Well the ol' gal passed CA smog today. Didn't really have a doubt but there's always a little bit of anxiety.

 

When is it old enough to be 'exempt'? Just curious. WA did away with annual smog testing several years ago.

 

In CA, currently only cars that are insured as a "Collector car" and is, at least, 35 years old or manufactured before 1976 (1975 or older). There are a few other criteria for exemption. There was a bill known as Leno's Law (after Jay Leno) working through the legislature that would have exempted all cars older that 35 years old but it got shelved before a full vote.

My other car is a 1988 Jeep Cherokee. Runs great but smog check time is always stressful as it usually fails on the first pass, then I do a ton of work to replace sensors, patch up evap system, offer a sacrifice of blood (usually from my knuckles) to get it to pass. Smog tests for older cars are also more expensive due to requiring special evap tests and tailpipe sniffer.

 

Thanks for the reply. I left in '03 ('00-'03), but had newer cars so I didn't feel the effect of not passing. I did hear that Leno's Law didn't make it. Too bad, IMO, but hey....it's a CA thing. Hope your knuckles heal to keep that '88 legal. The 4.0L from that generation usually ran a long time. Coupled with a rust free body, you may very well become a 35+ someday.

Cheers!

 

I would be more concerned about my car not operating properly (idle, fuel consumption) if it wasn't in smog compliance than the repercussions of a failed emissions test. I guess that's why I may never have to worry too much about it!