Beware of VOB

[Kraln]

I'm pretty sure this is almost common knowledge by now, but I want to make sure that a search for VOB comes up with a warning about them. This is my post almost verbatim from a VOB thread on bimmerfest.

I recently bought a BMW, used, from a dealership in VA. The car passed VA inspections, and seemed to be in pretty good mechanical shape. Before looking on the internet, I made an appointment with VOB to get the car checked out and to do the Maryland state inspection.

I started posting on a forum for owners of the kind of car that I drive, and they declared quite clearly to "stay the hell away from vob". I asked them to recommend a mechanic, and they did. I brought my car to the mechanic, he did about $800 worth of repairs to the car (it definitely needed these) and said it would be good for inspection.

I take the car to VOB, and all of a sudden there's $2500 worth of issues with my car. They tried to claim my tires were dry rotted, and that my catalytic converter was shot, among other things. I didn't pay more than $8000 for the car, and I knew that if the car really had the stuff wrong with it that they said it did, it would not have passed VA inspections (which it did), or would have had a CEL on, or something.

So, I called the mechanic that had serviced my car, and quite frankly they were flabbergasted. They referred me to a shop nearby that does Maryland Inspections, and as I thought, there was nothing wrong with the car.

VOB, you guys are sleazeballs. Dan Martin (http://www.danmartinsautoservice.com/) is my mechanic now and for the rest of forever. He's a great guy, and he's honest too.