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Smog Check Failed

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  • #655680
    EricEric
    Participant

      Hi!
      I’m still driving a 1996 Toyota Corolla my mom gave me. It has logged 220k miles. I failed a smog check recently and the guy said I need a new catalytic converter and that it will cost $500. The question is whether to get the fix or to get a new car entirely. I can probably get all $500 in government help if I decide to get the converter fixed and I can probably get all $1500 if I tried to retire my car and get a new one. I’m not sure if fixing a catalytic converter itself is going to get me to pass the smog check – I don’t think the repair guy needs to guarantee success upon fixing.

      My car also has a cracked windshield that has survived 2 years already and is somehow still going. (Feels like the cracks decided to stop expanding!). The window for the back passenger’s side has been smashed by some drunk guys last July 4th, but the window is not a nessesity. Finally, the brake light is out *again*. There is some hole that lets water get in, killing the bulbs over and over again. That’s my guess, anyways.

      I have enough cash to buy a new car. I’ve never bought a car and I don’t know if that’s the right choice. How much would a basic 4 seater cost me in California/Bay Area?

      Thank you.

    Viewing 8 replies - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
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    • #655682
      A toyotakarlIts me
      Moderator

        This is interesting… I really don’t know where you are going with this, other than to say you would like to know what a basic 4 seater would cost in the California/Bay Area.

        You mean you can get the government to give you $500 to fix your catalytic converter?

        You also mean you can get $1500 to “retire” your car and get a new one?

        Wow, this is nice.. But I will be blunt…

        If you have had a cracked windshield for two years, a back passenger side window smashed by Drunk guys on the 4th and the brake lights are out I would really wonder…. How good are you at maintaining things? (I understand having a beater, trust me)

        Not to be a jerk, but it sounds like you have not been keeping up with the maintenance of this car and its unruly people it keeps in contact with…

        Do you really think you are ready for a new car?

        I really don’t care, but I just pose these questions…

        What you have posed to me I could fix with about $350 in parts and 4 hours of my labor… but I am not you and you are not me…and we are from two very different places and very different states.

        Best of luck

        -Karl

        #655701
        EricEric
        Participant

          My question was, should I hire somebody to repair the vehicle, or should I just get a new car? I am not a very car-knowledgeable person and it’s easy to care too little about the maintenance of a car that way. It’s kind of like how dentists think we all undervalue flossing.

          I decided to keep the back window as in (well, I removed all the glass) as a cost saving measure. The brake lights are out, and my friend’s uncle and I tried to fix it by replacing the bulb and putting some epoxy over the crack(s) on the plastic shielding the light bulb. Apparently it’s not sufficient.

          About all I would do right now to maintain a car is to do an oil change. :unsure: …I’m sure I could step up my game though.

          I don’t know if I should continue to fix this old car or if I should just buy a new car because the old car is probably going to be more prone to having more issues that need fixing down the line. And buying another car could be a new car for like $15000 which I can pay in full so no interest, or I could buy secondhand and save some cash. I just don’t know which route to pick.

          I could try to learn and DIY it but the thought of working on something that propels me at 60mph is scary if I am not 100% sure my own repair is done properly.

          #655709
          hondaguy453hondaguy453
          Participant

            I guess we should ask if you would even want the car after it is fixed lol. Sounds like you don’t really care for it and wouldn’t be happy with it if it got fixed. If I am wrong, then I’d say get it diagnosed properly to see if it really is a bad cat. I’d say post a picture of your emissions results here, but you mentioned that you’re not too comfortable performing your own work.
            If you don’t do any of that, then i suggest you look for a car lol. Keep up with the maintenance if you do end up getting one.

            #655750
            EricEric
            Participant

              Hey,
              Thanks for the reply. I am definately willing to drive a beater as long as I know it’s not going to start having more problems down the line costing me more and more to fix. If it makes economical sense to drive a beater, I am definitely going for the beater. The reason why a lot of the stuff hasn’t been fixed is because I’ve been trying to save money (passenger window is not nessesary for a car to function, windshield I was supposed replace at a junk yard with a friend’s uncle but didn’t get around to it, so I’m just seeing how long the windshield can last, hopefully after the car is worth retiring so I don’t have to pay for the windshield).

