My '88 911 failed it's smog test this year...

Where do you guys go for the smog check (California)? Dealer wants $150. I'm not sure those $40 places can do it.

California is pretty big but I'm in the Bay Area and I go to a local Smog Check shop here in San Carlos, $29 + Certificate. There is nothing magic about Boxster smoging unless the shop doesn't know how to access the engine compartment. Some follow the "engine inspection" rule, others don't.

Check your registration to make sure it doesn't say "Test Station Only", if that's the case, you get to pay ~$75 instead of the ValuPak Coupon price. I had to do it once and the Test Only shop was a ghost town. I pulled up a chair in the waiting room with a view of the service bay and was treated to an entertaining performance. The owner/technician proceeded to open the front trunk, scratch his head, move to the rear trunk and scratch his head again as a bead of sweat appeared. I debated how long to let him suffer before filling him in on the whole mid-engine thing, but eventually walked him the process.

This does NOT require dealer intervention.

Bob's right. I have never had a problem with any of the lower-cost little places. Periodically or randomly the DMV will select your car for a "test-only" place, which is a little more expensive, I had to do that once. (I think it's a random screening thing.) Anyway, they all know how to do it. I mean, there's absolutely nothing special if you don't have to pull the engine cover off. I think they put it on a dyno-like roller and run the car for a bit, put an emissions sniffer on the tailpipe. As for the visual inspection, I would just make sure that you know how to get the engine cover off in case they want to look. I've never had to do that. They might pop the front trunk and be satisfied to see that there are no emissions modifications there.

Wow Another reason I am glad I live in Nevada Just took SilverBox in today for her annual required SMOG check. It was $9.99 with coupon. All they do here is scan the door bar code, hook up the link to the OBD2 port and within minutes you are on your way. The results automatically sent into the DMV and then you go on line and pay your registration renewal.

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jwdbox
Wow Another reason I am glad I live in Nevada Just took SilverBox in today for her annual required SMOG check. It was $9.99 with coupon. All they do here is scan the door bar code, hook up the link to the OBD2 port and within minutes you are on your way. The results automatically sent into the DMV and then you go on line and pay your registration renewal.

When they introduced SMOG II, they required a dyno which priced out most of the mom & pop shops. Fewer shops + more expensive equipment = higher price. The only consolation is they are required every 2 years

You can read the details on rennlist. I have always had to go to a Test Only facility for this car. I spent a few pretty pennies in the last few weeks to pass.

The Boxster passes easily every time without any preparation.

let it run 30 seconds or so then it signals it is done. Shut off the engine and return the device. I hope this becomes the norm. I did the firmware for such a device a couple of years ago that was demo'd to various federal and state emissions agencies and it was well received.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

On the one hand it seems horribly Big Brother, yet so much simpler and more convenient than going to a shop. Of course, even as simple as it sounds, just plugging it in and using correctly is beyond the technical expertise of lots of people.

It also sounds like something that a black market would figure out how to circumvent. I imagine a box that pretends to be a car, to trick the device. There's a reason you currently have to go to a shop that has to electronically transmit your car's data to the DMV as it occurs.

... we don't need no stinkin' SMOG tests in Florida.
They did away with them about 10 years ago.
Come on down!
Happy Porsche-ing,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

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Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

That's what I did when I moved from San Diego to Orange County (south of LA).

I called the local shop and they gave me the number of a smog shop that does all of their testing. The smog shop worked out well!

good luck

SJ

I can appreciate that, Pedro! However, I also greatly appreciate the air quality we have here, which is better than it was when I started driving, and is far better than it would be now with the growth in population and traffic, had nothing been done.

Last year I had two trips in a row, one for work to Manila (Philippines), and one for fun that took me thru L.A. (one last road trip in the Boxster while it's a street car). I went running along the bayfront promenade in both places (Manila Bay and Santa Monica), and they were about the polar opposites of examples of air quality, despite the "L.A. smog" reputation. The air in Manila made my throat sore -- the visible black tailpipe smoke is omnipresent. Never mind the stench of the bay water. The contrast really struck me.

... more than 60% of our registered vehicles were rental cars, meaning that they were less than 2 years old.
When the State looked into the percentage of polluting vehicles they found that it was negligible.
Then they passed a law against those extreme offenders, where you could get ticketed and in the most extreme cases the vehicle could be impounded.
For once they made a decision that made sense!
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

BTW I also like to breathe fresh air as much as I can

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

Very good point. New passenger cars have such extraordinarily low emissions, and are almost by definition in good working condition by virtue of having new emissions equipment, that there must be negligible benefit to testing them. I like the idea of at least letting all passenger cars under 5 or 10 years old or such skip testing.

they just bumped manditory testing for cars when they are 7 years and older and every 2 years afterwards. (It used to be 5 years). When I had my almost 10 year old Jetta tested, it passed with flying colours.

