[spdrun]

If it’s an old Porsche, isn’t that a feature, not a bug? Or perhaps it was a semi-retired German secret agent testing the cloaking systems on his car…

[spdrun]

Did you pass the OBD II tests? If you did, then your cat is fine. There’s a rear O2 sensor that checks cat performance and would throw a code (and CEL) if the cat is bad.

[spdrun]

I wasn’t going to cheat the system, I’m just merely pointing out that the system itself isn’t exactly taking gross polluters off the road.

As I think I’ve said … it’s amazing what kind of junk one sees on CA roads sometimes. I also find it cute that CA doesn’t have safety inspections. So you can have a car with a good engine and cat, but 100% bald tires down to the cords, loose suspension, a missing brake pad or two, and cracked lights, but yeah, it will pass.

[spdrun]

Wondering if the smog guy saw steam from a cold start and thought it was actually smoke!

Yeah, I just wondered same thing.

It’s been rainy in SD, right? Inspector was a Californicator not used to what cars doing what they do on humid days?

Burning anything containing hydrogen produces … OMG! … STEAM! Which happens to be visible when humidity approaches 100%.

[spdrun]

Or register it out of state and park where a cop can’t see the license if they drive by every day 😉

But why even discuss cheating the system? As described, it sounds like there may not be anything wrong with the car.

Drive it, warm it up, take it to another shop. It sounds like it may well be fine. It’s been rainy in San Diego … white smoke on a humid day could be as simple as condensation.

[spdrun]

It’s not a scam. Some countries like Germany don’t allow old cars at all.

We should develop sensible public transit. You don’t want old cars belching out pollutants in dense populated area. Move out in boonies if you don’t want to smog your car.

Most of the tech advances in engines came in the 80s to mid 90s with closed-loop electronic fuel injection, catalytic converters, and onboard diagnostic systems.

If the car otherwise passes the smog test and has a small amount of smoke on initial startup, it’s a scam. Plain and simple.

This assumes that there was any smoke, that the people at the smog shop aren’t just trying to scam him somehow.

NY has safety inspections. I once took my car to a shop that claimed that one of the joints in the steering system was loose (cost $200 to replace), and wanted to replace a tail light because of a small chip in the glass (cost $300). When I asked them to show me the loose part, they pointed out a part that I had replaced a few months ago after buying the car!

I told the owner to go screw himself with an icepick, literally. He kicked me out without even charging me the inspection fee — so saved a bit of money there. Nice.

I took it to another garage, it passed inspection (I asked for them to double check the joint and they showed me that it was really OK), and I added to the original garage’s collection of 1* Yelp reviews. And the garage had the nerve to respond to my review saying that I was trying to scam them, good for a laugh!

[spdrun]

He won’t be able to get the money back for his original smog test.

Dispute the charge anyway online just to make work for the slime and waste a bit of their time. Even if the answer is “no”, he’ll cause them a tiny extra bit of agida.

Corrupt people who exploit state requirements to cheat their customers are the lowest of the low in my book.

Also, report them to the B.A.R. — if enough people complain, it will also cause headaches for them.

[spdrun]

Googling STAR, it seems to be some sort of enhanced inspection program. I didn’t see flu write anything about being directed to such a station.

But yeah, I’d drive the thing, take it to a different station with a good reputation, make sure it’s warm when being given for inspection, and see if it passes.

[spdrun]

If you don’t see the white smoke, sounds like the smog place is somehow trying to cheat you or is totally inept. Take it to a place with good reviews for a re-test. If it passes, dispute the CC charge with the original shop. No sense in supporting scammers.

[spdrun]

I failed the visual….

What about YOUR visual? Did you see the car emitting white smoke on startup? Was it a wet/rainy day (i.e. could it have been steam)?

[spdrun]

bearishgurl — can you take any vehicle to a “test only” station where there’s theoretically no profit motive for them to fuck you?

[spdrun]

FlyerInHI – horseshit.

Small amount of smoke on startup isn’t a major part of the problem. I’ve seen cars on I-5 literally looking like shot down fighters in WW I movies, wonder how they passed smog.

Besides, it takes a lot more energy and pollution to build a new car than keep driving an old one. Unless you’re moving to an electric or much more efficient car, it’s better for the environment NOT to junk your old car.

[spdrun]

It should be a test-only station with good rep. I’ve heard of “test-only” stations “recommending” a mechanic to fix “problems,” where there might be some kind of kickback relationship.

This being said, check online reviews. Sleezy mechanics usually get bad ones.

[spdrun]

Run 20w50. Won’t hurt anything for short duration, and it’s much more viscous at cold temps (the 20w part) as well as being thicker when hot (the 50 part).

[spdrun]

So let the Chargers go to L.A., good riddance. It can barely be called a “sport” anyway.

Bringing it to the voters (who might not want to spend a lot of tax money to keep a stupid sport in their town) is the right thing to do.

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