              I’ll look into getting the correct light bulb for my brake light as a temporary fix (and since it’s so cheap I can ‘temporarily fix’ it multiple times after it breaks) because a dead brake light at night is a giant sign saying ‘PULL ME OVER!’.

              #655752
              MasonMason
              Participant

                Not sure why people are responding to this to be mean rather than answer your questions. But anyway, a bolt-on catalytic converter for your car would run you between $100-150, and maybe a little bit more depending on the brand. Replacing this yourself is not much of a hassle at all. I’ve done it to my own car twice, once when it went bad and once when it was stolen. The hardest part is just getting the press-fitted bolts off, which you might need a torch for (I did). If you were to buy a new cat and get it installed at a shop, on the other hand, then you already have your answer to that (price of new converter+price to install).

                In terms of whether or not to retire the car, I don’t think that’s necessary. Unless you would like a new car, then that’s a whole different story. By all means replace it with something else lol. But this can be done in your garage for the price of a hundred dollars or so and a couple hours of your time, or at a shop for several hundred and the same. It’s by no means out of action, simply in need of attention.

                And lastly, a sedan can be anything from $2,000-20,000, regardless of whether you’re in the bay or in the desert. It depends entirely on what you’re looking for. My 99 Accord sedan goes for about $3,000-4,000 these days, but an Accord 10 years newer would cost around $15,000.

                So if you want a new car, by all means get one. But don’t feel forced to get a new one because you need a new cat, because that’s just not the case.

                #655763
                EricEric
                Participant

                  Thanks for the reply,
                  While the mechanic that looked at my car said I need a new converter (he said it will cost me $500!), I’m not sure if I can be guaranteed to pass the smog test because I changed the converter.

                  The smog check report said the HC (PPM) went over maximum allowed values for 15mph.

                  HC Max at 15/25 mph: 64/47
                  Measured: 81/43 (FAIL)

                  CO Max: 0.55/0.54
                  Measured: 0.28/0.26 (Pass)

                  NO Max: 477/764
                  Measured: 149/110 (Pass)

                  I still think I am qualified to get the $500 in government assitance for getting smog check repairs (but very likely I can only get the assistance if I bring it to a smog check repair guy, DIY won’t have the costs covered). This means it might be cheaper to pay $500 for the repair. I will go to another gas station soon to get another quote.

                  If buying a new car is not required then I will not buy a new car. Even if I had to replace the car I think it’s more sensible to buy a used car from a guy with good documentation and hire a mechanic to look at it rather than buying new. While my car has some comfort issues, I am more than willing to take it to save the money. I guess to somebody that doesn’t know much about cars, having an old car is a little scary because I don’t know what sort of issues might occur down the line. 😛

                  Thanks

                  #655779
                  MasonMason
                  Participant

                    [quote=”Dark_wizzie” post=128584] I guess to somebody that doesn’t know much about cars, having an old car is a little scary because I don’t know what sort of issues might occur down the line. 😛 [/quote]

                    Yea that can be a whole new set of problems (currently going through that with my daily driver). But in my experience, as long as you take care of it and follow the factory maintenance schedule, you can save yourself from a lot of headaches. Maybe even baby it more than you need to; change oil every 5,000 miles, don’t pick the revs up too high, no burnouts lol. Least fun but most effective and wallet-friendly way to own an aging car

                    #655797
                    hondaguy453hondaguy453
                    Participant

                      Poop, i was hoping that you failed with more than one gas haha. Since you only failed because of HC’s it’s a tiny bit harder to diag. Especially because your CO numbers are good. When CO numbers r high it is an indication of incomplete combustion, like a misfire, but you’re okay. Hmmm lol… Could be just a maintenance issue like a dirty air filter or old spark plugs. Is there any way you can find out if you’re qualified for the financial assistance before taking it to a shop? Here’s a vid on how to test a cat that eric did a while back. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d-jp1IIJVVk

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