can someone help me interpret this carfax report?

[holden j caufield]

08/17/1993 California
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Title issued or updated


07/24/1995 47,544 California
Inspection Station
Palmdale, CA
Passed emissions inspection


09/08/1997 86,507 California
Inspection Station
Palmdale, CA
Passed emissions inspection


10/09/1998 California
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Title issued or updated
New owner reported


08/03/1999 109,428 California
Inspection Station
Gardena, CA
Designated GROSS POLLUTER
Failed emissions inspection


09/11/1999 110,642 California
Inspection Station
Los Angeles, CA
Passed emissions inspection


09/13/1999 110,757 California
Inspection Station
Gardena, CA
Passed emissions inspection


09/15/1999 California
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Pomona, CA
Title issued or updated


07/19/2001 133,749 California
Inspection Station
Gardena, CA
Passed emissions inspection

ok the only this that worries me is that usually every other year you're supposed to get your car smogged but it was last smogged in 2001, almost 4 years but I'm not sure what to make of this. thx

 

[z0mb13]

it was labeled gross polluter back in 99

I would pass

 

[amdskip]

Something in the car failed and was repaired and it then passed it appears.

 

[holden j caufield]

yes that's also what I'm unsure of . Though I'm not sure what a gross polluter problem might entail? My mom's car failed smog because the ignition timing was off by just a tiny bit and the mechanic fixed that in like 5 minutes. But I'm stupid with cars so I'm just looking for opinions

 

[thomsbrain]

i can't remember how often you have to smog... pretty sure it's like every two years though, so where has it been for 4 years? did they let registration slide? also, the SELLER has to smog the car before they can sell it to you (i think 90 days or less before the sale), so make sure they do that or it is a major pain in the ass to sort out at the DMV (trust me, i've been there). anyway, it has passed the last 3 inspections, so it sounds like whatever was wrong got fixed. usually it's just a sensor or cat convertor or something.

my car "failed" once when the tech didn't properly prepare my car (you have to short the computer before testing the timing, and says so on the sticker on the hood). i made him do it again properly.

 

[KK]

Are all counties in CA required to have smog tests? If not maybe the owner moved to a county that doesn't require it.

 

[Baked]

Originally posted by: KK
Are all counties in CA required to have smog tests? If not maybe the owner moved to a county that doesn't require it.

Yes, it's CA regulation. We have the strictest air polution regulation out of all the states.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: z0mb13
it was labeled gross polluter back in 99

I would pass

But it passed later. There are a number of things that can go wrong with a car to make it REALLY dirty, then clean up when fixed.

 

[holden j caufield]

does ~23k miles a year seem a bit excessive and beside taking it to a mechanic what else can I do to protect myself? thx

 

[CRXican]

Originally posted by: z0mb13
it was labeled gross polluter back in 99

I would pass

do you even have a a car? that means nothing, it's very easy to fail smog in CA

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: z0mb13
it was labeled gross polluter back in 99

I would pass

Big fvcking deal. We had a '94 BMW 325i and it was labeled a gross polluter. We always had to take it to a test only station. It passed everytime with no trouble. We put about 60k miles on it in the 4 years we owned the car and never had any trouble with the emissions system (I think we had to replace an O2 sensor once).

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: holden j caufield
does ~23k miles a year seem a bit excessive and beside taking it to a mechanic what else can I do to protect myself? thx

I put 23k miles on my Tundra the first year I owned it. It is high but not excessive. Whoever owned it either had a long commute to work or used the car for work.