Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

breld

Yeah, I really should have let you two know. We did end up in Seattle one afternoon - but as you imply, that traffic is quite bad.

Sandman6472

Just got back from VW and they said the diagnostic charge was a total of $270 and they split that bill over the two visits. Still think the total price was a bit much but it works since so guess that's that. Been spoiled since I haven't paid for any repair repair since the end of 2013 when I traded the 2006 Civic for the 2014 Tucson, and we all know how that turned out. Still was the right decision looking back and have never given it a second thought.
But since it's the first real repair since then out of pocket, just seems to be a lot.

28firefighter

@Qbrozen:

Something to hack? https://www.kunibmw.com/wholesale-used/BMW/2019-BMW-X2-for-sale-beaverton-or-74fa4cc40a0d04fe255f9f384c188d22.htm

qbrozen

28firefighter said:

@Qbrozen:

Something to hack? https://www.kunibmw.com/wholesale-used/BMW/2019-BMW-X2-for-sale-beaverton-or-74fa4cc40a0d04fe255f9f384c188d22.htm

too bad its black/black, but I am definitely drawn to one of those. I don't think the incentives are there yet, though.

stickguy

that is nice but I have to draw the line at black over black. Not sure about those seats. Pretty sure my wife would not find them comfortable.

28firefighter

Supposedly they are more comfortable than the usual M sport seats.

There is $2250 lease cash, $1000 loyalty, and I have $1000 OL. Assuming I did max MSDs and the crazy WA licensing, it'd be $483/month including tax with 0 drive off except MSD...more than I want to spend but not bad for what basically amounts to an M car.

andres3

jmonroe1 said:

@andres3, waay late on the congrats but I like your color combo. A beige interior is better looking than black but it takes a little work to keep it looking good but it's worth it in my opinion.

How did you decide to go with Carvana? Did any of us in here talk you into it. I know I sure liked them. Don't know how they beat my dealer by more than $2200 but I'm glad I gave them a try. I damn near gave myself a bald spot trying to figure that out.

Give us a report after you give it the ole @andres3 break in or after the first ticket, whichever comes first.

jmonroe

Can't afford any more tickets right now, as I have one pending "nasty" one where the CHP caught me during a momentary burst of acceleration zooming away from the clog of a left lane camper (think Mel Gibson screaming "Freedom!!!!!" in Braveheart). Apparently the Alltrack's tune got me into big trouble as I was told I was going faster than I thought. Fast enough where the State wants me to appear the 25th in front of a Judge, and not just take my money over the internet or phone.

I also need to do traffic school for the minor sign violation the cheap $99 lawyer lost. $325 already paid to the State on that one.

The plan for the "Nasty" ticket is to plead to the lesser charge at arraignment. For some reason the Officer wasn't confident in his spurious radar reading, only 2 MPH over a threshold, so he wrote me up for exceeding 65 MPH MAX (standard max speeding ticket VC as a 2nd code violation on the same ticket), in addition to the higher charge/speed. Good (not cheap) lawyer's great advice is to plead not guilty to the higher charge, and plead guilty on the lower charge to adjudicate the matter that same day, and get it over with, and offer to pay off the State without a trial. The judge might be hip to the plan right off the bat, because if he accepts, I cannot be tried on the higher charge any longer as I was already found "guilty" for the crime due to his acceptance of my guilty plea on the lower charge. Double Jeopardy and all that jazz. Therefore, by accepting my guilty plea, he has to throw out the higher charge that I plead "not guilty" to.

So the judge might say he doesn't accept my guilty plea on the lower charge, so that'll force me to dig in and set both for trial with a not guilty plea. That's when I'd have to officially hire my lawyer, who will go all-out full-tilt and try a Keller precedent defense which indicates being charged two codes/violations for the same crime is improper and unacceptable. Given the ridiculous nature of the Court's rumored attitude regarding speeders, the full-tilt defense has been decided by me to be absolutely necessary.

I'm told my CHP Officer is "TOUGH" and likely won't plea deal much. I'm told Kearny Mesa isn't the Court it used to be 10 years ago or more when I used to fight my own cases. Their reputation is now that of the Courts where I've had the worst experiences. They want their money, and they don't care how many rules, regulations, or laws they have to break to get it (remember the ignored letters case?). Funny, when I fought so hard for my change of venue in that "ignored letter" case, I did so under the stale belief that the Kearny Mesa Court was much better than El Cajon. Things change, and my anecdotal data is outdated by those in the "know." Can't believe it's been so long since I got my "motion" granted in that Court. The only Court I've succcessfully gotten any Motion to the Court granted while defending myself in a Traffic Case. The same EXACT motion that other Courts would deny for what I consider frivolous reasoning with the same circumstances.

