California Smog Question

Ok.... so.... what is your question?

Mike

 

If you are unsure, I'd stick with a CA car. Keep in mind though that smog test vary from county to county...the requirements are based on where you register the vehicle.

 

The engine on a Mondial T is a 3.4L engine found on the 348. It is a 50 state engine as long as it has Cat Converters, stock headers, O2 sensors and Bosch ECU, it will pass smog in California. No funky business there.

But, if you buy a T that has been modified out of CA, and you bring it in, the sky is the limit when it comes to passing smog. You fix it until it passes or you don't get a registration.

 

This is unfortunately the truth. There are limits as to the amount you have to spend trying to make a car smog compliant but that requires a referee's approval. Being a Ferrari owner you are not likely to get it.

 

make sure it has the CA smog legal tag on it !!! even if it was a 50 state car and that tag/label is missing you wont get the car registered without going through lots of loops.

 

The state limits how much you can spend on your car?

 

Probably easier to move out of CA than trying to get a non CA compliant car to pass.

 

What type of car are you looking for? 328's for example are 50 state cars.

 

Love CA, that's why I moved to AZ.

 

I had zero issues with my 328, which was originally sold in Florida. As others have said, just make sure the original smog equipment and stickers are in place. They were all 50 state cars by the time the 348/Mondial T rolled out. Just avoid Euro-spec cars -- they can be a serious nightmare here.

If you want to be really safe, buy one from a California dealer. They know (or are supposed to know) whether a car they sell is legal in CA.

 

Definitely. Problem is you can't take the weather and the scenery with you.

 

Based on the year, the state limits the max you have to spend to get it back to working order...unless it has been determined that the equipment has been tampered with or removed, then there is no limit.

 

Maybe there should be a pole asking what model has the highest success rate of passing the Ca. smog tests.

 

Thanks. I Never knew that.
How do they enforce it?
What if you do the work yourself?

 

Not sure but I heard something about $1500. Again, you won't get any relief since you own a Ferrari and can obviously afford it. Greg here should remember. They put him through the mill when he lived here.

 

Actually I believe it is $600 but the work needs to be done by an authorized State Smog Repair Station

 

my 360 did NOT pass CA smog and I was told that there was no limit on how much I had to spend to make it pass because it was a out of state car. It was originally sold in CA and lived in CA for 9 years before being sold out of state so I thought it would be easy to bring it back to CA, I was wrong.

There are limits on how much you have to spend on the car before they give it a exemption but its not valid for a out of state car, only valid as a renewal and remember that eventually you will have to pass it anyway, that exemption is only good for 2 years and then you have to spend that money again to try and make it pass to get your second exemption. The smog referree told me you can only get 2 exemptions per car but I have been told that is wrong, I tend to believe the referree.

My 360 was perfect and passed the sniff test and visual test, but failed on the ODBII test, they even brought up the cars records to show that it was originally a CA car but still would not give me that exemption. Luckily a ECU reflash fixed my problem and the car has passed its 2 year test easily.

I had always said when shopping I would never buy out of state, but this car came up that I had to own, I would do it again because its THE car for me but I would really be scared to buy out of state again. This car even passed the AZ smog test only a week earlier.

What I did learn though is that if the 50state compliant sticker is not there and they can fall/rub off or its not readable, the state will not accept the car so MAKE SURE THAT STICKER IS THERE.

 

It would have to be determined by a referee. Based on the year, it should have the required equipment listed on a placard in the engine bay and/or the referee I'm sure should have some sort of binder listing what it should have. If for instance the car in question is supposed to have catalytic converters and there are none, then obviously someone removed them (either you or someone else). Then you are responsible for replacing them whatever the cost. If the cats are there, but determined to not be working anymore, then the $ max. would apply.

If you don't want to jump through the hoops or are unsure, I'd definitely stick with a currently registered CA car.

 

Thanks. As I live in Florida where you can apparently register almost anything my question is academic.

 

I got it backwards. I couldn't get my 3.2 to pass smog in Phoenix, even after two trips to the dealership for repairs. Brand new cats, OUCH.

Got temp tags, drove it to San Jose, passed smog with flying colors. Nice drive too.

 

The mondials are great cars. I live in CA and I would not buy anything older that requires smog. That means 1975. So 308GT4 might be a good option but the '75's command a little premium. Or I would not get anything older than the 355/456 era of cars. If you do get a mondial, get one that is in CA already and try to find a local mechanic that is used to getting these cars smog ready - and that's an added cost when you buy the car and every two years.

 

Back a few years when I lived in liberal CA I spent over $3k getting my little car through smog (took over five months). Had a referee from the state who was a real dick. Ended up taking the car to Bobileff in San Diego. He played with the carbs and put cats on it, then took it to the mid-night smog place which passed it. Not an experience I want to repeat (moved to AZ, no smog if you have collector car ins.)

 

Made is through no problem coming from Oregon June 2014 and passing smog and registering in Calif (328 89')

Your mileage may vary...