Guest bang847 Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 OK i know this isnt Z-related but I don't know where else to ask. I just bought a Toyota Paseo for cheap because it wont pass california smog test. but the car is originally from texas and under the hood it is listed as a federal emmissions car. (less vacuum hoses) question is: When i take it in for smog will i be treated differently from california cars? I mean this car wasn't designed to meet the more strict california emmisions laws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 california emission laws are based on federal emission laws. certain companies bring in cars designated specifically for california in terms of smog (ie. most motorcycles come in either 50 state legal flavor, or 48... 48 being hawaii and ca. excluded, nissan sentra CA edition, mitsubishi eclipse with 5 less hp, etc). i think with all original smog equipment the car shouldn't ahve any problems passing smog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 I thought that cars coming from other states had a pretty serious tax on them when they came into CA, and that they then had to acquire all the CA smog BS and get certified by a smog "referee". I've never done all of that, but you should probably go to a smog referee and ask. A guy I know swapped a 280Z motor into a '72 and took it to the ref, got it registered as a '78, then about 2 weeks later they passed the exemption law. DOH!!! :malebitchslap: This was about a month after I bought a brand new air rail and spent hours tweaking my SU's so that I could pass smog. Double DOH!!! :malebitchslap: Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperZ Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 The laws may have changed from 20 years ago, but my Grandfather bought a Colorado pickup (1971 Chevy) and tried to register it in California. They insisted in adding all the extra CA emissions equipment the federal model didn't have. And of course it wouldn't run right, they couldn't tune it, my Grandfather got sick of paying people to try, and got rid of the truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 Obviously people bring cars in from out of state all the time. California emissions standards are for new cars sold in the state. A used car from another state just has to meet the specifications as originally sold. http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/osreg.htm#BM2558 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 They will be hitting you with a $300 smog impact fee (at least they were two years ago and I doubt that has changed) and, starting Oct 1, 2003, just days away, you'll get a new, more expensive dyno smog instead of the old method. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bang847 Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 man... i wont be able to get the car registered by then.. that sucks bad... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innerware Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 you might not be able to get it registered right aay but try and get it smogged earlier. if you can get it to a station to get it smogged I think the information will be in the computer when you get it registered. But of course you will need temp plates or something. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshB 240Z Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 I have done this several times over the last ten years and it isn't that big of a deal. It used to be (late 80's-mid 90's) CA charged a $300 smog impact fee to all people bringing a car into the state that was not originally built specifically for CA. The $300 fee was in place to "level the palying field" where CA bought cars had an extra fee charged at purchase for extra smog equipment that was supposedly special to this state. The smog impact fee was overturned and the State of California had to refund the $300 to anyone who originally paid it and could prove it. This ended up being one of the more expensive mistakes in history, I believe. One of the reasons this fee was overturned was that it was built on an old idea in a modern world. I once brought a 1982 Ford Mustang in from Washington State and had to pay the $300 fee. This was to level my lower purchase price as this Mustang supposedly did not have the same emissions equipment on the engine. This turned out to be false as the auto manufactures had pretty much begun to build the cars with the same equipment to keep manufacturing costs down. The only difference on this car was a sticker affixed to the hood that stated the car was certified to meet all applicable FEDERAL laws rather than saying it was certified to meet all applicable FEDERAL and CALIFORNIA laws. Cars today still have this sticker and if you purchase a car outside of CA it states Federal and in the state it says Federal and California. Just two weeks ago I brought in a Mustang from Nevada and was only required to pass the normal smog check and pay the registration fees. The smog impact fee has been done away with and there really isn't any difference between bringing a car in from out of state or changing ownership within the state on a CA certified car. To answer bang's question, you will have to pass the CA test regardless of where the car was from. The technician will go off of the sticker as far as what is required and then they will do a sniffer test. I would be surprised to see much variance between a CA Paseo and a federal Paseo. Even my 82 Mustang had all of the CA emission stuff despite being designed and manufactured during the CA vs. Federal smog split. Today, many states and counties outside of CA have adopted CA's emissons requirments anyway. This has been my experience over the last ten years. Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshB 240Z Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 I got excited and forgot to post this link to the CA website regarding the impact fee. http://www.dmv.ca.gov/online/smoginq/lead.htm One of the best feelings was receiving the a checks for the numerous cars I had paid the impact fee for. Yes, they sent me individual checks for each claim. Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bang847 Posted September 27, 2003 Share Posted September 27, 2003 Hey Guys thanks for the info.. I guess i was hoping that my car didn't have to perform to CA standards. The thing that i notice is that my paseo has a few vacuum outlets plugged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 ...The smog impact fee was overturned and the State of California had to refund the $300 to anyone who originally paid it and could prove it. This ended up being one of the more expensive mistakes in history, I believe. GOOD! It's about time those bastards, er, people should refund the $$$! I was working in the car business in 2000 and the dealership was STILL charging customers for this privilege. Grrr. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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