28firefighter

Wouldn't it just be easier (and cheaper) to slow down?

andres3

jmonroe1 said:

@andres3, waay late on the congrats but I like your color combo. A beige interior is better looking than black but it takes a little work to keep it looking good but it's worth it in my opinion.

How did you decide to go with Carvana? Did any of us in here talk you into it. I know I sure liked them. Don't know how they beat my dealer by more than $2200 but I'm glad I gave them a try. I damn near gave myself a bald spot trying to figure that out.

Give us a report after you give it the ole @andres3 break in or after the first ticket, whichever comes first.

jmonroe

I went with Carvana in large part on the reported experience of higher offers from you and others on Edmunds forums/threads. Thanks for sharing!

I didn't get 2,200 more, but I'll take 1,624 more anyday of the week. It was so easy. Even the pick-up process was amazingly simple and streamlined.

andres3

28firefighter said:

Wouldn't it just be easier (and cheaper) to slow down?

Certainly in hindsight and retrospect, it would be better not to attract the attention of those at the CHP that view speeding as "pissing on them."

Still, I would have liked for him to actually have been observing traffic rather than hiding behind a curvature in a concrete wall in the fasttrak lanes that means he couldn't see me, and I couldn't see him until he had his radar gun right on me, and by then, it's too late, and he didn't have the "context" of the speed. Nor did he "observe" and estimate the speed before turning on his radar gun, the way it is supposed to work.

FYI - I didn't have my radar detector installed that day for various reasons. I don't think it would have mattered at the range he was at though.

I also got burned by the fact I didn't think there could be "2 of them" within a mile or two, and let my speed get carried away after passing another one that had already pulled someone over.

andres3

qbrozen said:

andres3 said:

So no one commented on my question to the group before; it was buried in a bigger post, so I'll extract it here:

If you have one car at 16,500 miles, and another at 28,500 miles, but the lower miles is a '15 and the higher miles is a '16, would you consider that a tie and base your decision solely on price and condition if they are otherwise equal cars?

Note, the '16 would have 10-11 months more warranty (unlimited mileage in Audi CPO).

The ‘16 is worth a little more. 1 yr newer at this age/pricepoint is worth about $2k-$2500. The 12k extra miles is about a $1500 deduct. Add in the extra warranty, and there is a clear winner.

He mentioned that about KBB valuing a model year at about $2K, but the problem was they were asking for $3K more! Also, the '16 had some minor blemishes that made it a 9 out of 10 condition wise in my book, whereas the one I got is a solid 9.5 out of 10. Distinguishably less cosmetic flaws, but both were "buyable."

andres3

nyccarguy said:

andres3 said:

So no one commented on my question to the group before; it was buried in a bigger post, so I'll extract it here:

If you have one car at 16,500 miles, and another at 28,500 miles, but the lower miles is a '15 and the higher miles is a '16, would you consider that a tie and base your decision solely on price and condition if they are otherwise equal cars?

Note, the '16 would have 10-11 months more warranty (unlimited mileage in Audi CPO).

Yes. I'd consider those equal cars. The dealer with the '15 might dig it's heels in on the price due to the "low miles."

Funny, I had the opposite experience mainly due the lower miles car being on the lot for over 50 days, and the dealership does the Carmax model of one low price (supposedly no haggle), but they do lower the price 3 times in those 50+ days. The higher mile one was new on the lot (no more than 14 days), so they didn't' seem as eager or as hungry. I definitely noticed a difference in motivation; I mean, lowering the price 3 times in 50 days is a motivated seller. There was either going to be something WRONG with the car, or I got lucky no one bought it up before me. I think the latter happened.

jmonroe1

andres3 said:

jmonroe1 said:

@andres3, waay late on the congrats but I like your color combo. A beige interior is better looking than black but it takes a little work to keep it looking good but it's worth it in my opinion.

How did you decide to go with Carvana? Did any of us in here talk you into it. I know I sure liked them. Don't know how they beat my dealer by more than $2200 but I'm glad I gave them a try. I damn near gave myself a bald spot trying to figure that out.

