[British-cars] 1967 MGB / smog on change of ownership question

[Brian Kemp]

Mike - If you've kept the car registered, there are no issues since as 
other people pointed out, as the car is old enough to be exempt. If the 
registration expired, the buyer will have issues with penalties if they 
try and register it in California. Keeping the registration active with 
the planned non-operational status was also an option.

I recommend you talk with the DMV. If you are a AAA member, the DMV reps 
in the AAA offices are much more helpful. You may also get single day 
registrations for test drives or taking the car to a new location or 
garage. A buyer did this with a TR7 I was considering several years ago.

Several years ago I sold my California 1991 Subaru Legacy that couldn't 
pass smog. The check engine light was on for a failed crank angle sensor 
and a failed cam angle sensor. Unfortunately the check engine light is 
an automatic failure even though the car ran great, passed emissions, 
and the two errors together are technically impossible according to the 
shop manual. After checking all the stuff I could, I got estimates 
starting at about half the value of the car to fix the problem. I ended 
up selling it with the registration slightly expired without smog, which 
the DMV rep said I could do if the seller was ok with it. Just make sure 
that you fill out the bill of sale section of the pink slip and turn it 
in to the DMV to remove the registration from your name. If you don't 
the DMV will consider you to be the owner of the car and you will still 
be on the hook for tickets and other car liabilities.

Brian

Mike Wilson wrote:
> Here's a question that some of you might be able to help with: I have 
> a 1967 MGB roadster that's been sitting for about 6 years. We are 
> considering moving, and I should probably get rid of it before we move.
>
> Now, as I understand it, when one sells a car in CA, it is the 
> seller's responsibility to provide a smog certificate with the car, 
> which would probably be difficult. Furthermore, I was told that just 
> because the seller specifies "as is" in the bill of sale, he could 
> still be responsible for costs incurred by the buyer when they decide 
> to smog the car. I suppose a worst-case scenario would be the buyer 
> saying that smogging the car required a full engine rebuild & new 
> exhaust, demanding that the seller cover these costs. So the question 
> is: Is there some way to sell a car (with certificate of 
> non-operation) without incurring some responsibility of smogging the car?
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
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