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Dept. of Consumer Affairs: Buyer Beware! Vehcle Passed a Smog Test?

22 June 1998

Department of Consumer Affairs: Buyer Beware! Make Sure The Vehicle You're Buying has Passed a Smog Check

       State Law Puts Burden of Proof on Sellers in Private Party Sales

    SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 19 -- Now that dynamometer testing
has begun in the state's smoggiest regions, the Department of Consumer
Affairs/Bureau of Automotive Repair (DCA/BAR) wants to remind people who
purchase vehicles from private parties to make sure the seller gets a valid
smog certificate for the vehicle before any money changes hands.
    Under the law, the seller has always been responsible for ensuring the
vehicle has a current valid smog certificate before selling it.  In practice,
however, it often goes overlooked in sales between private parties.
    Since there are now two different types of Smog Check inspections being
conducted in California, consumers need to be more aware of this requirement.
    "It's a consumer protection issue," said BAR Chief K. Martin Keller.  "It
could mean that someone who buys a vehicle could have to travel many miles to
get the right kind of test in order to get it registered.  Or it could mean
the buyer is stuck, not only with getting the vehicle inspected, but with
making expensive repairs.  Both problems can be avoided by making sure that
the seller has a valid smog certificate before the buyer pays for it."
    People who purchase vehicles registered in the smoggiest, or "Enhanced,"
areas need to know that those vehicles must pass dynamometer smog inspections
before they can be registered.  This could inconvenience someone who lives
outside the Enhanced Areas and who has purchased a vehicle that the seller did
not smog.
    Even buyers in Enhanced Areas should be careful.  A buyer could face
expensive repairs if they don't ensure that the seller has had the vehicle
smogged and that any necessary repairs have already been made.
    BAR's advice is this:  If the seller won't smog it, don't buy it.
    Sellers are required to provide buyers with evidence that the vehicles
they are selling have been smogged.  The best evidence is a copy of the
Vehicle Inspection Report (VIR) showing a certificate has been transmitted to
DMV within the last ninety (90) days.  After 90 days, a smog certificate is no
longer valid for purposes of changing ownership of the vehicle, and a new smog
inspection must be completed.
    Most financial institutions also now require the seller to get a Smog
Check for the vehicle before completing the loan.
    These rules apply only to sales between private parties.  People who sell
their vehicles on a trade-in to dealers are not required to have the vehicle
inspected first.  Dealers, however, must then provide buyers with proof of
compliance.
    Consumers who need further information can call the DCA/BAR Consumer
Hotline toll-free at 800-952-5210, or visit the Smog Check website at
http://www.smogcheck.ca.gov.