Give us a report after you give it the ole @andres3 break in or after the first ticket, whichever comes first.

jmonroe

Can't afford any more tickets right now, as I have one pending "nasty" one where the CHP caught me during a momentary burst of acceleration zooming away from the clog of a left lane camper (think Mel Gibson screaming "Freedom!!!!!" in Braveheart). Apparently the Alltrack's tune got me into big trouble as I was told I was going faster than I thought. Fast enough where the State wants me to appear the 25th in front of a Judge, and not just take my money over the internet or phone.

I also need to do traffic school for the minor sign violation the cheap $99 lawyer lost. $325 already paid to the State on that one.

The plan for the "Nasty" ticket is to plead to the lesser charge at arraignment. For some reason the Officer wasn't confident in his spurious radar reading, only 2 MPH over a threshold, so he wrote me up for exceeding 65 MPH MAX (standard max speeding ticket VC as a 2nd code violation on the same ticket), in addition to the higher charge/speed. Good (not cheap) lawyer's great advice is to plead not guilty to the higher charge, and plead guilty on the lower charge to adjudicate the matter that same day, and get it over with, and offer to pay off the State without a trial. The judge might be hip to the plan right off the bat, because if he accepts, I cannot be tried on the higher charge any longer as I was already found "guilty" for the crime due to his acceptance of my guilty plea on the lower charge. Double Jeopardy and all that jazz. Therefore, by accepting my guilty plea, he has to throw out the higher charge that I plead "not guilty" to.

So the judge might say he doesn't accept my guilty plea on the lower charge, so that'll force me to dig in and set both for trial with a not guilty plea. That's when I'd have to officially hire my lawyer, who will go all-out full-tilt and try a Keller precedent defense which indicates being charged two codes/violations for the same crime is improper and unacceptable. Given the ridiculous nature of the Court's rumored attitude regarding speeders, the full-tilt defense has been decided by me to be absolutely necessary.

I'm told my CHP Officer is "TOUGH" and likely won't plea deal much. I'm told Kearny Mesa isn't the Court it used to be 10 years ago or more when I used to fight my own cases. Their reputation is now that of the Courts where I've had the worst experiences. They want their money, and they don't care how many rules, regulations, or laws they have to break to get it (remember the ignored letters case?). Funny, when I fought so hard for my change of venue in that "ignored letter" case, I did so under the stale belief that the Kearny Mesa Court was much better than El Cajon. Things change, and my anecdotal data is outdated by those in the "know." Can't believe it's been so long since I got my "motion" granted in that Court. The only Court I've succcessfully gotten any Motion to the Court granted while defending myself in a Traffic Case. The same EXACT motion that other Courts would deny for what I consider frivolous reasoning with the same circumstances.

C'mon man, that was a mouthful for sure. If I were you in addition to slowing down, I'd be all over your cars looking for a signal beeper that the CHP is homing in on as soon as you start your cars. With your driving record your DMV probably has them installed when you register your cars. Now you know why it takes so long for you to get your cars registered.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

andres3 said:

jmonroe1 said:

@andres3, waay late on the congrats but I like your color combo. A beige interior is better looking than black but it takes a little work to keep it looking good but it's worth it in my opinion.

How did you decide to go with Carvana? Did any of us in here talk you into it. I know I sure liked them. Don't know how they beat my dealer by more than $2200 but I'm glad I gave them a try. I damn near gave myself a bald spot trying to figure that out.

Give us a report after you give it the ole @andres3 break in or after the first ticket, whichever comes first.

jmonroe

I went with Carvana in large part on the reported experience of higher offers from you and others on Edmunds forums/threads. Thanks for sharing!

I didn't get 2,200 more, but I'll take 1,624 more anyday of the week. It was so easy. Even the pick-up process was amazingly simple and streamlined.

So, you ARE capable of taking the advice of your poster buddies when you want to but somehow our advice to slow down and save yourself the cost of all those speeding tickets escapes you. If I had the money you have spent on speeding tickets and lawyers to defend you at all of your court appearances, I could burn mine.

jmonroe

qbrozen

28firefighter said:

Supposedly they are more comfortable than the usual M sport seats.

There is $2250 lease cash, $1000 loyalty, and I have $1000 OL. Assuming I did max MSDs and the crazy WA licensing, it'd be $483/month including tax with 0 drive off except MSD...more than I want to spend but not bad for what basically amounts to an M car.

