| There is a waiver limit for the amount of expense to get your car fixed.
| For cars '68-'80 that limit is $100 in counties with moderate nonattainment.
| For cars '80+ that limit is $200 in such counties. In counties with serious
| or worse nonattainment, the limit is $450 (I believe this is for all cars
| tested.) What this means is if it will cost more than the limit to get
| your car fixed, you don't have to get it fixed.
I haven't read the bill in question, but for the system here in Seattle
the above is a little misleading. Here, at least, you get the waiver
_after_ you have spent that amount and it still doesn't pass. So if
your car is terminally noncompliant (as mine is, with the emissions
long since removed), then you have to spend the expense limit
EVERY TIME you register. It's effectively a tax on noncompliant
cars, except it must be paid to certified mechanics for only specific
repairs.
.
| Also, it is not clear whether they care if all of your emmissions stuff is
| in place if your car passes the emmisions test.
It varies by locale. In Seattle, they sniff first and ask questions later;
if it passes, they rarely open the hood. In Portland, on the other hand,
they do the visual check first and if they spot something missing they
may flunk you right there and refuse to even sniff it. I say "may"
because that's what I've always seen, but a friend claims that he has
gotten a car through that had no equipment. He had to contact the
head of the local EPA-equivalent and have him personally call the
testing station and order them to sniff it, though.
|