San Francisco Business Daily

How many different between a "smog" and a "test only smog"?

I needed a smog test to renew my registration for my car and so I when to this one place wih a big sign that said "smog $24.99". When I told them I needed a smog test he said "oh, you need a "test only" smog, thats $45 plus $10 to send it in". I ended up paying $55 for a smog test. This is in California by the way. My question is what is the difference? Or did I just get ripped off?

Public Comments

1. CA law has created two types of smog stations. One is a TEST ONLY STATION, the other is a TEST and REPAIR station. A TEST ONLY STATION cannot do any repairs on your car. If they find a problem during a smog test, they must fail you on the smog test. You then must go to a repair center or a dealer to get the problem fixed. You also have the option to repair the problem yourself. Then you can go back to the TEST ONLY STATION to get your certificate by taking the test again to show that the repair has been fixed. The purpose of all this running around is to make sure that you don't get ripped off for repairs that weren't needed.