Will my 1997 Ford Taurus pass California Smog Emissions Test? (buy, DMV)

[champion23]

I am moving to the Ventura County area in a few weeks and I will be pulling my 1997 Ford Taurus behind the U-Hual. It is in fairly good shape and drives well, but I am concerned about passing the smog emissions test.

Is there anything I can do to help my car pass, or know before I move there if it will pass? Would it make more sense to sell it here (Kansas) and buy a new one there?

Also, do they do an entire car inspection? For example, I have a slow coolant leak, but instead of paying $500 to fix it, I just refill it every couple months and never have a problem. Will that hurt my chances of passing?

I read the DMV website, but it was pretty unclear as to what the requirements are. If anyone is more familiar with the process or has any ideas as to whether or not my car will pass, I would appriciate some information.

Thanks.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Not sure if it will pass or not. Also when you bring it in state, registration is going to cost you. They charge an additional amount to bring a car into the state. You may want to determine if that additional amount is worth it to bring a 12 year old car into the state. Testing is for the emmisions system and that includes if the check engine light is coming on. They want to make sure that all the proper parts are on and working. In the past, manufactures made cars for California and the remaing 49 states had a differant car. As far as I know many if not most car companies have switched to a car that can be sold in all 50 states.

[Narfcake]

Check engine light on or off? If it's on, then you will have to fix it. Otherwise, you should be fine, as the OBDII system requires the car to pretty much check itself for excess pollutants.

The "smog impact" fee was scrapped several years back after some lawsuits. There will be new license plate/registration fees, but those are still reasonably priced.

Other than emissions, nothing else for inspections ...they could care less if every other fluid is leaking, the panels are falling off, if there's no interior, etc. here in Cali. That said, under the hood is a sticker which says whether the car was built to 49-state EPA standards or 50-state EPA/CA standards.

[champion23]

Thanks for your help. The check engine light is NOT on. Where under the hood would I find a sticker that says if it has EPA standards or EPA/CA standards? That is helpful. Is there a place I can find fees for bringing a car into the state? I know it is 12 years old, but I have put work into it and it runs extremely well.

Also, is there a charge for doing the smog emissions test? I assume there is, and is that a high fee?

[Narfcake]

No idea where the sticker would be on your car. Some have it in the front, some on the strut tower, some on the firewall, some on the underside of the hood.

A smog check goes for around $50-70, depending on where you go. I stick with test-only places (vs. one that does repairs too), as they have less of an incentive to try and screw the customer. Smog checks are bi-annual.

[champion23]

Thanks to all for your advice. Here's to a smooth relocation.

[Narfcake]

One last aspect ... it is being towed with the front wheels on a dolly, right? I ask because not all cars are designed to be flat-towed (with all 4 wheels on the ground).

[champion23]

Yes, that's correct. The back wheels will be on the ground, but not the front ones.

[ferretkona]

They used to have a $300 charge for bringing in cars from other states, that is supposed to be gone now. I brought a Jeep in from Chicago, paid the surcharge - 6 months later got a check refunding it.
They do a pressure check on the fuel system now, best to get a new gas cap before you start. They check the vacuum hoses, egr,,,,,,
Any exhaust leak will fail you. If the technician sees the coolant leak he will fail it.

We have not had DOT checks since the early 70's. Same as other states with tire check, wipers, other safety stuff.
No window sticker. But if you get in a accident with bald tires you will get a ticket and may be more at fault for the accident.

Recent CA driving law 2005, if your wipers are on - your headlights must be on as well.
No texting while driving, hands free device must be used when driving.

[llowllevellowll]

I recently drove my 2001 and 1999 Mitsubishi Galant's from Ohio to California. Both were in good mechanical shape - 75,000 and 105,000 miles respectively -- and both passed the Smog check just fine. I took them both to Goodyear for the smog check which was $38 each. I'm not sure if there are places that are cheaper - I'm sure there are but I didn't look hard but saw some that were more expensive. I asked the Goodyear tech about the percentage of cars that pass or fail, and he said about 80% pass. To register the cars at the DMV was $104 for the '99 and the 01 was a little bit more - can't remember.