1. I am buying a vehicle, do I need a smog check?

Section 24007 (b) (2) of the Vehicle Code states it is the responsibility of the seller to provide a valid smog certificate at the time of delivery of the vehicle. There is no provision in the law to sell a vehicle “as is.” Therefore the seller is always responsible for the smog certificate even if they mention the car is sold “as-is” because the law doesn’t recognize the “as-is” policy. If you are buying a vehicle, make sure to ask the seller for a smog certificate. You will not be able to register your vehicle without it.

Beware of a seller giving you a discount to get you to have the smog test done. We have had several instances where a customer was offered a discount from the price of the and later found to need a lot more in repairs than the discount was.

A California smog certificate is valid for 90 days.

You are not required to smog test any vehicle 1975 or older. It used to be any vehicle 30 years or older, but in 2005, the DMV froze it at 1975 or older.

Califronia has a program called CAP (Consumer Assistance Program). If you qualify under their income requirements, you may be eligible for up to $500.00 in repair assistance with only a $20.00 co-pay on your part. There a number of qualifications–too many to list here. If you need help financially, don’t hesitate to call us or stop by for the application and restrictions. You can also go on the DMV website www.dmv.ca.gov.

Is your check engine light or “service engine soon” light on ? (“Maintenace Required” is not a a check engine light, but you should have it looked at ASAP).

The bad news is that the DMV will automatically fail a vehicle with the check engine light on. The good news is that our retest is free, so if we test your car and the check engine light is on, it will fail, and in 95% of the cases, it will tell you what the issue is. This gives you  a”free heads-up” for when you take it to a mechanic to get it fixed.

When you come back for your free retest, you will only pay for the certificate for $8.25 and a $1.75 electronic transfer fee for a total of $10.00. It takes a little extra time, but probably will save you about $100.00 for a “diagnostic charge” at most shops in the SCV. It is even higher at the dealer.

We welcome calls with questions about the smog check program.

If you did not receive your registration notice and need to know if you need a smog inspection, please call us and we can look it up on the DMV website. This is a free service from Simply Smog.

If you have recently had your car jumped or the battery replaced or disconnected for some reason, you could fail your smog test because the car’s computer readiness monitors are not set.

Once your battery goes dead, is replaced or disconnected for any reason, it will empty out the entire memory in the car’s computer. The car has to be driven for a couple of days to get the “drive cycles” back into the computer. Without the proper numer of “drive cycles” registering on the computer, the DMV fails the car automatically. Ask us for input on how far to drive your particular car. All cars are different. It could take as little as 30 to 40 miles to as many as 300 to 400! We had one Lambogini that took 1,500 miles!, but that is unusual. Ask one of our helpful Technicians for their opinion on how far to drive your car to reset the monitors. At Simply Smog, we make smog testing “SIMPLE”.

At Simply Smog we always offer you one free retest should your car fail the first test. If it does fail, we will charge you for the labor portion only and when you return there is no labor charge and you just pay for the certificate which you did not pay for the first time.

You have 90 days to get back to us for the free retest.

A WOMAN’S PERSPECTIVE – SMOGS – SAFE & CLEAN

I have had my share of being the one to have my car smogged. I’ve been to those creepy hole in the wall smog shops where it takes up to an hour waiting in dirty shops not wanting to sit or touch anything. I know you ladies out there have done the same.

My name is Pam Cavanah and I own “Simply Smog” along with my husband Mike. I can assure you, you will feel nothing but ‘at home’ when you visit our shop. The check-in counter is always clean. We treat our customers as we treat our friends. We have a warm (or cool) waiting room that feels like your living room. Our restroom is always clean (lid down), hot WATER, automatic lights (don’t have to touch) and hot and cold water.

Refreshments are always plentiful. Children are welcome and safe. And dogs can come and visit any time.

Please give us a try. You won’t want to go to any other shop. We also offer the services of Valencia Auto Performance for your maintenance and repair needs. We can give you a ride home, back to work, or for major repairs we can get you a rental car at no charge to you.

When you need a smog test, it is best to do it ASAP after you get yor renewal notice. This does two things 1) Makes sure you don’t put the notice aside and forget about it and incur late fees, and 2) If you should fail, it gives you plenty of time to make any needed repairs.

If you have an older car or even a late model that has not been driven much, it helps to take the car on the freeway and drive it 10 to 15 miles at the maximum speed limit. This warms everything up and gets the car into the condition that it is designed to be in. If you drive from the SCV everyday to downtown L.A. or the SFV, this is not necessary. Changing the oil will not affect your results. If you have a car that has been sitting around and not used, you could have bad fuel. If it has not been driven much in the last 12 months, drain the gas tank and add new fuel. Higher octane fuel than what is recommended by the manufacturer will not affect the test.

So you just got your DMV renewal in the mail and it has that “scary phrase” at the top “SMOG CERTIFICATION REQUIRED”. Relax, at Simply Smog we make the smog test experience simple.  If you have taken care of your car and done all the recommended services, you should have nothing to worry about. Unfortunately about 14% of the people that don’t care for their car properly make the other 86% of us have a smog inspection.