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In this economic times instead of buying a new car, most families are going to opt to buy used cars.
With that in mind, there are going to be a lot of financial considerations that go into place when buying a used car.
When I mention about the financial considerations, I am not only talking about the sales price.
When you are a family looking to save money the last thing you want to do is buy a used car with extra expenses you weren’t prepared for.Especially if your budget did not have those extra expenses in it.
So one of the important things you need to be aware of is smog checks.The last thing you will ever want to do is having to make expensive repairs because of a failed smog check. I have seen too many used cars in my San Diego auto repair business have this happen.
So when you are making the purchase of that used car, some things to consider are here.
Under a law passed in 2005, if your car is 1976 or older you don’t ever need a smog check. But if it is newer than that your vehicle will be tested based on the state emission law. You can find out about your state by calling the Bureau
of Automotive repair at (800) 952-5210.
If you live in California and are buying a used car you may need a San Diego smog check. If it is being sold or registerd in California for the first time, you will need a smog check.
Otherwise, if the car is in it’s 5th or 7th year, a smog test done biennially will be needed.
If you bought the vehicle in another state but live in California, you will need to find out if the car can pass a smog check.In general California is a lot more strict.
With that being the case, keep that on your mind when making a purchase of a new vehicle.
Costs for a smog test San Diego generally run between $30 to $80.But as stated above, that is not the biggest expense. The big cost is if you need costly repairs.
So when purchasing the used car, make sure you find out if the vehicle has recently passed a smog test.
You don’t want to get any unexpected expenses cropping up all over when the idea was to save money when you bought that used car.
Follow these steps when shopping for a used car and you are going to save a lot of money.