What bothers me about it is that if a car fails to pass the smog test, The owner can have it repaired and if he/she spends a maximum of $450, they get a conditional pass, so for $450 dollars it's OK to pollute as much as you want. So is it about removing polluting cars or just about collecting money?

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Trygve (Alameda, CA)
I can appreciate that, Pedro! However, I also greatly appreciate the air quality we have here, which is better than it was when I started driving, and is far better than it would be now with the growth in population and traffic, had nothing been done.

Last year I had two trips in a row, one for work to Manila (Philippines), and one for fun that took me thru L.A. (one last road trip in the Boxster while it's a street car). I went running along the bayfront promenade in both places (Manila Bay and Santa Monica), and they were about the polar opposites of examples of air quality, despite the "L.A. smog" reputation. The air in Manila made my throat sore -- the visible black tailpipe smoke is omnipresent. Never mind the stench of the bay water. The contrast really struck me.

The reason their air is dirty is that they still use leaded gas. No one using unleaded needs a test unless their car is an old beater and there are so few of those they matter little. What cleaned up the air in LA was unleaded gas not smog test.

If you have lived in Philippines (as I have), you'd know the reason for their pollution problem is billions of ill-maintained vehicles with no pollution controls in a very tiny space. Also a lot of cook stoves over open flames. Plus, Manila is far more crowded than LA. Anyway, try driving a few miles behind the Philippine Rabbit (bus) or a jeepney belching oil smoke and rich fuel mix on 3 out of 4 cylinders, then let me know if you still think the problem is just leaded gas. But I love the place anyway. Just get a few miles out of town and you get beauty without pollution.

however we have found in the US that there are so few ill maintained cars that the controls are unnecessary and leaded gas is 90 percent of the problem so to compare LA with a 2 and a half world country and say we need pollution controls is misguided. (though LA seems to be moving toward 2nd world as fast as it can) We also have the technology here to selectively test cars by troopers sitting on the side of the road should we desire. A trooper can pull a car over for belching black smoke and issue a "fix it ticket" should we want to. A system that require millions of new and almost new cars to pay and go through the hassle of a test that shows almost no detectable readings is a waste of time and resources.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/2011 10:17AM by old timer. (view changes)

No smog checks in Idaho either and annual tags are only $42.

I found a local guy who is a Test Only station do mine for $50. He does not mess with the engine compartment at all. Just a sensor in the tailpipe.
The car still has to run the treadmill though. I had to Smog two of my cars Test Only this past week. What an expensive PIA especially since
one failed due to a bad O2 sensor so I had to pay another $50 to have it Smogged again. Try to find a Pass or don't pay station.

Where was the place? Can anyone recommend a place in the east bay, Northern California (i.e. Pleasant Hill, Cocord, Walnut Creek)? I tried taking it to this place in Berkeley and they tried to bait-and-switch me and I passed.

SMOG CENTER at 2241 Monument Blvd. in CONCORD Unit V W (same side and near McDonald's) is a Pass or Don't Pay and also does Test Only 925-674-8444 Mon-Sat 8-6. Check the local Penny Saver for their coupon for $26.99 plus about another $13.00 for certificates. They have done a lot of my cars. A Test Only is $10.00 more or $50.00 and they only take cash.
If you don't have the coupon tell them someone who just had their car smogged recommended them and will they do the $40 or $50 Smog.
It's a real funky place. The owner is a James Dean fan and has posters of him all over the walls and they sell used furniture and paintings that are stacked all over the garage. Can't tell if its a Smog place or a furniture consignment store.

hmmm....that place has a 1.5 star rating from yelp.com. Man, these smog check places seem worse that used car lots.

$50 bucks and my cars always pass, that is a 5 in my book.
Spend $150 elsewhere and get a 4 rating.

I got you beat I just got my car smogged for $40 (including certificate) at VIP SMOG CENTER in Pleasant Hill (CA).

I would give this place 10 stars, for honesty, not to mention I passed. They are the first place I called and told me there's nothing special about doing a smog check on a Boxster vs. Honda. They are the first place I called that didn't try to charge me $80 with a song and dance about having to pay for more expensive insurance coverage to work on Porsches. I highly recommend them.

[vipsmogcenter.com]