I had moved to South Carolina from New York and at that time, a vehicle inspection was required to register my car.

I was nervous. My car was in rough shape. I thought of New York State's rigorous inspections. Any number of problems might turn up that would be expensive to fix.

I drove down a country road and found a garage that had an inspection sign. When I told the mechanic what I needed, he circled the car, turned on the lights and honked the horn.

Then he attached a new sticker and asked me for the $3 fee.

I was shocked.

"Is that all you have to do"? I asked.

He answered, "Well, you drove it here, didn't you"?