The mandatory inspection is a good thing IMO. It's one of those things that the government gets right. When the inspections were delegated to the private sector, things got clearly better. Competition is keeping the prices in check and the level of service has clearly improved. The engineer you meet is no longer a government employee at a liberty to treat you coldly and sometimes disrespectfully but a service provider you can ask for tips to better maintain your car. I have often followed the engineer to the hall and asked questions during the inspection and benefited from the engineer's expertise. You can get much more detailed information than from the official form they print out for you.