smog

[71DIMER]

Ok just wondering...it it was a teen I would say give the kid a break, I'm sure he didn't know better but by 27 years old, he should have known better than handing you the money and signing the documentation all without a smog.

[delay_me]

well i guess we will have to see what happens in the end ill post here how it all turns out thanks again for all the help.

[71DIMER]

Ok let me back up here a little bit and say this...all smog tests results in California are sent to the DMV in real time so that smog certificate paper copy is really not needed to register it. You could go to get it smogged this morning, get your hard copy smog certificate and go to the DMW and register the vehicle later the same day without the paper copy in hand since the DMV would already have it on their system that it has been smogged...but *if* this guy simply asked you if you already smogged it and you said yes but no time line of when it was smogged (hence the 90 days issue) was established and he assumed (a mistake on his part) you recently smogged it...he may have been under the assumption that he didn't need to get the smog papers from you. I'm just saying that may be something to consider..either way I would tend to say the seller needs to beware and not assume things, especially when dealing with a private vehicle sale.

[delay_me]

we told him around what time we smogged it and he still bought it

we told him what work we did to it

which was lowering it and fixing the breaks

and changing the oil

he knows everything we did to that truck

and how long we have had it

so he knew everything before he signed his name

[bonvo]

then i would say its on him he had all the info so it was his call

[datsun dreamer]

I had this problem many, many,many years ago:(! Lot of good points here, But, Unfortunately the seller IS required to obtain Smog Certification when the vehicle is transferred UNLESS the vehicle is:

 

1) Hybrid

2) 1975 year model or older

3) Deisel powered

4) Electic

5) Natural gas powered or has a gross vehicle weight rating of 14,001 or more

6) Mortorcycle

7) Trailer

8) vessel

9) Or, Being transferred between Family(spouse, parent, child etc..) Or by court order.

 

 

This is California Dept. Of Motor Vehicles "Law":mad:!

[71DIMER]

Then how do you explain tons of used cars on craigslist and the such as-is and they leave it up to the new buyer/owner to smog it? That requirement is never enforces, it's meant as a standard but not everyone follows it...therefore it's up to the buyer to demand the smog from the previous owner before taking possesion of any vehicle...after that the sale is complete and it's up to them.

[datsun dreamer]

Then how do you explain tons of used cars on craigslist and the such as-is and they leave it up to the new buyer/owner to smog it? That requirement is never enforces, it's meant as a standard but not everyone follows it...therefore it's up to the buyer to demand the smog from the previous owner before taking possesion of any vehicle...after that the sale is complete and it's up to them.

 

This is very true:)! I've myself have done my own smogs when buying a vehicle. I guess it realy boils down to how much the Buyer realy wants the vehicle. And as you said, it is a standard buy not everyone follows it.

I honestly dont think the DMV realy cares who smogs the Vehicle....as long as it gets smogged:lol:!

[Fineline]

This is very true:)! I've myself have done my own smogs when buying a vehicle. I guess it realy boils down to how much the Buyer realy wants the vehicle. And as you said, it is a standard buy not everyone follows it.

I honestly dont think the DMV realy cares who smogs the Vehicle....as long as it gets smogged:lol:!

 

Again, there is nothing wrong with selling a vehicle "AS IS" but unless you have a written contract stating such in the eyes of the DMV the seller is respornible for smogging the vehicle.

[71DIMER]

I'm curious to find out if anyone here that has any experienced buying a car/truck (i.e. handing over cash and signing the title tranfer) then at a later date going back to get the previous owner to smog it (after the sale is final and done)?

 

We know what the DMV says but in real life situations how many of us know anyone that this scenario has played out for and what happend. I personally do not know of anyone doing so. I'm not saying it's right but I just do not see the previous owner going that far to help out what in my view is a completed sales transaction. So it just serves as a warning, never complete a car sale without a valid smog!! :)

[OL YELLER]

Another thing that "Could" help in a situation such as this, is a "Bill of Sale" of some kind..My son (Ray) and I have sold many vehicles and many Motorcycles, and one of the things we routinely do is a Bill of sale..doesn't have to be official DMV type..can be nothing more than Notebook paper stating all the Particulars..Numbers dates and signatures of both parties...copy to seller and one to buyer....works in cases like this..you just add the phrase "sold as is" and it becomes a binding Document..(far as i remember...I ain't no Lawyer tho)...hope this helps someone...

[datsun dreamer]

I'm curious to find out if anyone here that has any experienced buying a car/truck (i.e. handing over cash and signing the title tranfer) then at a later date going back to get the previous owner to smog it (after the sale is final and done)?

 

We know what the DMV says but in real life situations how many of us know anyone that this scenario has played out for and what happend. I personally do not know of anyone doing so. I'm not saying it's right but I just do not see the previous owner going that far to help out what in my view is a completed sales transaction. So it just serves as a warning, never complete a car sale without a valid smog!! :)

 

Yes, I have. In my early days I have bought and sold well over 30+ vehicles:) And alot of them with no titles:rolleyes:! Around 1992 I had bought so many vehicles that the West Covina DMV told me if I bought any more I would have to have a Dealer Licence:confused:! One year I had bought a clean 1978 Chevy Monte Carlo and took it to get Smogged and It didn't pass:(! So I went to the DMV and they told me it was the "sellers" responsibility to get the Certificate, so I took the car back and explained to the owner the situation and he said "No Problem". He got the Smog Certificate for me done from "A Friend":rolleyes: and it was all good when I went back to the DMV.

