the fence and may be the decisive swing vote in our favor!

Sen. Sharon Carson (R) — 603-271-3266. She has been opposed to our bill but her party in the House supports it.

Sen. Cindy Rosenwald (D) — 603-271-7587. The Democrats claim to care about low-income voters but they have opposed our bill. Let her know how many people support ending the regressive “sticker tax”!

Rep. Mary Jane Wallner (D) — 603-225-5249. Same as Rosenwald.

Rep. Joe Sweeney (R) — 603-327-7184. He voted for our bill already.

Rep. José Cambrils (R) — 603-731-8287. He voted for our bill already.

Rep. Dan McGuire (R) — 603-782-4918. He voted for our bill already.

Rep. Ken Weyler (R) — Please do not call; he has suffered a recent family loss. He voted for our bill already.

The New Hampshire Legislature is set to eliminate the car inspection sticker scam this year! Help us get rid of them once and for all!

05/10/2025

Still on the hunt for the right guy for our small team since the renovation-expansion.

Easy 1-Click Apply Neil's Laconia Garage Certified Automotive And Light Truck Technician Full-Time ($28 - $45) job opening hiring now in Laconia, NH. Apply now!

03/01/2025

The time is near for personal responsibility to replace the BS vehicle State Inspection program in the "Live Free or Die" state. The decidedly split House votes March 6th. Be sure to reach out to your rep and voice your opinion. Here is mine, sent a few days ago to the House members that represent our great state. Vote yes on HB649 to end the inspection boondoggle once and for all.

February 23, 2025

What is really wrong with our state motor vehicle inspection program and the debate surrounding it

First, for those who are short on time; My wife of 31 yrs and I raised two kids here after falling in love with each other and this state many years earlier. We both support HB 649 aimed at ending the motor vehicle inspection program in its entirety.
Since taking an interest in this cause and understanding some of the views being put forth, I feel compelled to try to dispel some of the misguided, public opinions on this subject despite knowing that it may put my family business at risk. I wonder how organizations like IATN, MOTOR, Snap On, Pten, Diagnostic Network, Napa, O’reillys, Autel, Federated, LRCC and the like would feel about some of the opinions held in these circles regarding the “crooked mechanic”. I’ll just keep that under my hat for now. As a 30yr ASE L1 certified Master auto and light truck technician with over 40 years of experience in this trade including 1 year as an instructor for NHCTC and almost 19 years as a shop owner in Laconia, I feel like I have the credentials to be considered an expert in this arena.
Having been a state inspector for either Ma. or NH since 1994, I have seen the evolution of this program first hand and grown to despise it. From the incredibly intrusive IM240 testing to the increasingly bloated, bureaucratic, CARB/ Fed supported OBD testing, it continues to harass the drivers of this state and the respectable technicians that work here in the “Live Free or Die” state. In particular, what has forced me to opine is the irresponsible assertion that one of the overarching problems with this program is the “crooked mechanic”. This cheap narrative, including these shockingly broad beauties: “who hasn’t been held hostage by the greedy mechanic” (by some of whom support this bill) to the citing of the revered State Trooper who supposedly, carelessly submits that “low income and elderly residents” are “at the mercy of New Hampshire Inspection Station personnel” in local publications! Hence, I would like supporters of this bill to hear an opposing view of this matter and form unique opinions.
I have worked and trained with hundreds of “mechanics” in my career and I can honestly say that the overwhelming majority of them do not take pleasure in forcing people to succumb to programs like these. They, like myself, do enjoy fairly and honestly profiting from making people safe who wouldn’t otherwise be aware they were in danger. Generally, I truly believe that professional Technicians posses the integrity and skills on par or greater than any tradesman we are all “at the mercy of”. I realize we are astonishingly under appreciated thanks, in part, to the perpetuated stereotype that some shallow people push to move an agenda. Today’s Technicians continue to be diagnosticians, chemists, philanthropists, electricians, plumbers, mechanical engineers, machinists, analysts, welders, and yes..mechanics all-in-one. That said, I will speak to my own experiences.
Imagine your elected officials decided to mandate yearly furnace inspections and subsequent repairs by authorized repairmen in order to remain eligible for other municipal services like fire protection. Do you think these HVAC technicians will develop a warm reputation for being gracious and honest statewide? Do you think these repairs will be considered a boon to their profession over time, as they greedily impose their will upon the elderly?
During the three decades I have been inspecting cars in this State, I have instituted a method of integrity that is part of my reputation. I remained L1 certified and sometimes took referrals from “the state” when difficult diagnostic jobs became a problem for drivers. As a small shop owner for nearly 19 years now, there is hardly a day when my staff and I aren’t trying to find the “gray area” in the convoluted law book of RSAs so as to legally protect the technician and the business while helping the customer navigate another yearly inspection process and remain safe for the year ahead. We color-in faded license plates, secure loose body panels and parts, install good, used wiper blades and brake pads to those who have no money for repairs, advise how to drive and return promptly in order to legally manipulate the vehicle’s computers to possibly avoid expensive emission failures and other courtesies for free. Constantly.
In dealing with these poorly written statutes that have been bastardized and minced over the years to accommodate each lawmaker’s incentives, “greedy NH mechanics” like myself have the regular displeasure of dealing with some things rarely mentioned by anyone in this debate. Listed below, perhaps they will lend some clarity as to who is really on the “good people of NH’s” side:
• When discussing the details of some indeterminate statute with a Trooper at Troop G, I was recently warned that, as the business owner, I could be held responsible for the independent actions of another State Inspector (who carries his own license and uses his own discretion) that I employ. That’s comforting.
• Aside from being honest and ethical (which we are not touted as being), we have to endure random audits from, presumably, “Troop G” whereas the auditor tries to “trip us up” and “get” us on a technicality which could lead to at least temporary loss of license. Once, many years ago, the auditor struggled to find the clause that stated I had to have a business sign of a certain type instead of the window paint that was all we could afford at the time. Angered, he couldn’t find anything on us and left.
• When we have unspecified issues with the inspection administration or processes we get to deal with the snarky, short and bothered women of the Inspection Station “help” desk. They always succeed at making you feel small when your working hard to get things done for the division they represent.
• Did you know that the State of NH insures the snowmobile trails that run through private property? Do you know that inspectors and stations are offered no such protection for doing the state’s bidding to the best of our ability on every vehicle we inspect. That includes rusty vehicles that are snow, salt, sand and ice covered, often intentionally undercoated with thick, greasy layers of dirt and chemicals nearly impossible to accurately assess. That’s like eating a tar sandwich in the parking lot before going in to see your dentist! All for usually well under 50.00 (39.00 in my case).
• Did you know we pay fees every month to the State and Gordon Darby (likely indirectly) for doing THEIR bidding, while we take on the massive liability of injury or death (this is where the argument that “the insurance companies aren’t involved” falls apart). No one will be there to help us if we falter while fulfilling the state’s mandate. Not NHADA, not NFIB, not the state. Nobody. In my small 2 man shop we average between 250 and 350.00 a month in fees and pay dearly for overlapping insurance of our own (that we haven’t needed to use in over 18 yrs).
• Meanwhile, go stand outside for a little while out in front of my shop on a hot summer day. Listen for yourself to the shocking sounds of the modified vehicle exhausts that resemble gun shots and resonant frequencies so loud you can’t hear the person on the side of you. I asked a friend in the dept. once, “why do the police allow this”? “Because only a few detection meters are available for the entire force at a given time” he replied. But I should fail Mrs. Johnson for a rotted muffler? I feel bad for those who work third shift.
• Likewise, watch the Jeeps roll by with no doors installed. The same ones I was told needed to be there for inspection and the angered customer argued with me about. Guess I can’t blame him.
• I have lost many new customers for enforcing operational parking brake statutes that no one else seems to care about. Same for black-out window tint that I insisted be removed. Not exactly the profitable scenario some activists want you to believe. Hey, why is that tint even legal to sell/ adhere in this state? Don’t worry, we’ll take the heat. After all, we’re getting rich from this right?
• Don’t get me going with motorcycle exhaust systems!

