Hy guys, yes, this "smog test only" place is a set up for robbery! Unlike Washington State, here , it costs 60 dollars, pass or not passing, you pay, if you fail, you will have to pay again, you can not register your car before passing this test which goes directly to the DMV computer. They will not tell you a word of what is going on and /or how to pass the test. All they say is that they are forbidden by law.The "system" is already made 60 dollars, and has 60 more in the pocket,you will have to pay those 60 dollars no matter what.There is no vocation for helping you out nor assist you, it is all a spider web to get money of you. If 1000 people a day are tricked in this way...(sounds high?, there are millions of vehicles in the state of Ca.), that is 60000dollars a day only in this part of the scam.
Once here,(not passing) you contact the consumer affairs people , they run this program, and they send you to a referee, which charges you 40 dollars for his inspection.If it is oK, you go to the" smog test only" again for the retest, pay the additional 60 dollars , and you are cleared, if you do not pass, you are on your own, they tell you nothing about the problem, and you either fix it somehow(paying big money to some smog garage "guru" who probably changes a small selenoid or some crappy stuff for a few hundred dollars he might get of of you)...and retest(at your expense of course) or scrap your car. It is the most dishonest , sleazy scam I've ever seen.All under the kidnapped goal of cleaner air(kidnapped because the real honest goal of cleaner air is used to make this ilicit revenue).No surprise they do everything posible to avoid vehicles reaching exemption, a exempted car is a hole in the revenue plan, there is no money to be made. The opportunity of getting hundreds of dollars out of the exempted car is lost, multiplied by the number of cars that would reach exemption, becomes a fortune lost!
They do not care if you pollute the air or not, they do not care into assisting somebody in making his(her)car comply with the smog levels, all they want is your money, everytime you fall, they are not there to help you get on your feet, they are there to get your wallet, and let you on the floor bleeding!
Bloody bastards!
Well, they got their match on me, I never give up!!!!!!!!!!!
Jaime__________________________

Yup, they are definitly tightening the screws on the smog checks. In the past ,if you failed , you could just fix what ever was wrong and go back. Now you have to show receipts and go to a certain retest station. I can't remember what these places are called but if you're 'tagged' as a gross polluter you have to go there for a recheck. It's a regular smog check with a super sensitive machine. The check list is also longer.
Anyways, if you fix you're problems and pass, you are no longer labled as a gross polluter.
My advice is to have your car (any car) PRE-INSPECTED before you take the official test.

Quote:Ah, yes. In the past I helped a couple of friends in California get their cars tested. It was done at a gas station/auto repair shop. The mechanic was helpful in pointing out was was wrong and how to fix it.

The "state run" is what we have in Washington, actually it is a private company under contract to the state. They don't look under the hood, but the printout -- should it fail to pass -- indicates what failed (CO, NOx, HC) so you get some clues about what to do next. It costs $15, but you get a free retest, then have to pay the next time if it fails again.

Hy Kegs, as Matt said, it is the exemption to the law requiering emissions test every two years, in Ca, as Dgonz said, it is very strict, and getting more so by the year with the implementation of state run "smog test only" facilities, called "test only" because these places only test the vehicle, but do not tell you what is wrong, nor assist you in anything, if you do not pass, they report you via computer to the DMV (dept of Motor Vehicles) and you are in trouble, that blocks your registration, it is a mess.
Matt, I think the exemption, once a car is exempted(like my 74 180B), it can not be brought back into the system, all they can do.....(as done back in 93, when the law was 20 years or older, they Froze the year to that years' current status{73-93- 20 year old}, and kept it frozen for the next 10
years untill now, 03, raising the time from 20 to 30 years.).... is freeze the model year being exempted at time of repeal, so if the law is repealed tomorrow, the 74 year cars would never be brought back, they would just freeze the year to 1974, so the 610 is saved. They could keep it at 74 for the next 20 years, that would make it a 50 year old or older(in about 20 more years if that would ever happen). There is no more inspections at all, so ,by the book they could inspect the car as you said, if, given the extremly rare chance of a more rare inspection, but that is not a norm at all, once exempted, it is for good.
The idiot referre(in the case of the B210) even lied to me telling me that only 1973 models were to be exempted, he did not know I also had the 74 610(180B) Datsun. I mentioned that in my complaint, so if they want to tell me that lie again, I will surprise them with my 610 exempted registration. It is like a boxing fight, the DMV got me cornered wit the B210 case, but with the 610 exemption, I just landed a destructive, lethat upper cut, the DMV is walking backwards, my time to terminate it!!!
Jaime.
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California has one of the most strict anti-smog legislation.

- Vehicles sold in the USA usually come in two styles: California emmissions-ready and "Federal" for the rest of the country. So a car sold in Oregon may not be imported into California unless a stiff fee is paid. The factory emissions label under the hood indicates the status

- State-wide tests are required, whereas in some states like Washington, only vehicles in urban areas are required to take tests

- They do a visual test. If a hose is the wrong size, you fail. In Washington, they don't even open the hood, if the sensors say you pass, you pass

- Only approved parts can be changed. So you can change carburetors, headers, intake manifolds etc. only if they have a California Air Board (CARB) registration number.

- CA requirements are longer than most states -- 30 years. In Washington, cars before 1979 are already exempt, which I think follows the Federal exemption schedule

Quote:My name's not Jaime, but I'm still going to answer your question.

Basically, Jaime is celebrating the fact that his 1974 610 Coupe is no longer required to take the California Biennual (every two years) Emissions Test (Smog Check), thanks to a provision to the law that exempts vehicles 30 years and older. The previous regulation stated that only <'73 vehicles were exempt.

Under the old regulation, if Jaime were to remove the emissions equipment on his car for performance reasons, he would have to put everything back to stock every two years in order to pass his vehicle's smog check, which is still required to register '75> and newer vehicle.

Anyways, we that know that this new provision is being debated in the state legislature have already warned Jaime to hang on to all his emissions equipment because there are no guarantees this new exemption won't be repealed eventually.

What's more, if Jaime and his 610 happened to get caught at a street race or other public gathering, a peace officer may demand to inspect his engine and may write out a citation if any emissions equipment have been modified or removed entirely.

Many people do not realize this, but you can still do engine swaps on '75> vehicles, but you cannot put an older engine into a newer car. The only catch is that you must retain all emissions equipment for that year, make and model of vehicle you got the motor out of, then go to a "referee" to have it all checked out and (hopefully) approved.

From then on, until your it becomes smog exempt, your Datsun will be required to meet the emissions standards of the make, year and model vehicle of the transplanted engine.

As far as I know, you may convert a non-exempt vehicle to a 5spd without a hitch. So, Jaime, you can still do something with your B210 if you absolutely can't wait; it will just be a bit more of a hassle.

Quote from the Smog Check Website
Quote:

hi jamie, im not trying to sound like a dick but i have seen ppl talk bout this before and wanna know wat it all means. does it mean that any car registred after 1974 is not required to pass a smog test or wat??? im curious as to how this works

Today I went to the DMV, and, to my delight, the 1974 Datsun 610 I went to register in my name...(bought it one year ago, but held on in the registration process untill now, the license plates were paid untill august /03, so, instead of registering last year and having had to smog it, I waited)...was exempted...forever...no questions asked.
Cool, now I got to control myself, there goes the DCOE's, headers, 280Z 5 speed, a world of options....cool!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry to say, 610's small brother, the 120Y is still in the jungle.
Jaime.
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