Is it time for you to get your vehicle registration notice in the mail? Don’t forget that they’ve changed the way the State of Texas does vehicle registration. This isn’t a new change—it started last year—but it’s still catching people off guard.

Get Your Inspection Done First:
If you get your vehicle registration notice in the mail, it can be tempting to just jump on to www.tx.gov and renew it online. But when you put in your license plate and vehicle identification number, it’s going to spit back an error saying, “Hey, you didn’t get your vehicle inspected!”

Remember, when you this notice in the mail you have to go get your inspection done first. (Let us know if you need any help figuring out where to get your inspection done.) Once your car has passed inspection, the shop where you get the inspection done will enter your car’s information into the computer. This puts it into a database that’s linked to your online registration. Now when you go to renew your registration online, the State of Texas will know that your car has already been inspected and passed. Then they will allow you to renew your registration.

So just remember to get your inspection done first, then do the registration! And give yourself plenty of time before the month expires to get your sticker in the mail. If you wait until the last minute, you risk not having your sticker on hand before your car registration goes out of date. And then, of course, you risk getting a ticket.

How To Ensure Your Vehicle Passes Inspection
As far as making sure your vehicle passes inspection—this is another reason why we’re big on preventive maintenance. Make sure you’re following the routine maintenance recommendations according to your owner’s manual, and make sure you’re getting into us for oil changes every 3 months or 3,000-5,000 miles, etc. This way we can let you know about anything that could potentially keep your car from passing inspection. There’s nothing worse than paying for a vehicle inspection, only to have them come back and say it failed!

We are more than happy to be your go-to shop, whether you come see us at our McKinney location or our new Frisco location. We want to make sure your vehicle is always up and running smoothly, and ready to pass inspection!

So remember, when you get your registration notice in the mail, get your inspection done first!

If you have any questions about this or anything else, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 972-978-8797

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