Laenia

Hi. I'm planning on moving to California this summer and bringing my car with me. I've been hearing all this stuff about smog checks and how it'll cost me $700 before I'd even be able to pass it before I could register my car there.

From what I've been told, car companies make cars specific to CA to be able to pass smog tests they do out there, that the other 49 states don't need to comply with. So, if you purchase a car from outside of CA, chances are your car doesn't even have the required parts in the engine to be able to pass the tests. (Thus the cost of purchasing and installing the parts to the car. -- I've actually got no idea how much that will cost, that was just the guesstimate I got from one of my friends.)

Is this true, and is there some place that I can look up to see if my car would have a chance of already having those required parts? I tried looking around to see if there was any sort of manufacturer's list of cars that make two different kinds of cars (the CA cars and the rest of the US cars), but I wasn't able to come up with anything.

I've got a 1999 Toyota Camry LE.

Thanks if anybody knows anything of this or can help.

somick

Well, $700 is probably old news!

I moved to California in 1999 and was charged 300 dollars right away. But this money was later refunded with interest. I do not remember what this tax was called. But the good thing is that like I said it is old news.

Now let us get back to smog.

My cars passed smog without any problems that year even though they were bought in Pennsylvania. I had to fill out a long form but that was it. As far as I can remember the inspector just looked under the hood and checked / verified something on his list.

My cars as well as my children's cars still pass smog tests SOMETIMES.
When they smog them they just hook them up to the same machines we used to have in Pennsylvnia. In Pennsylvania it was called emissions.
The requirements in California are probably a little different though...

Welcome to California,

Sam

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Laenia

Well that's good to hear. $300 still rather sucks, but it's better than $700.

I live in Kansas right now and I don't know of any sort of emissions checks that they require here, although that might be a good idea of stopping by someplace to see if they even do that sort of thing here. (Although I'm not entirely sure what type of place to go to? When I was visiting CA, there were just a ton of stations marked for "Smog Check" and there's definitely nothing like that here.) I think all we need is proof of insurance and identity. I've got another month or so before my car's going to be headed out that way, I'm just trying to be pre-emptive and prepare financially.

Thanks for your response!