Yes, the “corrupt mechanics” seem like a real scourge, don’t they. Well, here’s the real story. Not the one the politicians and activists are pushing on either side of this argument. They created the laws. They make the money and work the jobs created by it as do the special interests, municipalities, big dealers, NHADA and so on. The “crooked mechanic” is the scapegoat in their system. We are used to carry out their orders and absorb the scorn from the public while they deflect the discontent from themselves. Likewise, when the other side of the committee or activists wants to abolish the system, it’s again the “greedy mechanic’s” fault this program even exists because somehow we lobby in our own defense to keep our so-called money machine going! Let me make this clear to you people who represent all of us Automobile Technicians in congress. The hoax is that we technicians need this boondoggle to make a living. The reality is WE DO. But ONLY because you keep it alive. If any one shop were to remove oneself from the inspection process it would go out of business. Why? Because all of it’s customers would be forced to go elsewhere for this scam process. If the program were to be completely abolished, then no technician or shop would have to suffer from the ending of it or the mourn the loss of the imaginary pot-of-gold so many of you enjoy using as your scapegoat when vilifying the hardworking and underappreciated Auto Technician.
The trashing of the Technician is, in my professional opinion, helping to foster the shortage of new technicians that is driving up the cost of labor for everyone. It is conceivable to me that without real support and respect for this trade the costs that some folks perceive as greed will soon be much, much worse when the only shop in town is the dealer. Ironically, this may be one reason NHADA, the lobbyists and the big dealers don’t want to see this program go. By the way, we’re currently hiring a Master Technician. Starting pay: 75,000 plus benefits (as seen on Indeed) if you know anyone.


Respectfully,
Neil Trindade – Owner
Neil’s Laconia Garage LLC

The New Hampshire Legislature is set to eliminate the car inspection scam this year! Help us get rid of them once and for all!

11/11/2024

We are grateful to have hired two, admirable, certified technicians recently. Please welcome Brian and Matt to the NLG team!

04/09/2024

Here are the girls protecting their eyes from the sun today. That was fun. But if I never hear the word "totality" again it will be too soon.

01/10/2024

Found a use for these stupid masks. Thanks Dr. Fauci!

07/02/2023

As I finished up with a ride around the neighborhood filled with honks and waves, a car driving by, adorned with the American flag and POW flag, saw me in the shop, standing at attention, with my hand on my heart. Big smiles! Big respect! Big prayers for this country. Have a great 4th of July.