Decent deal if you want one now. I’m going to hold out, personally. I do have 18 mos in mine, after all. Lol. But if a screaming deal materializes ... we’ll see. My goal should seriously be getting the Dodge done to give me something else to play with, but I have zero free time right now. Hopefully I’ll have my mom settled by early fall and start getting back toward somewhat normal.

28firefighter

I’m not in a rush. I have 5 months left as of today on the X1. While another BMW would certainly be easy, I seriously am thinking about the GLI and the new Legacy XT.

roadburner

28firefighter said:

Supposedly they are more comfortable than the usual M sport seats.

There is $2250 lease cash, $1000 loyalty, and I have $1000 OL. Assuming I did max MSDs and the crazy WA licensing, it'd be $483/month including tax with 0 drive off except MSD...more than I want to spend but not bad for what basically amounts to an M car.

My wife hates the base BMW seats. Like me, she prefers the Sport or(even better) the more aggressive M Sport seats. She's also a big fan of Recaros, bless her heart.

Michaell

28firefighter said:

I’m not in a rush. I have 5 months left as of today on the X1. While another BMW would certainly be easy, I seriously am thinking about the GLI and the new Legacy XT.

I made my last payment on the Jetta, today.

28firefighter

Is this good or is this bad?

sda

Michaell said:

28firefighter said:

I’m not in a rush. I have 5 months left as of today on the X1. While another BMW would certainly be easy, I seriously am thinking about the GLI and the new Legacy XT.

I made my last payment on the Jetta, today.

Wow, already?

stickguy

Michaell said:

28firefighter said:

I’m not in a rush. I have 5 months left as of today on the X1. While another BMW would certainly be easy, I seriously am thinking about the GLI and the new Legacy XT.

I made my last payment on the Jetta, today.

Congratulations, now you own it!

Oh wait, not how it works around here...

Michaell

28firefighter said:

Is this good or is this bad?

It's going back next month and, for now, not getting replaced. Wife and I will share the Outback, as we are both working from home.

Michaell

On a related note, the title for the MINI showed up yesterday.

nyccarguy

@28firefighter - what was that website you bought your X1’s tires from?

tjc78

@Michaell
You made your last payment and I got the lease end kit from Hyundai.

I haven't made any progress on car shopping...

benjaminh

The Mini dealer in Louisville closed recently, meaning that there aren't any Mini dealers in Kentucky. Mini sales are down to about half of what they were in 2013....

https://www.autonews.com/dealers/mini-suit-ex-council-chair-spotlights-small-car-slump

28firefighter

tjc78 said:

@Michaell
You made your last payment and I got the lease end kit from Hyundai.

I haven't made any progress on car shopping...

A broker not far from you just posted a $52k 330i xDrive for $338/month. Includes M-Sport etc. Driveoffs and max MSD due at signing.

28firefighter

nyccarguy said:

@28firefighter - what was that website you bought your X1’s tires from?

Bestusedtires.com Highly recommend!

qbrozen

What I'm really curious about is what is going on with Dodge deals. I'm sure you noticed the big trunk money on the Challenger SXT, bringing those lease in under $200/mo. I'd love to know what an R/T or even Scat Pack looks like. No idea where to get those Ally and US Bank numbers, though.

tjc78

28firefighter said:

tjc78 said:

@Michaell
You made your last payment and I got the lease end kit from Hyundai.

I haven't made any progress on car shopping...

A broker not far from you just posted a $52k 330i xDrive for $338/month. Includes M-Sport etc. Driveoffs and max MSD due at signing.

I saw that, even without the MSD it’s a solid deal

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

tjc78 said:

@Michaell
You made your last payment and I got the lease end kit from Hyundai.

I haven't made any progress on car shopping...

A broker not far from you just posted a $52k 330i xDrive for $338/month. Includes M-Sport etc. Driveoffs and max MSD due at signing.

I have a friend with a Passat coming due in three months.

He is in the compact sedan market (3-Series, Alfa Guilia,Volvo S60), or possibly a compact SUV (X1, Stelvio, Tiguan).

Willing and able to travel from Greater Cincinnati to anywhere within a one day drive (NE, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest).

He likes the toys, though, so no strippers. If you hack anything like that, let me know. (something around $50K MSRP for under $400/mo?). 6% tax on the payment, here. Guessing a service loaner would be the best bet.

Thanks for your attention!

28firefighter

kyfdx said:

28firefighter said:

tjc78 said:

@Michaell
You made your last payment and I got the lease end kit from Hyundai.

