With gas prices expected to hit $5 per gallon by summer, that may have some people trying to think up ways to save money.
Besides parking your vehicle and finding other ways to get from point A to point B, such as cycling, carpooling and use of public transit, consider buying an alternative fuel vehicle.
Other than the obvious fuel cost savings of buying a hybrid, electric or natural gas powered vehicle, those kinds of rides don’t require biennial smog tests for the first six years on the road, saving even more money.
Below is a list of vehicles that are exempt from needing to be smogged every other year from Ask George, the DMV’s weekly consumer transportation column.
- Hybrids;
- Electric vehicles;
- Natural gas powered vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 14,000 lbs;
- Motorcycles;
- Diesel powered vehicles made before 1998 or has a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 14,000 lbs;
- Gas powered vehicles model year 1975 or older; and
- Trailers.
Learn more about smog check requirements and the process at http://dmv.ca.gov/vr/smog.htm
