In this economic times instead of buying a new car, most families are going to opt to buy used cars.

With that in mind, there are going to be a lot of financial considerations that go into place when buying a used car.

When I say financial considerations, I am not just talking about the sales price.

When you represent a family and were really looking for ways to save money, you obviously don’t want to buy a used vehicle that has extra repair expenses that you weren’t prepared for.Especially if the extra expenses was not on the budget.

So one of the big things you want to be aware of is smog checks.  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.

In a law that was passed in 2005, 1976 cars or older don’t have to get a smog test.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 it is being sold or registerd in California for the first time, you will need 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 made the car purchase in another state but live in California, you will have to find out if your vehicle can pass a smog 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 stated above, that is not the biggest expense.The biggest cost will be if costly repairs are needed.

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 any surprise expenses popping up when your goal was to save money by buying a used car.

Follow these tips when looking into that used car and you will save yourself a lot of money.