Quote:
Originally Posted by chetwesley
Sorry, this thread has been sinking down the list for like a month now, but I have a question about this. I have heard this about needing to pass smog before being sold, yet I see people selling cars all the time who say it needs work to pass smog. So are they just selling their car illegally?
Also, if the car has a non-op registration, does it also have to pass smog before being sold?
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THE CALIFORNIA LAW is this: It is the legal responsibility of the SELLER to get the car to pass smog, and provide the buyer with the smog certificate.
A savvy buyer will insist that the seller discharge this duty before the sale.
In the end it does not concern the DMV WHO got the car smogged, the buyer or the seller, just so long as the car HAS BEEN SMOGGED and the smog certificate has been provided, when the car is sought to be re - registered in the new owner's name.
However, many times, it is not done. In some cases for example, the seller sells the car at a steep discount and in consideration of the cheap price, the BUYER agrees to smog the car.
(This appears to be the case with your cheap old Volvo here...)
I got screwed and double crossed by a nasty buyer in such a situation once.
I was selling my 1977 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale, which I had converted to an utterly illegal catalytic converter-free car, with a custom dual exhaust system hooked up to the 350 TH motor, the car ran out beautifully in its smog illegal setup, it really flew.
I disclosed the fact of the illegal exhaust system to the buyer, and reduced the price by $300, which I made clear to the buyer would be the cost to replace the exhuast to stock, single exhaust system with a catalytic converter, necessary to obtain a smog certificate.
In consideration of this, the buyer agreed to buy the car for the cheaper price, but agreed to obtain the smog certificate at his own expense.
The deal was done, and he bought my Oldsmobile.
Then, a week later, this buyer, who was this hard charging hotshot African American banker, phoned me back and said the car would not pass smog and could not get a smog certificate because of the illegal exhaust system on the car.
I then reminded him he kneww that when he bought the car, and I sold it to him cheap enough to handle that cost.
But, he insisted that regardless, that the the seller had to provide the smog certificate, by law, even though I sold the car cheaper to him, to cover the cost of HIM smogging the car, and he knew it.
He would not budge, and knew I sold the car without the cat on it, and it would never pass smog like that.
I was faced with either a lawsuit, or to go back and retrofit the catalyst and dhange the exhaust to stock myself.....
So, I took the car back to Reno, and had the dual exhaust system trashed, and put it back to factory at my own expense, with the catalyst and single exhaust and then gave him the car back, it got smogged.
So this sharp dealing crook got to have his cake and eat it too, at my expense.
To this day I resent that he got over on me.
But I will tell you this: It will NEVER happen to me again.
MY way, or the HIGHWAY.
