Smog Issue

From the Ca. DMV site:
When a car is sold, who is responsible for the inspection?

The seller is required to provide the buyer with a valid smog inspection certification at the time of the sale or transfer. Smog certifications are good for 90 days from the date of issuance.

bob213 wrote:
From the Ca. DMV site:
When a car is sold, who is responsible for the inspection?

The seller is required to provide the buyer with a valid smog inspection certification at the time of the sale or transfer. Smog certifications are good for 90 days from the date of issuance.

That's why I always smog a vehicle myself before I sell it. It protects me from having the buyer come back claiming it did not pass smog.

The seller is responsible for the cost up to a certain dollar amount to get the vehicle to pass the smog test.

Older vehicles have much lower standards so I would be a little worried about one that could not pass the test. I would want it fixed and if the problem is a bad CAT converter this is going to be a very expensive repair and one the seller was most likely already aware of and hoped to pass along the problem to you.

DMV rule is (read: rule not law) that the seller is to provide a smog cert when sold. If you bought the vehicle without asking for the smog cert, you bought as-is. DMV is not going to enforce any rule after a sale. Your recourse is to fix it and smog it so you can register it. Then file a claim in small claims court against the former owner. He will argue you assumed liability for the smog when you bought it as is. It's 50/50 if a judge will act as DMV's agent and award you anything. I've bought and sold many vehicles without a smog with the understanding by both parties the sale is as-is.


BTW, What did the 87 Minnie fail in the smog test?

4.20 per gallon of gas in San Mateo and you need a smog license to use the gas. At that price you think they would have added enough ethanol to make it carbon neutral. I really do not need to visit such a state of imbalance.

Pops

traveylin wrote:
4.20 per gallon of gas in San Mateo and you need a smog license to use the gas. At that price you think they would have added enough ethanol to make it carbon neutral. I really do not need to visit such a state of imbalance.

Pops

Excuse me, but while I agree that many parts of the smog laws are nonsense waiting to be updated and legislated out of existence as new car technology improves, CARB (CA Air Resource Board) has made life breathable in California. If you lived here in the 60s, most days in the LA basin resembled what Beijing is like now. The smell of gasoline was everywhere. Visibility was such that most people never saw the mountains 30 miles east of downtown. Life expectancy, measured in todays standards, was 12-15 years shorter than the national average. It all began with the first legislated smog control called the PCV valve, thanks in part to all the 60's Ford Falcons running around spewing clouds of blue smoke. Today, one can jog thru Griffith Park, up and down the canyon roads without dying of asphyxiation.

You could add two bottles of Isopropyl and have it retested. I don't know if CA allows that or if you're locked into having some work done.

Back in the day, if we had a vehicle that was suspected of possibly failing the emissions test, in would go the alcohol and it would pass. We took about 10 years of that emissions racket and they changed the laws, not requiring a yearly test.

paulm999 wrote:

traveylin wrote:
4.20 per gallon of gas in San Mateo and you need a smog license to use the gas. At that price you think they would have added enough ethanol to make it carbon neutral. I really do not need to visit such a state of imbalance.

Pops

Excuse me, but while I agree that many parts of the smog laws are nonsense waiting to be updated and legislated out of existence as new car technology improves, CARB (CA Air Resource Board) has made life breathable in California. If you lived here in the 60s, most days in the LA basin resembled what Beijing is like now. The smell of gasoline was everywhere. Visibility was such that most people never saw the mountains 30 miles east of downtown. Life expectancy, measured in todays standards, was 12-15 years shorter than the national average. It all began with the first legislated smog control called the PCV valve, thanks in part to all the 60's Ford Falcons running around spewing clouds of blue smoke. Today, one can jog thru Griffith Park, up and down the canyon roads without dying of asphyxiation.

Amen brother; growing up in the early '60s in So Cal, I sure do remember the "bad 'ol days". Folks that didn't live through it don't have a clue and it's the reason Calif has the toughest emission standards in the country. Much cleaner air now, and there's 10 times as many cars on the road. Maybe more, but I stopped counting.

I had an old dodge dakota that would never pass the smog test on regular gas.

I would run that thing down to past empty and put about three gallons of the amoco ultimate in it, take it out and give it a good work out and then it would pass in flying colors and i would also have enough fuel to get to the nearest discount station and fill er up.

paulm999 wrote:
DMV rule is (read: rule not law) that the seller is to provide a smog cert when sold. If you bought the vehicle without asking for the smog cert, you bought as-is. DMV is not going to enforce any rule after a sale. Your recourse is to fix it and smog it so you can register it. Then file a claim in small claims court against the former owner. He will argue you assumed liability for the smog when you bought it as is. It's 50/50 if a judge will act as DMV's agent and award you anything. I've bought and sold many vehicles without a smog with the understanding by both parties the sale is as-is.


BTW, What did the 87 Minnie fail in the smog test?

Running 7x too rich...New holly was put on from previous owner but not adjusted to motor..My mech said that guy must have been getting 3-4 miles a gallon :S