I think it realy depends on how bad the owner wants to sell the vehicle as well as how bad the Buyer wants to buy the vehicle as well:) And ive noticed in my many years and transactions of buying and selling a vehicle that a little courtesy and respect goes a long way with the buyer and seller as well with the DMV:)!

Just this weekend at the BarBQue someone had mentioned(cant remember who it was) That the DMV is pretty easy to deal with as long as you do it their way and by their rules and guidelines:) And this is so true! The DMV can either be your friend or enemy on how you approach the them!

[sr71sss]

Sounds to me there are many vaild points being repeated over and over about the smog being the responsibility of the seller but I think it really does come down to the potential buyer wanting to get a lawyer and make a big stink about it by taking you to court, 9/10 the buyer would just try to smog until it gets expensive and probably will just sell the truck and leave it for the next guy to "deal" with it.

 

I have had many people ask me about the smog and I just tell them that yes thats the law now but I "prefer" not to do it I mean no one is pulling my leg to sell it to you unless you really want it and I state on the bill of sale that the buyer understands that the smog is his responsibility after the transaction has been made.

 

If smog was the responsibility of the seller then I guess oakland PNP owes me one:lol::lol:.

 

Just tell the guy that he understood the conditions and say sorry nicely and tell him that its not that hard to pass a 620 truck unless the components are failing, btw what did he say about the smog reading where did it fail, HC NOX ?? Should be able to pinpoint to problem right away.

 

Conrad

[racerx]

Sounds like a similar story awhile back...anyway, if you claim that you have paperwork and it passed then that paperwork should be good since it gets sent to Sacramento, if you live in CA, I think smog is good for 30 days, I can be wrong.

 

But you should tune up the car, per spec, don;t advance timing...clean carburator, change spark plugs, drive it around for a good 1/2 an hour. Cars run cleaner when at proper operating temp.

 

yes the seller is the accepted norm as far as smog is concern..In the past, in Cal., I have sold cars that did not pass smog and I clearly stated this to the buyer with bill of sale "as is where is"...Tow truck companies and junkyards will sell as is...

 

It sounds like there was no Bill of Sale, even if written on toilet paper with "AS IS AND WHERE IS" would suffice..lesson learned!

[sr71sss]

we should pool our resources and get a completely stock 620 in running condition and use it to smog all our post '75 datsuns:lol:

 

smog is good till 90 days when it was last smogged, I should know as I had bought my 720 on the last day of the smog was vaild and had dmv transfer it under my name w/o smog req.

 

A good tune and some beetlejuice in the tank will help also:lol:

[racerx]

thats what i figured

and we have the certificate

umm it passed it

3/1/08 i sold it 3 days ago

 

So smog is no longer valid since it passed 90 days and was there an understanding "oral ane Written", which stated as is where is and that if it does not pass smog it's on him, if not then it's 50/50 in my opinion. The guy who bought it from you sounds like a kid, who does not know any better.

 

So its a conscious decision.....

[b210in]

it doesn't matter if it's sold as is or not. the seller is still responsible for smogging the car and selling it with all the proper parts to smog the car. all those people that buy cars on craiglists or any other place are just mis informed. here's what happened to me.

 

about a year ago i bought an out of state chevy one ton truck from the salvation army. they made me sign a paper saying that i was reponsible for smogging it and sold as is. when i went to get it smogged the tech told me it would not pass becuase it was missing a couple of things and that the person who sold it to me is financially responsible for these parts. i went to the salvation army and they blew me off saying that i signed a paper saying that i was responsible for the smog and it was sold as is. i took them to small claims court and the judge ordered them to pay me 1258.00 for that parts needed to have the truck pass, i was suing them for 2500.00. they were responsible for the parts and i ate the labor. i paid 1200 for the truck originally. it took the judge about two minutes to make the decision.

 

 

there are a lot of people that just don't know these laws. i didn't know this until the smog tech told me about it.

[BarryA]

without a current smog certificate is to sell it as parts vehicle, with a bill of sale signed by both buyer and seller stating that it's being sold as-is for parts.

 

If the buyer later (one day or one year or longer) decides to register it, you've got a document to fall back on to show that you made NO claim that it would pass smog.

[Bugeye]

we should pool our resources and get a completely stock 620 in running condition and use it to smog all our post '75 datsuns:lol:

 

or we could just use mine:lol:

[racerx]

Yes it is customary for the seller in CA to smog but one can till sell their cars w/out smogging it or passing smog. I sold a 1979 Ford truck to a friend that did not pass smog and I was honest with him knowing that it will cost like $500 to fix it but he knew a mechanic that owed him a favor and the mechanic fixed the problem. A friend of mine, who used to work for a tow company, used to buy cars on lien sales and since this was the case he did not need to smog it neither and he made it clear to buyers that they need to smog.

 

Again I trully believe that it's how you communicate to buyer and like I said do a bill of sale..and state as is where is and if you know it will not pass smog then you have to communicate that in writing and if smog test is old, the seller needs to inform the buyer or else their will be hurt feelings and misunderstanding.