Florida - Taylor Ray https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5wt8FpNy10 "LS Miata ABANDONED NEIGHBORHOOD TESTING!" LS powered full racecar straight piped miata, has title, inspection was going in and getting a stamp.

Oklahoma - no inspections at all, straight piped work trucks with rusted out frames are the norm.

Kansas - Hoovies Garage https://youtu.be/ZlwjXhdNd3Y?t=433 "Why buying an old Shelby GT350 race car WAS A TERRIBLE IDEA" Full leaking fuel racecar with no speedo/lights/windows, inspector doesnt bother to even see it in person.

Utah - M539 Restorations https://youtu.be/_a9rCI2zfPM?t=524 "Buying & Fixing Broken BMW E46 M3 5200 Miles Away From Home - Project Salt Lake: Part 1" tire shop "inspection station", only interested in plugging in OBD to do emissions, doesnt bother to come out look at the car. Car is broken (wobbly wheel, etc) plus cant even pass ODB emissions, gets temp tag anyway.

In most states recertification is paying some administrative fee at the dmv without anyone even looking at the car.

Taking the cash and buying the car back at salvage value is a no-brainer in this situation.