I haven't made any progress on car shopping...

A broker not far from you just posted a $52k 330i xDrive for $338/month. Includes M-Sport etc. Driveoffs and max MSD due at signing.

I have a friend with a Passat coming due in three months.

He is in the compact sedan market (3-Series, Alfa Guilia,Volvo S60), or possibly a compact SUV (X1, Stelvio, Tiguan).

Willing and able to travel from Greater Cincinnati to anywhere within a one day drive (NE, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest).

He likes the toys, though, so no strippers. If you hack anything like that, let me know. (something around $50K MSRP for under $400/mo?). 6% tax on the payment, here. Guessing a service loaner would be the best bet.

Thanks for your attention!

Sure - there is a broker in Northeast Ohio that gets some great deals. If I were there, I'd probably save myself the hassle and work with him. Hopefully in 3 months the X1 will be off stop-sale.

28firefighter

qbrozen said:

What I'm really curious about is what is going on with Dodge deals. I'm sure you noticed the big trunk money on the Challenger SXT, bringing those lease in under $200/mo. I'd love to know what an R/T or even Scat Pack looks like. No idea where to get those Ally and US Bank numbers, though.

The rates through Ally are awful. You can google and find the ally rates and residuals - they do an awful job of protecting it.

Looks like for SXT the MF is equivalent to .00304 (!!) and 56% residual for 36/10.

For RT the MF is also .00304 and 61% residual for 36/10.

For Scat Pack it looks like .00304 and 66% residual for 36/10.

Couldn't tell you what they are for US Bank.

28firefighter

RIP https://jalopnik.com/killed-by-crossovers-the-volkswagen-golf-sportwagen-an-1836447514

qbrozen

28firefighter said:

qbrozen said:

What I'm really curious about is what is going on with Dodge deals. I'm sure you noticed the big trunk money on the Challenger SXT, bringing those lease in under $200/mo. I'd love to know what an R/T or even Scat Pack looks like. No idea where to get those Ally and US Bank numbers, though.

The rates through Ally are awful. You can google and find the ally rates and residuals - they do an awful job of protecting it.

Looks like for SXT the MF is equivalent to .00304 (!!) and 56% residual for 36/10.

For RT the MF is also .00304 and 61% residual for 36/10.

For Scat Pack it looks like .00304 and 66% residual for 36/10.

Couldn't tell you what they are for US Bank.

Just found those. haha.
65% for 36/12 is damned strong, though.
If there is $7k IDL money (tough to tell with the way things are labeled), and I managed 10% off before the incentive, I'd be at $440 (440ci is the engine in my current Dodge. LOL) sign and drive on a $49k Scat Pack. Still pretty good in the grand scheme, but not a great deal. If only the rate were .00225, which I believe is Chrysler's captive rate, it would be a more palatable $380.

28firefighter

It just doesn't do it for me...

pensfan83

I'd love to hack my own deals but there's a lot of good brokers on the east coast whose rates can be paid and I could probably still come out ahead in terms of cost savings relative to what I can get in Pittsburgh or on my own elsewhere. I suppose it comes down to how much time/effort I want to invest. The BMW broker in Ohio is one to definitely keep an eye on.

qbrozen

28firefighter said:

It just doesn't do it for me...

If only BMWs could sound like that, I wouldn't give the Dodge a second thought.

nyccarguy

pensfan83 said:

I'd love to hack my own deals but there's a lot of good brokers on the east coast whose rates can be paid and I could probably still come out ahead in terms of cost savings relative to what I can get in Pittsburgh or on my own elsewhere. I suppose it comes down to how much time/effort I want to invest. The BMW broker in Ohio is one to definitely keep an eye on.

Agreed. Some of the brokers make it too easy and they are extremely great guys to deal with as well. Even if you could hack a deal that could come close, the time they save you will almost certainly make their fee worth it.

tjc78

Once you know what you want a broker makes it pretty painless and in some markets you just won’t get the deals they offer.

Michaell

Sorry to divert the conversation away from lease deals, but I've got a situation I could use some help with. Hoping someone can provide that nugget of information to move forward.

My mom's car is an '03 Sonata with the 2.7L V6. Bought new, and now has a whopping 34,000 miles on it. She is in CA, and the car won't pass the smog testing. We've had friends take it in twice in the last few weeks, and it's failed both times. The feedback we get is that the car simply isn't driven enough, but I don't know how to rectify that. Mom has been instructed not to drive, so friends and family have taken the car out.

