You Failed a Smog Test: What Happens Next

What If You Failed a Smog Test?

We don’t want to depress you, but there is a possibility that your vehicle won’t pass your San Jose smog check.

Unfortunately, the staff at Green Star Smog Check sees this happen every once in a while. When you bring your car to Green Star, you will receive friendly, fast service. You will even receive a cheap smog check, but we will not be able to fix your vehicle if it doesn’t pass the emissions check. Green Star is a STAR-certified, check-only station. We don’t fix it. We only check.

On the chance that your vehicle doesn’t pass the smog check, we would like to walk you through the decisions you will face.

You probably already know that California takes smog tests seriously. Our great state wants to reduce the amount of smog in the air, but they also want to make sure that only safe cars are allowed on our busy freeways.

If your car fails the smog test, the state will refuse to register it. This means that as soon as your registration tag expires, you are not legally allowed to drive your car.

This leads you to make one of three choices.

1. You can choose to drive illegally.

It is illegal to drive a vehicle with expired tags, but some people do it anyway. Please know that this is incredibly risky, and we do not recommend this. The California Highway Patrol is trained to watch for expired tags, and officers can and will pull you over for this issue.

If the police catch you, you will not only have to pay a fine, but your car will also be impounded. The longer your vehicle is impounded, the more expensive it will be to get it back. Unfortunately, even if you can afford to get your vehicle from the impound lot, you still will not be able to drive it legally.

If you can’t afford to fix your vehicle after failing a smog test, you surely can’t afford to pay for a ticket and impound fees.

2. Fix your car.

You could fix your car that doesn’t pass the smog test. It is unclear how much this would be, as the repairs could be simple or complex. No matter how much it will cost, it won’t be as nearly as expensive as if you made the earlier choice.

Once the exhaust is fixed, you can return to Green Star Smog Check within 30 days. If your car is from the year 2000 or newer, you can receive a complimentary re-test. When it passes, you can go to the DMV and pay to get the registration current.

3. You could sell the car.

Your final option is to sell the car. While California has specific smog check requirements for transferring the title of a vehicle to a new owner, you may be able to sell your vehicle without a smog check to a California buy center. You may not get a lot of money for the car, but perhaps you will get enough to make a down payment on a new car or pay for ride shares for a while.

Few people love getting a smog check, but Green Star Smog Check tries to make the process as painless as possible. Drop in at our location on Keyes Street and take care of your smog check today.

This article was originally posted at Green Star Smog Check.

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