bought a car; it can't pass smog; can't afford to fix it (credit, transfer)

[runmonirun]

So, I bought a '96 Jag "from a friend" who was doing me a favor selling it to me when I was in desperate need of a car. We didn't have it smog tested until after the sale. Low and behold it has failed 8 times. I've tried to figure out what's wrong with the car. Mechanics changed the spark plugs. It still didn't pass. It has had two oil changes; it still hasn't passed. The seller hasn't paid for any of those things and I am running out of money trying to figure out what is needed to have it pass. So, should I take her to court now?

[Dean Trails]

Originally Posted by runmonirun

So, I bought a '96 Jag "from a friend" who was doing me a favor selling it to me when I was in desperate need of a car. We didn't have it smog tested until after the sale. Low and behold it has failed 8 times. I've tried to figure out what's wrong with the car. Mechanics changed the spark plugs. It still didn't pass. It has had two oil changes; it still hasn't passed. The seller hasn't paid for any of those things and I am running out of money trying to figure out what is needed to have it pass. So, should I take her to court now?

Ask her to buy back the car and then go buy a Honda or Toyota. Mine are old and pass smog each time. The Smog Technicians told me last time that Japanese Cars are extremely low on emissions. Good Luck!

[V8 Vega]

Ask smog check places for a shop that specalises in repairing cars that failed smog. Or ask friends for such a place, they have the rollers and can diagnose whats wrong. So you get it fixed.

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by runmonirun

So, I bought a '96 Jag "from a friend" who was doing me a favor selling it to me when I was in desperate need of a car. We didn't have it smog tested until after the sale. Low and behold it has failed 8 times. I've tried to figure out what's wrong with the car. Mechanics changed the spark plugs. It still didn't pass. It has had two oil changes; it still hasn't passed. The seller hasn't paid for any of those things and I am running out of money trying to figure out what is needed to have it pass. So, should I take her to court now?

In California the seller is legally responsible for proving a car passes a smog test BEFORE transfer title is completed. Go to your "friend" and demand your money back. Otherwise take her to court if she won't. And at this time the vehicle cannot transfer ownership and it's still in sellers name.
Spark plugs and oil changes will not make it pass. It's either emission sensors or catalytic converters that are bad. Possibly a tired engine. Is there a check engine light on the dash? Did anyone pull the codes? It may be as simple as a $40 O2 sensor. Or as serious as a $500 catalytic converter or $4000 engine

[blueskywalker]

Originally Posted by Dean Trails

Ask her to buy back the car and then go buy a Honda or Toyota. Mine are old and pass smog each time. The Smog Technicians told me last time that Japanese Cars are extremely low on emissions. Good Luck!

Or a Subaru. Mine is 18 years old (almost 19 actually) and has over 160K miles on it and has never failed a smog test.

[damac2004]

i'm in the same boat and screwed up on a couple fronts. in my area there is no smog except on transfer so i didn't think it was an issue. also dmv showed it passed like 5 months ago and that i didn't need a temp tag while driving it right now, i got 2 months to get it tested.

so now im regretting not doing more research, in the future its just never worth it to mess with this type of thing, check engine lights, etc. if you ever get a used car make sure the seller has that certificate in hand

i tinker on my own older cars so i got a manual already and plan to mess around a bit but already see neglect and it can be hard to find mechanics that work on old stuff to get a real quote to fix the problem!

its crazy because people aren't supposed to skip titles when selling and should have the smog but lots of people do it.

also now i am disgusted to find that the dmv takes your money for registration renewal and puts it on the new buyer even though there are specific rules. also we cannot qualify for retiring the vehicle or getting it fixed through the programs available when funding is available because its in transfer status!!!!!!

the dmv will tell you that they have rules and let the transfer happen to give you false hope and all of the burden and leave you high and dry

they should be requiring specific paperwork with only the owner on file getting a smog check and bringing that into dmv for a transfer so that process cannot be started without it.

also why is it they have the capability to flag your license, credit, etc. yet do not hold these sellers accountable by flagging their license on file and stopping them from being able to buy/sell, etc. any vehicles or even be permitted to drive with their licenses being revoked unless following simple rules????

you know they have the capability and it would be the right thing to do but we are stuck in the stone ages and the good guy gets screwed.

dmv says you will basically get stuck with an illegal shell of a car and that you should sue the other party for damages. if you are lucky the license/registration info was current. then even if you sue and damages will easily be proven, how are you going to collect? sadly i am betting most people in this category won't have a few thousand $$$ lying around to do the right thing.

i have not looked into it further, im still trying to fix mine and haven't dropped $$$ yet. i am assuming for the amount its a small claims case and even if you get a judgement will the dmv with license info track down the sellers and garnish wages, etc.?

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by Electrician4you

In California the seller is legally responsible for proving a car passes a smog test BEFORE transfer title is completed. Go to your "friend" and demand your money back. Otherwise take her to court if she won't. And at this time the vehicle cannot transfer ownership and it's still in sellers name.
Spark plugs and oil changes will not make it pass. It's either emission sensors or catalytic converters that are bad. Possibly a tired engine. Is there a check engine light on the dash? Did anyone pull the codes? It may be as simple as a $40 O2 sensor. Or as serious as a $500 catalytic converter or $4000 engine

Or.. a bad gas cap, I had that happen..the shop wanted $100 to 'diagnose it' when it failed smog. I ordered an OBD2 scanner from Amazon looked up the code, bought a new gas cap and it passed. A 96 Jag is OBD2 so it should be able to figure out why it's failing.

[Axxlrod]

Buying a Jag, especially a 20 year old one, is asking for trouble.

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

Or.. a bad gas cap, I had that happen..the shop wanted $100 to 'diagnose it' when it failed smog. I ordered an OBD2 scanner from Amazon looked up the code, bought a new gas cap and it passed. A 96 Jag is OBD2 so it should be able to figure out why it's failing.

Yeah op has to figure out what is wrong, instead of throwing money at it hoping it hits the bullseye. If you find someone who has autoenginuity code scanner they can tell you what is wrong.


Some cars have a sequence that you can use the ignition to place the vehicle in a test mode. And it will display the trouble code. Not sure if Jags have that feature, a repair manual or a online search can tell you

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by Electrician4you

Yeah op has to figure out what is wrong, instead of throwing money at it hoping it hits the bullseye. If you find someone who has autoenginuity code scanner they can tell you what is wrong.
Some cars have a sequence that you can use the ignition to place the vehicle in a test mode. And it will display the trouble code. Not sure if Jags have that feature, a repair manual or a online search can tell you

This works beautifully, it interfaces with an android app "Torque" Amazon.com: BAFX Products - Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool - For check engine light & diagnostics - Android ONLY: Automotive