Where Purcell inspects
Missouri, seven locations: De Soto, Fenton, Jackson, Joplin, Osage Beach, Springfield and Washington.
Utah, three locations: Ogden, Orem and Salt Lake City.
No Purcell location in the other twelve states performs state inspections.
What to check before you come
Inspection requirements, what is covered and how often a vehicle needs inspecting are set by each state and change from time to time. Confirm the current requirement for your vehicle with the store when you book, or with the state directly. Purcell performs the inspection to whatever the state requires at the time.
What is worth doing before you arrive is the obvious preparation, because the same handful of things account for a large share of avoidable failures:
- Lights. Every one of them, including the plate light and the brake lights. Have somebody stand behind the vehicle while you press the pedal.
- Wipers and washers. Torn blades and an empty washer bottle are easy failures.
- Tires. Tread depth, obvious damage and anything worn to the cords.
- Horn, mirrors and seat belts.
- Warning lights. A check engine light illuminated on the dash is worth dealing with before the inspection rather than during it.
- Brakes. If anything has been squealing or grinding, get it looked at first. See brake repair.
What happens on the day
Bring the vehicle and whatever paperwork the state requires for your inspection type, which the store will tell you when you book. Allow more time than the inspection itself takes, since the stores doing this work are doing other work alongside it.
If something fails, you will be told what and why rather than handed a result. A fault that is quick to put right can often be dealt with in the same visit; one that needs parts means a return trip, and the store will say which you are looking at before anything starts.
Failing is not the end of it
A vehicle that fails needs the fault corrected and the inspection completed. The advantage of being at a Purcell store that also repairs vehicles is that the correction does not require finding somewhere else: brakes, suspension, tires, lights and the rest can be dealt with in the same place.
Ask the store to tell you what it finds and what it would cost before anything is done, so the decision stays yours.
Fleets
For a fleet, inspections belong in the maintenance plan rather than arriving as a surprise on an individual vehicle. Stores running fleet services can schedule inspections alongside scheduled maintenance, which means failures get caught during a planned visit rather than taking a vehicle off the road at the wrong moment.