It was time to get my car smog checked. Every single Star station kept telling me the same exact story that their dyno was broken and were waiting for a part once they saw what I was driving. They just don't want to mess with older cars. Luckily I found an honest guy close to home which did check my car and it passed with flying colors after replacing a bad MAP sensor vacuum hose from my carburetor to the sensor itself.

Has anyone else had this same experience with the stations lying about their dynos being out of service when they are not?

 

Nope, not here.

 

Yes! I stopped by a star station near my home to ask if I can take my 1988 Camaro, and was told the machine was broken. The guy claimed it would take about 3 months to fix. I asked a buddy whose brother would smog cars, and got a similar response. His machine was not working, and it wasn’t worth fixing because he would not get many pre-96 vehicles to smog.
Today I went back to the first guy with an obd2 vehicle and I asked if the machine was fixed to smog my 1988 Camaro, but this time I got the same response my buddies brother gave me.
Seems like most of these guys aren’t interested in pre-96 vehicles. I was also told that many technicians will see any type of modification and would rather not test car.

 

seems a phone call to the city council or mayor would take care of this.. or even higher?
refusing a needed mandated service for the lack of wanting to do the work seems a federal crime of sorts..

 

No, no problem at all. The place that did my 15 Silverado when I asked about doing my 92 Camaro, said No Problem Dyno works great.

 

Everyone should contact their state assembly rep, they just voted down SB712 last year stating loss of revenue. How many 80's cars are still left to actually create that much revenue? Oh, wait they get revenue too from the poor smog guys having to keep certifying they're dyno every year. Ugh!
I'm due soon and am researching that our cars do qualify for a said "abbreviated inspection" once they have been signed off by a state referee as a historical vehicle. That was one step to Leno's law that still may have a chance for 2027 if we all scream enough.

 

The machines are expensive to maintain and run, parts are not available and yes, some things for them are 3+ months out. Oh, and the TRAINING! Training on these ancient machines confuses all the new kids. "what do you mean I can't touch the iPad, I HAVE TO USE A KEYBOARD?"
Our vehicles do not make them any money and it's likely that they don't make monetary sense for most shops. They WANT to phase out our cars.

Out here in Orange County, I don't see many dailys that are pre OBD2, or need to be run on a dyno to run smog on.

I can no longer just go to a hole in the wall shop and pay base rate. I have to go to a bougie garage that has multiple old smog machines and pay close if not higher than double the rate I did 5 years ago, and I have to make an appointment!

 

If you want to drive to the valley, you can go to the place I'm going to be using for my 92.

 

You'd think if there's no money in it for them. CARB would exempt ob1 cars from smog testing, like pre 76 models.

 

Some of you may have already heard that Leno law is back again this year for legislation SB 1392. Call your local assembly member to pass this bill this year.
In talking recently with a CA referee, the new dyno machines are better but are rented for $500 a month from the state whether used or not.

 

If California had any sense they would exempt 1995 and earlier cars and trucks. I mean just how many are on the road as daily drivers anyways?

But they don't even have enough sense to rake leaves and pickup sticks letting wild fires rage burning down entire cities and putting more pollution into the air than they saved over the last decade with their stricter emission limits and stupid special spec gasoline.

 

That bill is never going to pass. Its been around since the 90s in one form or another and it always gets vetoed. My guess is someone thought attaching Leno's name to it would help, but unfortunately it was not. Thats wackyfornia for you.

 

I just passed my collector car inspection which was part of the qualification written in Leno's law. If your car meets six question questionnaire you can qualify for a state referee inspection abbreviated smog test that only charges for the state certificate. That's the cheapest smog test I've ever paid, $8.25. The toughest question to meet is the car has not been altered from the original manufacturer's specifications.

 

I certainly dont meet that requirement.