What could be the problem, mechanically, that is causing this? I don't have a copy of the report - yet - so I don't know which part of the test is the problem. I'll be going to CA next month for a visit and can get the car into the shop for repair, but it would be good to know what to focus on? Catalytic converter?

28firefighter

That seems strange - no CELs or anything? I'd certainly be focusing on the exhaust/catalytic converter. Though I have to wonder if a full tank of premium and a bottle of techron to clean things out wouldn't fix it...

stickguy

It needs an Italian tune up. Put in a bottle of Techron, some top tier gas, and run in hard for a while.

Maybe some I take cleaner into the throttle body?

nyccarguy

Michaell said:

Sorry to divert the conversation away from lease deals, but I've got a situation I could use some help with. Hoping someone can provide that nugget of information to move forward.

My mom's car is an '03 Sonata with the 2.7L V6. Bought new, and now has a whopping 34,000 miles on it. She is in CA, and the car won't pass the smog testing. We've had friends take it in twice in the last few weeks, and it's failed both times. The feedback we get is that the car simply isn't driven enough, but I don't know how to rectify that. Mom has been instructed not to drive, so friends and family have taken the car out.

What could be the problem, mechanically, that is causing this? I don't have a copy of the report - yet - so I don't know which part of the test is the problem. I'll be going to CA next month for a visit and can get the car into the shop for repair, but it would be good to know what to focus on? Catalytic converter?

Give it to @andres3 to drive for a week.

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

Michaell said:

Sorry to divert the conversation away from lease deals, but I've got a situation I could use some help with. Hoping someone can provide that nugget of information to move forward.

My mom's car is an '03 Sonata with the 2.7L V6. Bought new, and now has a whopping 34,000 miles on it. She is in CA, and the car won't pass the smog testing. We've had friends take it in twice in the last few weeks, and it's failed both times. The feedback we get is that the car simply isn't driven enough, but I don't know how to rectify that. Mom has been instructed not to drive, so friends and family have taken the car out.

What could be the problem, mechanically, that is causing this? I don't have a copy of the report - yet - so I don't know which part of the test is the problem. I'll be going to CA next month for a visit and can get the car into the shop for repair, but it would be good to know what to focus on? Catalytic converter?

Give it to @andres3 to drive for a week.

nyccarguy said:

Michaell said:

Sorry to divert the conversation away from lease deals, but I've got a situation I could use some help with. Hoping someone can provide that nugget of information to move forward.

My mom's car is an '03 Sonata with the 2.7L V6. Bought new, and now has a whopping 34,000 miles on it. She is in CA, and the car won't pass the smog testing. We've had friends take it in twice in the last few weeks, and it's failed both times. The feedback we get is that the car simply isn't driven enough, but I don't know how to rectify that. Mom has been instructed not to drive, so friends and family have taken the car out.

What could be the problem, mechanically, that is causing this? I don't have a copy of the report - yet - so I don't know which part of the test is the problem. I'll be going to CA next month for a visit and can get the car into the shop for repair, but it would be good to know what to focus on? Catalytic converter?

Give it to @andres3 to drive for a week.

He and my sister actually don't live that far from one another, but the car is 200 miles north of them.

And, he'd die of boredom before he got to the second stoplight.

Did some research on the CA DMV website - they have a program where a "referee" will review the situation and try to help get the car passed.

Cats on the Sonata would run roughly $1K, which is 50% of the value of the car.

stickguy

Drive it to Colorado and keep it as spare wheels for you.

I remember in jersey, if you failed the free DMV drive thru test, plenty of garages would “get you to pass”. Sometimes they even did something more than just slapping a sticker on.

au1994

+3 for a tank of fuel injection cleaner, high test. Get it on the interstate and blow the [non-permissible content removed] farts out.

Michaell

I just got the test results sent to me - the failure reason is:

Your vehicle failed the Smog Check inspection due to the fact that the vehicle's on-board computer system has not completed the emission system's self checks

So, looks to be an issue with the ODB II (oxygen sensor), as everything else shows "Pass" or "Not applicable"

pensfan83

In PA if you drive less than 5,000 miles/year you are exempt from emissions testing. I take it CA has no similar laws or emission exemptions?

28firefighter

Yeah - a good tank of premium, some techron, and a few hundred miles should go a long way.