WHY DOES CALIFORNIA NEED A SMOG CHECK PROGRAM?

In 1970 Congress passed the Federal Clean Air Act, which set quality standards for the nation. The act required areas that did not meet air quality standards to implement emissions control strategies or they would lose their building and highway funds. California did not meet the Federal Air quality standards. Hence, in 1982 it decided to implement an emissions inspection program, currently referred to as the "Smog Check" program.

The California Smog Check program and California's emission laws are designed to identify vehicles, which are polluters through the use of a state of the art exhaust gas analyzer. The exhaust analyzer is much like a photo camera except it takes pictures of your vehicle's exhaust (rather then your vehicle) and translates that into information which a Smog technician can read/understand and evaluate. Based on this information the technician can diagnose your vehicle's engine condition.

The Smog Inspection is not to be feared. It's simply an inspection designed to make sure your car is in good running order. It's also an excellent opportunity for you to evaluate your vehicle's engine performance and make sure your car is running at optimum levels.

Price of the Smog Check: The average smog inspection price will vary shop to shop. It will normally range anywhere between $29.95 to $59.95 depending on the county you live in and the type of smog inspection your vehicle requires. This price may or may not include the State's Certificate Fee of $8.25. In some parts of California, where smog inspections are not so common, shop owners may choose to charge a little more for the smog inspection in order to make up for the high cost of maintenance.

There is no State of California regulation for the actual cost of the smog check due to the fact that smog stations are privately owned businesses. However there are laws which require smog stations, smog test only centers and smog repair centers to display their smog inspection prices in areas accessible to and easily viewed by the public.