Dear State of California,
Thank you for being so much smarter than I am. I know you must be because there are things that seem to make perfect sense to you that are, sadly, completely beyond my ability to grasp.
A car was brought into an automotive repair facility this morning, needing minor work done in order to be able to pass a smog inspection for registration renewal. This automotive repair facility is certified to perform smog inspections; however, the vehicle registration renewal form specified that only a smog certificate from a Test Only or Gold Shield facility would be accepted.
Even though those facilities use the same equipment in the same manner to read the same emissions and issue the same certificates as our repair facility. And there is no regulation stating that the smog certificate can’t be issued by a facility where the vehicle in question is having other work done. The only reason we are not able to obtain the smog certificate at the facility where we have already taken the car is the verbiage on the registration form.
So I’m sure you have a good and sound and logical reason to require us to pump a few more fumes into the environment by transporting the vehicle to yet another facility in order to ensure that the vehicle is not pumping too many fumes into the environment.
No, don’t tell me what that reason is. I probably wouldn’t get it anyway.
Sincerely,
A Native Californian
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ReplyDeleteLadies and gentleman, the above comment is my first piece of s p a m on this blog. Note the date, I am officially one of the big kids now.
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ReplyDeleteCould it be the Gold Shield and whadevadaf*ck (yeah, I live in NY) facilities are paying more to get those special licenses, so the state sees it as a cash cow when in reality it is actually losing revenue because more businesses don't want to shell out the extra money for the special license and would rather make the money on repairs and non-emissions inspections?
ReplyDeleteNot a single period exists in the above paragraph. Go me!
I despise the way governments think.
Once upon a time in California, there actually was a law that a vehicle could not get a smog certificate from the same facility where it had been repaired, and there was some logic at work there. The logic was that mechanics would have fewer opportunities to scam vehicle owners into unnecessary repairs by saying the vehicle wouldn't pass the smog inspection without those repairs. That law has since gone away, and this differentiation between types of smog stations, all using the same equipment, has popped up in its place.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to say I despise the way governments think, but saying that would imply that they do.
perfectly said... :) thanks for sharing!!!
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome ;) And on a totally unrelated note, I was looking through your photo albums over on FB, your work is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI don't know when the Gold Shield thing came in (or even what that is) but the last time I got one of those it was that I could get the certification only from a Test-Only place, which was still part of the protection for consumers regarding unscrupulous test-and-repair shops. Oh, and that was 7 years ago.
ReplyDeleteGold Shield facilities can perform both repairs and inspections. Inspection facilities that can also do repairs, like the one we went to, can only issue certificates if the registration doesn't specifically state "Gold Shield or Test Only". What causes the DMV to make that designation on some registration renewals and not others remains a complete mystery.
ReplyDelete