Sale without smog certificate

[beetle juice]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? California

I just moved to California from Switzerland and was anxious to get a car fast to get around the LA area. I purchased a 2000 VW New Beetle from a private party and was asked to sign a contract to purchase the cas AS IS. The smog certificate was not included in the transfer, but the owner assured me I would pass with a 2000 model, he just didn't want to pay the $50 for the smog test. I did indeed sign the contract because I had taken a test drive two days before and the car seemed in reasonable condition for the price. Immediately after handing over the money I went to start the car and a "check engine" light appeared that is linked to the emissions of the car. I went back to the seller immediately to confront him on the issue, but he said "Call the police, sue me, you signed the contract." After arguing he offered to bring me to a friend who could turn off the light to pass the smog test - I declined the offer. Difficult to prove, but the seller obviously tampered with the light before/after the test drive.

Now I am stuck getting the smog certificate and will have to bring the car to the garage first to have a diagnosis and repair - it appears to be the secondary air injection system and could be costly.

After consulting your site, I saw a question posted, where it said that the contract is void if it is not compliant with state code. What is the next step to take? Do I need to notify DMV or make a case with small claim court directly?

 

[stephenk]

Direct from the California DMV website:

"When a vehicle is more than four model years old, a seller must provide evidence of a current smog certification except when the following occurs:

The transfer occurs between a spouse, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, or grandchild.
A biennial smog certification was submitted to DMV within 90 days prior to the vehicle transfer date (a vehicle inspection report may be required for proof of certification).
Smog certifications are good for 90 days from the date of issuance.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

When a car is sold, who is responsible for the inspection?

The seller is required to provide the buyer with a valid smog inspection certification at the time of the sale or transfer. Smog certifications are good for 90 days from the date of issuance.

The inspection is not required on a transfer if a biennial smog certification was submitted to DMV within 90 days prior to the vehicle transfer date (a vehicle inspection report may be required for proof of certification). "

You should first see if the car will pass the smog test without any repairs. If it does you can sue the seller for the cost of the test in small claims court.

if it needs repairs to pass the test, you can try and sue the seller to void the sale based on the seller not providing a valid smog certificate or sue for the amount it will take to fix the car.