Every state has different rules about vehicles that are on the road.
Whether you have purchased a new option or a used one, there’s a few things that you need to consider before you get on the road.
First of all, you’ll need to register your car and have a license plate. That’s going to require you to have emissions testing done. No matter how you look at it, you’ll need to do this, with few exceptions.
If you’re in the state of Colorado, there’s a few rules and regulations that you will need to balance, if you’re going to drive in the state legally.
For those that have previously registered a vehicle, the DMV will send out information as to when it’s time to get emissions testing again.
In regards to Colorado emissions testing, the renewal statement that drivers will receive will tell you it’s time to test again. If you receive a renewal for registration and in the right hand corner it doesn’t say that you have to test, then you don’t have to do anything.
Testing is required only every few years, and depends on licensing, and more. If you’re registering your car for the first time, even if someone else has registered it in the past, you’ll need to visit a certified testing center in order to get testing processed and done properly.
These locations are called Air Care Colorado stations, and there’s a list of them on the official DMV page.
A Few exemptions
Like every other state, there are some exemptions that you may want to know about. If you are going to drive a vehicle that is exempt, you don’t have to worry about any sort of testing, and you can go along with driving across various areas.
The first major exemption here is that of models that have been made between 2011 and 2018. In fact, any vehicle that has a 7-year gap doesn’t have to get tested right away, and are part of the exemption.
The next option to consider is that vehicles that are within 8 and 11 years old, can use what is known as OBD or onboard diagnostics to test and repair things.
Of course, one may see a check engine light here, but if not, there are codes that can be pulled from an OBD option and a fix can be applied.
As far as other exemptions are concerned, certain hybrid vehicles, high efficiency options, diesel options, farm equipment, and all electrical cars don’t have to get tested. When in doubt, the DMV has a complete list of things to consider overall.
What If A Car Fails Inspection?
One of the questions that are most common in regards to inspections is that of car emissions testing failures. In regards to Colorado emissions testing, the tests are a lot stricter than in other states.
If you fail once, you can get a second test to ensure that things are in fact problematic. After the second test has been conducted, you’ll need to get repairs done and then find an Emissions Technical Center to get another test done.
Here’s the kicker, you’ll have to spend quite a bit on repairs if you want to get a waiver. The state of Colorado does in fact give waivers for those that don’t pass the emissions testing, however, one has to deal with the rules that come alongside it.
These rules start with spending upwards of $715 on emissions related repairs. This does not include the testing or any replacement components that have been tampered with. The repairs have to be signed off by an official mechanic that works within these issues.
The second thing that needs to be considered is the fact that you may not have to spend $715 on repairs.
If you go to a mechanic and they are doing repairs but the final costs aren’t that high, you may be stuck between failing a test and waivers.
The state of Colorado has put into place a regulation for that. If you didn’t spend that much, and you retest, but the testing didn’t get a passing grade, you will need to contact the Emissions Technical Center and figure out a secondary plan.
Most often, the issue can be relegated to errors, or perhaps a waiver will be given to you as a result. This is not done without communication with the DMV and if you fail and fail, you’ll need to get help with this, or you will not get registration or license plates done.
Sellers and Dealers
When you go to purchase a car from a dealership, you may find that some try to circumvent the rules within this arena.
Consumers have rights, and they should be well aware that the law provides provisions for this.
When you purchase a car from a dealer or even a private seller, the law dictates that the car being sold has to have passed an emissions test at the time of sale. Now, for dealerships, there is a secondary rule.
That rule is that they can give a person a voucher for one emissions test option. But here’s the thing, that vehicle may still fail.
That could prove to be somewhat difficult to manage, but it’s one way that dealers are trying to circumvent the rules.
It’s imperative to know your rights, and get a mechanic to check over a used car before buying it. Newer models will not be required to have all of this scrutiny, however.
At the end of the day, Colorado is a strict place to register a vehicle. It’s even more difficult as there is a smoking vehicle hotline.
That’s right, if your car is smoking excessively, or someone deems that it’s not doing well, a phone number is in place where you can be reported. Even if you passed an emissions test, if someone calls in that your car is smoking excessively, you could be subject to fines and retesting protocol. It’s best to get this all taken care of every few years, as to not to have to worry about the issues.
