so i sold a car a few weeks ago(not a rotary ) had it smogged 4 months ago so it was just beyond the 90 day period where its valid to do a change of title.

explained to the buyer before the sale that it would need to be smogged to be registered/transfer title.

so now 3 weeks later i hear from the buyer today saying it failed smog with levels 20x(wtf???) or something more than when i had it smogged just a few months ago. basically that it is in gross polluter levels.

now he

- wants me to take the car back.

- or he is going to have someone fix it so it passes then i cover the bill.

- or if i don't agree to either one wants to take me to small claims court.

what do i do? geez.

 

anyone with good news, i've been reading up at the DMV site and looks like CA has very strict laws about the seller providing a valid(within 90 day) smog certificate. guess its stupid of me to not smog beforehand.

so who know how i can to get the 1k the state pays to retire gross polluters?

 

Contract contract contract. I hope you made one cuz with a contract and two sigs from the seller and the buyer your *** is covered no matter what. outline all the rules and regs, and you cross your T'S AND DOT YOUR I's if not your not a really big position to debate with this guy unless you fight it out with him. But if you go to small claims court he more then likely to win. Had it happen to me dude sold me a car that didn't pass smog i took him to court and i won, he got the car back i got my money back.

 

Sounds like he is trying to take you for a ride. I would make him agree to take the car to a shop of your choice and you have the car repaired then smogged.

 

You're stuck in the mud on this one.

CA law says it is the SELLER'S responsibility to provide a smog cert PRIOR to sale.
This is a protect the buyer from any shady sellers.
And in this case, it would also protect the former owners from the new owner's possible "negligence".

 

Bah....don't worry about smog when you have a member like WackyRacer who could cure all of your smog problems. Just PM him with your VIN and car info and he'll take care of the rest.

He helped me passed my 95 Honda Hatchback with a K20A with flying colors.

 

95 hatch w/ a K20? That is one fast flower delivery vehicle.

 

take the car back!!! Document the whole thing with signatures. Then you get to sue him stating that he did not return the car in the same condition it was before. lawsuit will probably be thrown out, but at least he can not come after you anymore.
Other than that . . you are screwed!! He holds ALL the cards right now. As the seller, you MUST supply the smog (90 day limit)

 

Yeah man you got yourself in a hole man just do what home boy said above me. The other dude is holding all the cards right now man

 

just take the car back and resell it, you are stuck with having to smog the car now as that was your responsibility prior to selling it or getting the buyer to sign a waiver beforehand.

 

Sue him? For what? You have no idea what you're talking about.

Used cars are sold "as is". So if he returns it back in worse condition because the car wouldn't smog in the first place...guess what? The originally seller is f*cked.

Don't scream lawsuit unless you know what you're talking about.

 

 

I'm not going to point fingers or anything...but why didn't the seller get the car smogged in the first place?

Perhaps he knew it wouldn't pass smog?

 

Apparently some folks are not reading the initial thread.

In short, you've got to get it smogged or refund the money. CA law states that the SELLER must certify the vehicle’s legal emission levels before sale.

If it goes to a small claims court, you will loose. First, you broke the law by selling it without following the proper procedure. You broke the law and will go to court with “dirty hands”. The court will rule against you because you are looking for ruling on an illegal transaction. You will loose. Period.

Having someone on the boards fix it via a hook-up will probably only get you into more trouble in the long run when the car comes back up for a smog check and (without the hookup) fails again. The buyer will be looking for you again. Do you really want to risk even greater headaches with this?

I say do the right thing and get it fixed. The buyer purchased the car in good faith…time for you to return the favor and ante up to your end of the bargain.

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To the poster above about contracts: It's a good idea but there are soo many ways to have contracts null and voided. In this case, the seller did something illegal...thus voiding any contract. Another way way the buyer would get out of this contract: "changing cirumstances". Car was bought under the assumption that the car would pass smog check. It did not. Cirumstances have changed beyond the buyers control...again voiding the contract.

Contracts are, almost, useless in these types of situations unless both parties have attornies and the contract is negotiated.... BUT even then there are some cardinal rule breakers that will even void the most diehard contracts.

 

thanks for the responses.

yup figure im "screwed"

as far as fears of the vehicle not being able to pass smog, no. it just costs $70 and at least and hr of my time to do it. vehicle passed smog a few months ago, but past the 90 day mark. i was busy so didn't smog it, sold it at a lower price accordingly. too bad somehting turned out wrong w/ it

in the future im just going to sell beater cars like this as parts only with a non-op registration. <--- wonder if this works. none of this bs where even agreements/contracts that 2 parties agree to are invalidated by state laws.

oh yeah and i called the agency that "retires" cars for 1k if they are gross polluters or unsafe. and.. the car is only eligible within 90 days of failing the biennial smog. "hi something broke w/ my car and now it is gross polluter driving on the streets, id like to retire it" "sorry we can't take it, past 90 days"

anyway, i can fix this thing. i think its a dead battery ---> weak spark ---> all kinds of ****.

 

ia gree you kinda stuck your foot in your mouth there....however for a future note, regardless of whether the car passes smog or not i always sell the cars "as is" and write "as is" on the bill of sale so that even if they are unhappy i am not responsible for anything that happens later on down the road... ( i always tell them everything i know about the car before the sale too and i have a mechanic as a witness ((my dad is certified ASE guy so most of the time its all good)) and we agree verbally and with a handshake in front of the witness before i write out the bill of sale) this protects both me and the buyer form problems later on.