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I was watching Chasing Classic Cars last night, and he was trying to sell a 1977 Masaerati Bora at a Cali car auction. One of the hang ups they ran into was that the only way they could sell this car to a Cali residents was if the car met Cali emission standards, and of course it failed fantastically. My question is in California, for older cars, what kind of standards do these cars have to meet? How does California test classic/vintage cars, and hot rods/ street rods etc....???
Smog inspections are required unless your vehicle is:
Hybrid
Gasoline powered 1975 year model or older
Diesel powered 1997 year model and older or with a Gross Vehicle Weight rating (GVWR) of more than 14,000 lbs
Electric
Natural gas powered with a GVWR rating of more than 14,000 lbs.
Motorcycle
Trailer
Passing the tail pipe test is easy. Its the visual inspection that gets most people in trouble. A lot of smog check shops were doctoring the results to pass cars which caused the state to implement random road side checks. They found that 1/2 of the older cars that passed smog check within the last 6 months actually failed the road side test. The smog check program was revised for a third time in 10 years to try to weed out the bad shops. Unless you drive a pre 76 gasser, a pre 98 diesel or a hybrid, you're screwed.
I'm in California and I sold my beloved 1976 BMW 2002 because of the emissions. I didn't want to spend all that money to repair it. The car was still registered as non-operational at the CA DMV when I sold it. The buyer was from California and he registered it inCalifornia (Pomona). He's a BMW 2002 mechanic (specialist) and he works at a repair shop that is very well known in California to the 2002 community. He wrote "buyer assumes all responsibility" on the paperwork and I also had him sign a disclosure stating that he understands the smog laws in CA and that he understands that the 2002 in its present condition will fail an emissions test. Still, I don't know how he did it. To sell your 1976 or later CA car (in CA) the car must have a passing smog certificate not older than 90 days at the time of a private sell. Did he tell the DMW the 1976 2002 was just a parts car? Anyways, he got the car going. The car runs incredible. I want it back.
After my dad passed away in 1992 we sold his '78 Ford F-150 originally from Texas. The only way we could get it to pass was for our regular mechanic to choke it down to the point it would barely run. We then sold it to a family friend who promptly undid everything the mechanic did. He lived in a county that didn't require smog tests so he figured he wouldn't have to worry about it for a long time (until he sold it).
Location: The Circle City. Sometimes NE of Bagdad.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by camaro69
Another reason not to live in California.
In NJ if the car is at least 25 years old and can't pass emisisons, just get QQ (Historic plates) and you're exempt from inspections.
CA exemption from testing:
The California DMV will mail you a registration renewal notice telling you whether you are required to get your vehicle smogged; it will also tell you if your vehicle requires a smog check at a test-only station. Exceptions include:
Vehicles made in 1975 or prior
Diesel-powered vehicles manufactured prior to 1997 (or a GVWR of more than 14,000 pounds)
Electric vehicles
Natural gas powered vehicles weighing more than 14,000 pounds
Hybrids
Motorcycles
Trailers
Also, if your vehicle is six or less model years old, you are not required to obtain smog certification as long as you pay the annual $20 smog abatement fee.
When pollution standards were set, every new vehicle had a sticker stating that the vehicle complied with the level of that year. When a 1976-2013 vehicle is tested, does it have to meet the requirements of the year of manufacture or the levels of 2013?
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To sell your 1976 or later CA car (in CA) the car must have a passing smog certificate not older than 90 days at the time of a private sell. Did he tell the DMW the 1976 2002 was just a parts car? Anyways, he got the car going. The car runs incredible. I want it back. 
