I'm looking at purchasing a car in CA...

Smog inspections must be done prior to completion of the sale and at the sellers expense according to the title instructions.

The car is in the Bay area and I am in the LA area, I was planning on flying up to inspect the car following a prepurchase inspection by a good shop.

The guy swears the car is "one of the tightest 911sc's he's ever seen."

My question:

Is it too much to expect that the seller have this smog inspection done before I get there? He's going to ahve to do it anyway and it's good for 90 days if I don't buy the car. If it doesn't pass (which it has never failed) He'll have to get things right before he can sell it anyway.

Too much or not?

Thanks buds

The Mikester

it seems like a reasonable request to ask that he smog it before you come up. on the other hand, 90 days may NOT be enough time if he is not a "motivated seller" -- and the bay area economy still hasn't picked up so much that people are buying sports cars on a whim... i'd ask him, but if he declines, i'd still travel for it.

I took a kid to buy his first car last year.
An old mitsubishi. The old lady had it all - signed pink, bill of sale, all receipts, and , oh yeah,
a smog cert. If she can do that with an old $2000 BEAT-MOBILE,
why can't he do it with the top dollar SPICE-MACHINE?

trekkor

I kind of agree.

I don't want to travel up there if this isn't done. It isn't asking much, a smog inspection by his own quote is only $100. That means I'll be leaving without the car and I've heard too many horror stories about buying far from home.

So, if he doesn't get that done before I come up - I'm not coming up and I'm not buying it.

I would do it if my 914 needed it to sell.

In California, the seller has to provide a valid smog cert. Check out the like to the CA DMV web page.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/vr_info.htm#BM2522

Regards,
Daris

Oops, spells it out more clearly in this like describing what is required when you sell a vehicle. See item number two on the link below.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/vr_info.htm#BM2520

Daris

Damn!

Now the guys totally messing with me.

Initially we agreed that I would get a PPI paid for and then he would get a smog done and I'd come out to actually inspect the car. Then I would fly up and take a look at it to see if it was all it was cracked up to be.

I spent $127.50 on the PPI and $200 on the round trip flight with a refundable return. That way if I do buy it and drive it home I can get $100 of my flight back. If I don't like the car, I'm out $327.50 plus tax. Small price to pay to ensure I get a decent car. He was supposed to get the smog inspection done before I fly up and now he's saying he will get it done the day of. Which is bogus to me because what if it fails. Then I'm out.

If it doesn't pass smog then I certainly don't want to mess with it but I think this is something I shouldn't have to fly up there to find out.

Am I completely unreasonable? He had already agreed to get it done before I flew up.

The smog should be done and passed before you step foot on a plane. Anything else is unreasonable and should be considered unacceptable.

Demick

This is all news to me.. In NY we have Emissions/Smog testing in 1 yr intervals.

I know that has nothing to do with Cali, but the smog check stays with the vehicle!! ie I sold a car a while back that had almost 9 months left on the inspection They buyer was happy because she didnt have to have the car inspected for 9 months!

In CA you have to have a smog inspection before the completion of sale. A smog inspection is good for 90 days so if a seller had one done within 90 days he wouldn't need another to sell the car.

The thing is, if he was really motivated to sell spending $100 on a smog inspection that is good for 90 days should be a big deal.

He's been very clear that he is extremely firm on his price and I have no problem with that. I told him if the car was as he has represented it then he would have a check for the amount he wanted and any empty space in his garage. The mechanic said the car was one of the nicest SCs he's ever seen and reported only minor little things wrong ( I can count them on one hand with a finger or two left over). AT this point with the pictures I've seen, the mechanic's report and the way this guy has described the car I would be hard pressed to pass it up. Of course I haven't seen the car in person so I do understand his hesitation. I'm in the midst of selling a car myself and I know how frustrating that can be.

I'm looking around the LA area for a nice car and there just aren't any that aren't high mileage or sitting on a junk dealers lot so this kind of frustrates me a bit. The flight isn't that much and the car has always passed emissions before with the last inspection being in late 2001 (info from the DMV). It would be due this year in September I believe.

It's a $200 chance vs a $$$$ chance...

Sounds like you want the car...maybe split the smog cost with the guy....

