Plate 0′ Shrimp

I received my Vehicle Registration Renewal Notice a few months ago, and as is my custom, I put off renewing it until about a month before it was due, even though it required a SMOG check. I’ve been through this a few times, and thought I had it all figured out. In the past, even if I had failed the SMOG check, like with my old American cars, they’d just make an adjustment, I’d pay some more money, and I’d be on my way in the same day. Little did I know the significance of the words “Test Only Center.”

First thing I did was got a list of shops in Pleasanton that do smog checks and got quotes. They ranged from $64.40 to $98 (a bit more expensive than last time I had to get a SMOG check). So I called back one of the $64.40 shops, Harry’s Auto Repair, to see when I could bring my car in. Any time, as long as my Registration Notice didn’t say “Test Only Center” on it. It did. So back to my search info, and luckily one of the other “cheap” shops, EPPS Test Only Center, was, well, a Test Only Center.

EPPS has a very sparse office. The light wasn’t even on, but since it was day I guess the ambient lighting was enough. Nobody was there, so I pushed the intercom button a couple of times, and a guy showed up, took my paperwork and was off to test my car. Not much to read while waiting except for the wall full of information from the Bureau of Automotive Repair about how you can get State assistance in paying for repairs if you are directed to a Test Only center on your Registration Notice. So that’s what I read.

When he returned, the SMOG guy informed me that my car had failed and began to explain what I had just read on the wall. Yeah, I already knew that, so he just gave me the paper work.

I took a little over a week after filing my application to receive the “Letter of Eligibility for Repair Assistance.” It came with a list of repair stations that you have to use. The only one in Pleasanton is Harry’s Auto Repair. So, letter of eligibility in hand, I called Harry to set up an appointment. No appointment is necessary, but since Harry is required by the State to keep my car on the premisis from diagnosis to completion of repair, it will take about a week to get my car back. He says the State can be a pain to deal with. And since the State will not reimburse for rental car, and my registration is soon expiring, the fun has just begun.