In the economy we live in, most families are going to choose to buy a used car rather than a new car.

With that being the case, there will be a lot of issues concerning finances that go into place when making a used car purchase.

When I say financial considerations, I am not just 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 the extra expenses was not on the budget.

So one of the major things to be aware of is having to do a smog test.  The last thing you want to have to do is make expensive repairs for a failed smog test.  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.So if your vehicle is newer than that your car will need to be tested based on state emission laws.You can learn about your state if you call 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 the car has been sold and registered in California for the first time, you will have to get a smog check.

Other than that, if the vehicle is going into it’s 5th or 7th year, a smog check will need to be done biennially.

If you purchase the vehicle in another state and live in California, you are going to have to find out if your car can pass the test.California generally is going to be much stricter.

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 mentioned above, that is not the big cost.  The big cost is if you need costly repairs.

So when making the purchase of the used car, make an effort to find out if the car was able to pass a recent 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 pieces of advice when making a purchase of a used vehicle and a lot of money will be saved.