Im still at a loss, if the car doesnt pass does that mean it cannot be sold?

When I sell a car here in NY, the usual ppi is done... then on the bill of sale I always write "AS IS" the buyer signs....and the deal is consumated..If the buyer doent aggree with the "AS IS" language there is no deal....

I sold my mountaineer to my neighbors kid last summer.... one day they came knocking on my door because the kid broke the seat adjusting lever...WTF... I see them every day, but no way in hell was I going to be responsible because the kid couldnt get his bling position in the truck..

oops kinda wandered

What about old non running vehicles? how are those sales handle in Cali?

CA requires smog inspections on '76 and later cars. If your car doesn't pass smog you can register it as "Planned Non-operational" (PNO) at no charge (I think). But, when you do get it ready to be registered for real you'll have to pay back registration I think.

Older than '76 doesn't have to do smog inspections.

The sale can be done without the smog inspection but I can't register the car in my name if it doesn't pass smog. I don't want to chance that with an expensive car to repair like this. To my knowledge it is unusual for a car to be sold without passing smog first (in CA).

Thanks Mike...just learning a bit more about our world today

If it has always passed, it should not be that big of a deal, perhaps he is just not worried about it passing and does not want to do it until he knows you have a deal.

I can see both sides.............. Nevertheless, as a seller I would not want to fork over 100.00 on a long distance deal with no earnest money up front, when I was going to have to do it again if the sale fell through and another one did not come along within 90 days. As a buyer, I would not want to fork over for plane tickets when I was not guaranteed I would be able to leave with it.

If the car is as nice as the PPI says and it is what you are looking for..............

Well, our original agreement was that he would get the smog check done before I got there. He's changed his mind so I told him I'm out. We had an arrangement and I held up my part.

apparently the $100 smog is good for 9 months.... seller has to do it at some point a "motivated seller" shoudlnt have a prob with that

90 days in CA.

Here in GA if it has passed within the year, it can be sold, the certificate reused and it is good until the buyers birthday. (of course they are only 25.00 too) (at least that is how I understand it.)

I understand your feelings about him not holding up his end..............

Mikester:

I think you did right; something does not "smell" right here.

Everyone in CA knows the seller is responsible for presenting a smog cert along with the pink slip at the time of sale. Usually the seller is responsible for the cost of the smog check but this can be a negotiated point. The fact that he did not want to get (and possibly pay for) the smog check prior to your arrival (knowing its good for 90 days even if you don't buy) tells me that there may have been smog problems with the car to which he did not want to admit.

I "bought" a 914/4 with a 2.7 conversion I saw on eBay after it did not sell. It was in CT, which does not have titles on cars made before the early 80's. All was going good until I asked the seller to get a standard letter from the CT DMV saying that there was no title available; a standard, routine document that is required by the CA DMV if I wanted to register it here. Turned out this was the deal buster; the seller sold the car to someone else (without telling me to let me counter) because he didn't want to go to the "hassle" of dealing with the CT DMV. Maybe I dodged a bullet there too. Sure was a nice car though!

I just got off the phone with him and he says I misunderstood him and that he never had any intention of getting the smog done before I got there.

So - I said "I think we're done here."

I thanked him for his time and I apologized for wasting it and I explained to him that I never had any intention of coming up there without a completed and passed smog inspection and I told him that from the start. So, we're done and I'm going to look for a different car.

Thanks anyway.

Thanks for the input too fellas - always good to have a few more opinions on policy.

This is what it sounds like to me:

Wife "Sell your car, you have too many damn Porsches"
Husband "Ok, honey, car is for sale"
Mike "I like that car, I want it"
Husband "Price is not negotiable (because I really don't want to sell it)"
Mike "OK, if it is as presented that's ok. I'll get a PPI, you get a smog"
Husband "OK" (Damn, I don't really wanna sell it)
Mike "PPI went well, go do the smog and we've got a deal"
Husband "uh, well, when you come up here we'll do that" (cause I really don't wanna do it, cause I wanna keep it)
Mike "Damn, I'm out"
Husband "Haha! I get to keep it a bit longer!"

Just my 2 cents.

Sean,

As I was reading this... I got that impression, too. I think you're right on target.

-Rusty