Warning = vent follows!!
I get really annoyed by the state inspection process here in Virginia. Maybe it's not as strict as other places but i moved here from Arizona and never saw such a fiasco.
I always took my cars to small independent mechanics for this "service". $15 for a 1 year windshield sticker and a pink ticket with 18 checked off points.
Once my '77 Spitfire failed because they couldn't find the catalytic converter and I was told by the talking head at the service counter that "someone has removed it and replaced it with a straight pipe". "We can fix it for $400." I played ignorant and walked back into the shop so he could "show" me the completely stock exhaust system. "What's that?" I innocently ask, pointing at the catalytic converter.....I guess that made him mad and he still failed my car because the horn "isn't loud enough". Again the stock original parts - there are 2 horns- pitched a high and a low. Both were working but I replaced the high pitch with a second low from a parts car - twice the decibels at low freq. Whilst in the shop I noted that these guys listen to a looping 8-track of "Freebird" cranked up loud so their hearing is probably shot.
You have no recourse, other than to use another Saturday and take the car to another shop. I paid the $5 re-inspect fee after my no$ repairs, then exacted my revenge. Word-of-mouth advertising works both ways. I work for the area's largest employer over 13,000 people. I made sure that everyone who would listen knew about my experience at this particular garage and the name of the manager.